British Soldiers Were Buried with Full Military Honours 96 years Post Death

Several soldiers from the first world war were laid down with full military honors after 96 years of their death. The remains of Lt John Harold Pritchard and Pte Christopher Douglas Elphick were interred in North France. Two unidentified British soldiers were laid down at a cemetery in Ecoust St-Mein. Their remains were found in a field by a French farmer Didier Guerle, whose father had asked not to plough it. The soldiers had died amidst the chaos in the battle of Bullecourt in May 1917, and their remains had been buried in the erstwhile fields. When the remains of the fallen soldiers were discovered in 2009, experts from the Commonwealth War Grave Commission were brought in to identify them. The ceremonial sword of the lieutenant was returned to his family by a US collector who had bought it earlier. Few relatives of the deceased soldiers and many others, along with HAC Royal Honorary Colonel Prince Michael of Kent, were present at the ceremony.