Last week’s rededication services for Private (Pte) William Falconer, Gunner (Gnr) Joseph Humphries, Signalman (Sig) Edmund Roberts and Major (Maj) Richard White-Cooper were all held at Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Le Grand-Lucé War Cemetery near Le Mans, France, on 24 June.
The families of Gnr Humphries, Sig Roberts and Maj White-Cooper attended the rededication service, as well as serving soldiers of The Royal Corps of Signals, The Royal Regiment of Artillery and The Royal Welsh.
They were some of many British servicemen remaining in France after Operation Dynamo, which saw the mass evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) through Dunkirk. As the Germans advanced across France, fighting continued and further evacuations were made from ports along the northern and western French coasts.
Maj Richard White-Cooper (courtesy of the White-Cooper family).
All 4 men had been brought to 9th General Hospital located in the Chateau at Le Grand-Lucé either for treatment or burial. Casualties that died while in the hospital’s care were being buried at the site of Le Grand-Lucé War Cemetery close by. As they were missing, all 4 men had previously been commemorated on the Dunkirk Memorial.
The graves were recently identified after John Hawthorn, the husband of Sig Roberts’ granddaughter, submitted a case to CWGC hoping to have Sig Roberts’ final resting place confirmed. After extensive research by CWGC, the National Army Museum and JCCC, the graves of all 4 men were identified. This means that all casualties buried in Le Grand-Lucé War Cemetery have now been identified.
John Hawthorn said:
Words are not adequate to express the emotions I had when I got the email from Rosie Barron telling me that the JCCC were happy to confirm they recognise that Sig Edmund Roberts is buried in the CWGC cemetery at Le Grand Luce, France. Brian, his son and my father-in-law, was only 3 years old when Eddie died on 13 June 1940. He never knew where or how his father died, nor where his body rested.
The only commemoration was a name on the Dunkirk Memorial. Having a headstone to mark Eddie’s grave provides the family with closure, comfort, and the opportunity to visit a specific place to pay our respects. We are eternally grateful to the tireless work of CWGC and the JCCC, and especially Rosie for all she has done.
Headshot of Sig Edmund Roberts (courtesy of the Roberts family).
The services were organised by the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), also known as the ‘War Detectives’.
JCCC Caseworker, Rosie Barron, said:
The story of what happened to those members of the BEF still left in France following the Dunkirk evacuations is rarely told. These services highlight the dangers experienced by these men in the struggle to hold the German Army back, and to evacuate from ports further west. Regrettably these men all lost their lives in the confusion of this period. It is a privilege to have met their families and to know that their stories have been concluded.
CWGC has replaced the headstones over the graves and will care for them in perpetuity, ensuring these brave servicemen are remembered with honour.