A Century Later, WWI Graves Return Their Names
Two World War I graves at Hooge Crater Cemetery, once marked only by rank and 'Known unto God,' have finally been identified after more than a century. The Ministry of Defence's Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (War Detectives) matched Lance Corporal John Edgar Springate and Sergeant Ernest Albert Stevens using regimental records, diaries, and exhumation reports, leading to a rededication ceremony with family readings. The team continues to work through a backlog of cases swollen by pandemic-era interest in genealogy.