WW1 soldier buried over a century after his death
L/Cpl Claude Stanley Dell, from Scarborough, was killed a week after his arrival in France in 1915.
**WW1 soldier buried more than 100 years after death**
L/Cpl Claude Stanley Dell was laid to rest with full military honours in Belgium
A young soldier who was killed only a week after arriving in France during World War One has now been buried more than a century later.
L/Cpl Claude Stanley Dell, from Scarborough, served with the 5th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment after enlisting alongside his brothers at the beginning of the war.
He was killed in action on 25 April 1915 on the Ypres Salient Battlefields in Belgium, after reaching Boulogne on 17 April. His remains were discovered in 2021 during work to construct a rainwater cistern in Hazeweidestraat, St Juliaan.
On Tuesday, he was buried with full military honours at Poelcapelle British Cemetery, in the presence of both his military family and his great-niece Judith.
According to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), an archaeological excavation was carried out by the Flanders Heritage Agency when Dell's remains were found.
Artefacts recovered with the remains indicated they were those of a soldier who had served in the 5th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment.
The MoD's Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) began an investigation to identify him, which found 20 men from the regiment missing in the area.
Living descendants of the missing men were traced one by one, until DNA testing eventually confirmed the remains were Dell's.
Dell's great-niece was able to attend Tuesday's ceremony.
The service in Belgium, organised by the JCCC, was supported by serving soldiers of the Royal Yorkshire Regiment, along with staff from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).
MoD war detective Alexia Clark said: "It has been a privilege to research this case, to have been able to identify L/Cpl Dell, and to have been able to lay him to rest.
"I am extremely grateful to 2nd Battalion the Royal Yorkshire Regiment who have provided the bearer party for the funeral, and to the members of Claude's family who have been involved in his commemoration."
Dell's grave will now be cared for in perpetuity by the CWGC.
Dr Daniel Seaton, commemorations case officer at the CWGC, said: "L/Cpl Dell lay in an unmarked grave on the former battlefields for well over 100 years.
"It is a great privilege to have worked alongside the JCCC and our Belgian partners in the effort to restore his identity.
"He is now laid to rest in a Commission cemetery not far from where he fell, ensuring his grave can be visited in perpetuity and his sacrifice remembered."