Four British WWI MIA soldiers found during hospital build in France

Four British soldiers who were killed in World War One will be reburied in northern France later.

The remains of Arthur Cook, Robert Cullum, John Fraser and William London, all privates of 1/5 Bn Lincolnshire Regiment and part of a Lewis gun team, were found during work to construct a hospital near Lens.

Ministry of Defence “war detectives” said it was rare to have been able to identify four soldiers and track down each of their families.

A service will be held at the Loos British Cemetery Extension for the men – all from Grimsby – who died on 5 May 1917 during the tail-end of the Battle of Arras.

The Battle of Arras (9 April to 16 May 1917) was a costly attempt by British, Canadian and Australian troops to push through German lines

Tracey Bowers, from the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), whose staff are collectively known as the “war detectives”, said human remains were found in summer 2020 during preparatory works for the foundations of a new hospital.

“The men were wearing shoulder titles indicating they were members of the Lincolnshire Regiment,” she said.

The team was able to date the remains based on the equipment they carried.

Also found among the remains were small box respirators – a piece of kit not issued until August 1916.

One man had a pair of boots with a 1917 date stamp on the sole.

Pte Robert Cullum

From the way the men were lying it was impossible to tell whether they had been intentionally buried, or whether they had died where they fell and were covered over by soil being displaced by subsequent explosions, the team said.

Ms Bowers said the team analysed war records, including a diary produced by the regiment, which narrowed down the likely period they died to early May 1917.

Scrutiny of casualty lists for this period, particularly those who were posted as missing, yielded four names – Pte Cook, Pte Cullum, Pte Fraser and Pte London.

Later, research revealed these four men were part of the same Lewis gun team – the fifth man on the team was Fred Blakey who survived, though badly wounded, and was later awarded the Military Medal for staying at his post despite his wounds.

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