An unknown soldier buried at the Hooge Crater Cemetery in Ieper (West Flanders) has been given a headstone with his name on it 107 years after his death. The previous headstone read 'Known unto God', but he has since been identified. The soldier is John Harold Bott, an Englishman, who was killed during Great War.
Unknown British soldier given a name at Ieper cemetery after 107 years (VIDEO)
Colin Clapson
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From now on, the name of John Harold Bott, aged 21, appears on the headstone. He was an English soldier, who fought in the First World War. He was buried in 1917, without a name on his headstone. "Since 2018 British officials have been busy researching to find out what his name was," Niek Benoot of the Hooge Crater Museum, opposite the cemetery, explains.
"In a war diary, researchers were able to find the date on which the soldier died. Based on a medal, they were able to identify him, but you have to be able to prove it all. It turned out to be a lengthy undertaking."
After 107 years, researchers do know something about Bott. Sergeant John Harold Bott was born in London in 1896. He had three brothers and worked as a barber's apprentice. He joined the army when World War I broke out. He was awarded a medal after he captured a machine gun but was himself wounded in the process.
"Important for the bereaved families"
About 125 British recruits, who visited the museum, attended the ceremony. Niek Benoot then laid a wreath. "As a mark of respect and out of sympathy. I am especially happy for the relatives that the fallen get a name," he said.
For more than half of the nearly six thousand soldiers at the Hooge Crater Cemetery this is not yet the case. On their headstone remain the words "Known unto God".