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The Unknown 49th Battalion Officers of Courcelette

At the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, in September of 1916, the 49th Battalion had 59 members reported Killed in Action. As was too often the case, some bodies could not be identified and now lie in graves simply marked as a ‘Soldier of the Great War’. Two such examples exist in the ADANAC Cemetery in France where two 49th Battalion officers, who fell during the action at Courcelette, are buried in unidentified graves. The author of this article believes he can identify these two officers.

The Unknown 49th Battalion Officers of Courcelette

Edmonton's 49th Battalion's action at Courcelette in September 1916 was its first offensive action in France during the First World War. Fifty-nine members of the battalion were reported Killed in Action following the battle. Despite having received a battlefield burial in 1916, some are still classified as missing today and lie in graves simply marked as a ‘Soldier of the Great War’. Through a detailed look at records of the battle and a process of elimination, the author of this article feels he can identify two 49th Battalion officers, who fell during the action at Courcelette and are buried in unidentified graves at the ADANAC Cemetery in France. Follow his reasoning in our latest newsletter at the link below.

Remember 22-2

This is the thirty-second in a series of quarterly newsletters originally recognizing 100th anniversary events of the First World War, with emphasis on Edmonton‚' 49th Battalion, and 75th anniversary events of the Second World War, with emphasis on The Edmonton Regiment/The Loyal Edmonton Regiment. These stories came to an end with our 2019-1 and 2020-3 editions respectively. However, there are still many stories to be told about our regiment, past and present, including our newest series of articles on our regimental commanding officers. We will also be expanding our focus on the museum itself with articles related to more current events and with stories about some of the interesting artefacts and archival materials in our collection.

Anyone wishing to be included on our email contact list to received copies of our newsletter should email us at lermusm@telus.net.