A BRAVE Worcester soldier has been finally laid to rest some 105 years after his death in the First World War.
The final resting place of Serjeant (Sjt) William Clay Cubberley, aged 28, of 2nd Battalion The Worcestershire Regiment, has finally been marked after tireless research by the ‘MOD War Detectives.’.
A rededication service, organised by the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) – the ‘MOD War Detectives’ – was held at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Perth Cemetery, near Ypres in Belgium last Wednesday (March 22).
It brought to a close more than five years of research into the identity of the unknown soldier buried in 2017 after his remains were found in 2012.
Among those in attendance was Rosie Barron, a JCCC caseworker at her first JCCC service.
“After a conversation with Belgian archaeologist, Simon Verdegem, in 2021, I began to reinvestigate the case from scratch,” she said.
“Simon was able to give me more detail about the location where the soldier was found. This was crucial to the identification.
“We are now very pleased to have given Sjt Cubberley his name back, a regular soldier whose family had devoted their lives to service in The Worcestershire Regiment.
“His story is now complete, and it has been a privilege to organise this rededication service and to remember him.
During her search, Rosie confirmed the 2nd Battalion The Worcestershire Regiment was at the location where the unknown remains were found between September 24 and 28 1917 in one of the bloodiest battles of the conflict.
Initially serving with 1st Battalion, Sjt Cubberley transferred to 2nd Battalion during the First World War. It is believed although Sjt Cubberley is not recorded as having been promoted to Company Serjeant Major, he may have been promoted in the field and died before any record of this was made.
Born in November 1888 in Norton, Sjt Cubberley as the eldest of seven children born to William Cubberley and his wife Sarah.
His father enlisted into The Worcestershire Regiment on 1 April 1879 and at the time of William’s birth was a Serjeant serving with 2nd Battalion. After promotion, he served as a Warrant Officer firstly with 3rd and then 2nd Battalion.
William’s childhood was therefore spent living in barracks in Norton, Kempsey and Great Malvern.
Although there were no missing serjeant majors of the battalion killed during the period, there were three missing serjeants. The families of all three men were asked to share DNA, and John Cubberley, the great nephew of Sjt Cubberley, proved to be a match.
“It fills me with great pride I have the name Cubberley and I will always be eternally grateful for that,” Mr Cubberley said.
“My grandfather I am sure is more at peace knowing his brother has been found. My thanks to the MOD for continuing to find our lost family members who went to ‘fight the good fight, who kept the faith and finished the race’ and to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.”
The service was conducted by the Reverend Daniel Njuguna CF, Chaplain to 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment and was attended by serving and retired members of the Regiment.
