Scarborough soldier buried in Belgium more than a century after his death
Scarborough soldier, Lance Corporal (LCpl) Claude Stanley Dell, has been laid to rest more than a century after his death in World War 1.
Lance Corporal April Farthing stands ready to sound Last Post as the coffin of LCpl Dell is born to the graveside (Crown Copyright)
A young Scarborough soldier of World War 1, killed just a week after his arrival in France, has finally been laid to rest with full military honours. LCpl Claude Stanley Dell of the 5th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment was laid to rest today (13 October 2026) at Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) Poelcapelle British Cemetery in Belgium.
In 2021, workmen digging a rainwater cistern in Hazeweidestraat, St Juliaan, Belgium spotted human remains in their trench. A few days later an archaeological excavation was undertaken by the Flanders Heritage Agency. Artefacts recovered alongside the remains showed them to be those of a soldier who had served in the 5th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment.
The Ministry of Defence’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), known as the ‘MOD War Detectives’, launched an investigation to name him. Research identified twenty men from the regiment missing in the area, all of whom died in the Spring of 1915. Following genealogical investigation, living descendants of the missing men were traced one by one until eventually DNA testing proved that the remains were those of LCpl Claude Stanley Dell.
LCpl Dell joined up alongside his brothers Charles and Guy at the outbreak of war. All three joined the 5th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, whilst their older brother Leighton was in the Royal Field Artillery, and another brother - Frederick - served with the Yorkshire Hussars.
5th Battalion left the UK on 17 April 1915 and arrived in Boulogne the following day. On 23 April they arrived on the Ypres Salient, and just two days later on 25 April 1915 LCpl Dell was killed in action. Claude’s brothers wrote home to tell their parents, ‘poor Claude met his end…whilst doing his duty’.
Today, LCpl Dell was buried with full military honours in the presence of both his military family, and his great-niece Judith.
The burial service was led by Padre David Jeal CF (Crown Copyright)
The service, organised by JCCC, was supported by serving soldiers of the Royal Yorkshire Regiment, as well as staff from the CWGC.
Alexia Clark, MOD War Detective, said:
It has been a privilege to research this case, to have been able to identify LCpl Dell, and to have been able to lay him to rest today. I am extremely grateful to 2nd Battalion the Royal Yorkshire Regiment who have provided the bearer party for the funeral, and to the members of Claude’s family who have been involved in his commemoration.
The military party and Claude's family stand at his graveside (Crown Copyright)
Claude’s grave will now be cared for in perpetuity by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, ensuring his sacrifice is never forgotten. Dr Daniel Seaton, Commemorations Case Officer at CWGC, said:
Lance Corporal Dell lay in an unmarked grave on the former battlefields for well over 100 years. It is a great privilege to have worked alongside the JCCC and our Belgian partners in the effort to restore his identity. He is now laid to rest in a Commission cemetery not far from where he fell, ensuring that his grave can be visited in perpetuity and his sacrifice remembered.