The family of a missing Yorkshire soldier from the First World War has found out where he was killed – but only by chance.
Joseph Cyril Verity was one of 13 children born at East Witton, and later lived at North Stainley. His family settled at Warren House Farm, Fearby, near Masham, but he soon emigrated to Canada to be a rancher. When war broke out in Europe, he joined the Canadian Mounted Rifles and was deployed to Flanders. He was killed, aged 30, at Passchendaele on November 1, 1917, but his body was never found.
His name is inscribed, along with those of 6,927 other missing Canadians, on the Menin Gate, and last year the Passchendaele Museum in Belgium launched an online portal, called Names in the Landscape, that shows where more than 1,400 of them were killed or buried – with Joseph among them.
Joseph Verity (back row, centre) was one of 13 children in a family that lived near Masham.
The museum recently sent a letter to his last known address in England, Warren House Farm, asking for more information about him. By pure chance, the current occupant of the farm, Gerald Broadley, is related by marriage to Joseph.
Mr Broadley’s sister-in-law, Ruth Verity, lives near Kirkby Malzeard and is keeper of the family tree. She said: “Warren House Farm hasn’t been kept in the family – Gerald’s family just happened to take it over when Joseph’s family moved out in 1967. When he received the letter from the Passchendaele Museum, he recognised straight away who it was about, and my nephew brought it to me. It’s amazing, really.”
The Verity family believe that Joseph was killed by sniper-fire, but have never known where. The museum researchers have found that it happened at a post called Dump House, on the front line north-east of Ypres.
The Battle of Passchendaele, which became known for its appallingly muddy conditions, was fought from July to November 1917, for control of high ground south and east of Ypres. It is estimated to have claimed between 500,000 and 850,000 men on both sides.
Names in the Landscape is supported by the Flemish Government and Library and Archives Canada.
Read more:
- Ex-soldier from Harrogate researches 1,000 names on war memorial
- Story of the lone Japanese First World War soldier buried in Ripon
- Harrogate district soldiers given military burial 104 years after death
Harrogate district soldiers given military burial 104 years after death
Two Harrogate district soldiers killed during World War One have finally been laid to rest today with full military honours.
Their bodies were among nine sets of human remains found during civil engineering works in the Belgium town of Beselare three years ago.
Archaeologists from the Flanders Heritage Agency subsequently discovered the remains of the trench, a bomb pit and a separate bomb pit outside the trench.
Eight of the nine bodies found inside the trench are believed to have died at the same time as the result of an explosion in October 1917. The ninth was found separately.
Through a combination of military research, anthropology and DNA, Ministry of Defence ‘war detectives’ managed to identify seven of the nine soldiers by name.
The men included 21-year-old Lance Corporal Stanley Blakeborough from Pateley Bridge and 28-year-old Private Harry Miller, who worked as a farm labourer in Burton Leonard.
Read more:
- Story of the lone Japanese First World War soldier buried in Ripon
- Wreaths laid at newly restored Harrogate war memorial
An eighth casualty, who remains unknown, is believed to have served with the same regiment (11th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers) whilst the ninth and final casualty is unknown by name or regiment.
The service in Belgium today. Credit: Ministry of Defence
Nicola Nash, from the Ministry of Defence said:
“After working on this case for nearly three years, it gives me an immense feeling of pride to see these men finally being laid to rest. It has been wonderful to share this emotional day with so many of the family members, who have travelled as far as Australia to attend.
“The sacrifice these men made will never be forgotten.”
Today’s service was organised by the MoD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre and was held at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Tyne Cot Cemetery near Ypres in Belgium.
The MOD war detectives also traced the relatives of some of the men, with five different families attending the service.
The Duke of Kent attended the service in his capacity as the Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and President of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
