Perhaps, like me, there’s someone in your family tree who died in the First World War and has no known grave. There’s a forlorn hope the body might be discovered. It happens. Recent military burial services this month demonstrate the varying success of modern efforts in identifying casualties using DNA, artifacts, and historical records.
Six soldiers from the Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regiment, discovered in a Belgian trench in 2020, were successfully identified and buried under named headstones at the huge Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium. Their recovery site included shoulder titles and Lewis Gun repair equipment, which perfectly matched a 1918 regimental diary entry detailing a direct mortar hit on a six-man machine gun team. This specific context allowed investigators to narrow down candidates, locate descendants, and secure positive DNA matches for all six men.
By contrast, three other Commonwealth soldiers were buried this month, two at Tyne Cot, without identification. Despite targeting DNA testing toward a specific artillery brigade known to be in the area in October 1917, investigators have not yet found a match.
The DNA identification of the six was done by tracing and contacting descendants and confirming with DNA testing. This, along with the inability to DNA-identify the three, suggests autosomal DNA testing was not used.