It’s taken 110 years, but two brave soldiers who vanished into the chaos of the First World War have finally been found.
Second Lieutenant William Knight and Private John Walton, both of whom fell on the battlefields of Belgium, now rest beneath headstones bearing their names, not as “unknown soldiers,” but as honoured sons of their regiments and their country.
Their graves were formally rededicated in moving ceremonies held on 21 and 22 May at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) Perth China Wall Cemetery and Oosttaverne Wood Cemetery. The services were led by the Reverend Gary Birch CF, Senior Chaplain at Headquarters South West, and organised by the Ministry of Defence’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), known to many as the ‘War Detectives’.
The War Detectives at Work
“These men never stopped being remembered, and now, finally, they have their names back,” said JCCC Caseworker Alexia Clark. “I’m so grateful to the researchers who originally pieced together the evidence that led us here. It’s humbling to know we’ve been able to honour their sacrifice in this way.”
The journey to rediscover the identities of the two men reads like something from a detective novel, one that spans decades.
Second Lieutenant William Bernard Knight
4th Bn North Staffordshire Regiment, attached to the 1st Bn Bedfordshire Regiment
It was April 1915, and the 1st Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment was entrenched in brutal combat near Hill 60, just south of Ypres. The battle was fierce, attack met by counter-attack, and casualties piled up on both sides. Among those listed as missing, presumed dead, was 2nd Lt William Knight, last seen on 21 April.
Nearly a decade later, in 1924, an unidentified officer of the North Staffordshire Regiment was discovered near Hill 60. His uniform gave clues, the badges and buttons matched, but no personal items remained to confirm his name. He was buried anonymously in Oosttaverne Wood Cemetery.
Now, thanks to exhaustive research by military historians and archivists, it’s been confirmed that this officer could only be William Knight. He was the sole missing man from that location whose description fit the remains. After more than a century, his identity has been restored.
Private John Walton
8th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment
Private Walton’s story is no less tragic, or heroic. In early February 1915, his battalion moved into the trenches near Verbrandenmolen, a position subjected to relentless bombardment. On 13 February, the enemy launched a major attack. Amid the shelling, including a direct hit on a British dressing station, 38 men from Walton’s unit were killed. He was among them.
Though his body was recovered in 1919 and reburied at Perth (China Wall) Cemetery, he was mistakenly identified as an unknown soldier, until now.
His grave has finally been correctly marked, and his name restored to the place where he made the ultimate sacrifice.
Honour, After All These Years
“It’s an honour to help the families of these men choose inscriptions for their headstones,” said Polly Brewster, Commemorations Case Officer at the CWGC. “We will continue to care for their graves in perpetuity, as we’ve done for over a century.”
These ceremonies do more than mark two graves, they restore dignity, identity, and a sense of closure. For the families, for the regiments, and for a nation that still remembers.
