More than a century after his death, Private (Pte) Robert Kenneth Malcolm, a 23-year-old stretcher bearer from Stockton-on-Tees, has finally been laid to rest with full military honours and his war medals presented to his family.
The burial service, organised by the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), also known as the ‘MOD War Detectives’, was held at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) Bedford House Cemetery, near Ypres, Belgium on 10 May 2023.
His unidentified remains were recovered from a shell hole outside a German blockhouse in Fusilier Wood, near Klein-Zillebeke, Belgium in 2019. Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) insignia and a ‘Medical Orderly’ cloth patch were also recovered, indicating the soldier may have been a stretcher bearer.
After extensive research carried out by JCCC and DNA testing, the remains were identified as Pte Malcolm who was reported missing on 6 August 1917 – believed killed during shelling. With no remains recovered at the time of his death, he had been commemorated on the Menin Gate.
Rosie Barron, JCCC case lead said: “The identification of Pte Malcolm was a long and at times complicated task, so it is very satisfying to have organised his burial service today and to have seen a positive conclusion to this case.
“Stretcher bearers such as Pte Malcolm were vital to the war effort. Without their dedication and bravery, many more men would have died on the battlefields.
“Pte Malcolm came from a large family. His mother and siblings died unaware of his fate and memory of Pte Malcolm had been lost through the generations. It has been a privilege therefore to have his great great nieces here today to see him laid to rest and to know that he will be remembered by future generations of his family who will now be able to visit his grave.”
Records uncovered during Rosie’s investigation showed that though Pte Malcolm’s medals were sent to his mother after the war, they were not delivered and so were returned and destroyed. The MOD Medal Office (MODMO) has therefore been able to reissue his 1914 Star with Clasp ‘5 Aug – 22 Nov 1914’, often referred to as ‘the Mons Star’, and the British War Medal and Victory Medal (Please note: photos of the medals are unavailable but for more information please visit the IWM website.
They were placed on top of the coffin as Pte Malcolm was carried to his grave, and afterwards they, and the flag which covered his casket, were presented to his family by Warrant Officer Class 2 (WO2) Adam Gregory of 202 (Midlands) Field Hospital, who led the bearer party.
Linda Jordan, Pte Malcolm’s great great niece, was one of two family members who provided positive DNA matches. She, and her sister, attended the burial service.
Linda said: Getting a letter five months ago from JCCC suggesting I could be related to a fallen WW1 soldier, whose body had been recently discovered, was quite a shock. My family was unaware that our great grandmother had eleven siblings, one of whom was Pte Malcolm.
“It is fascinating how we were traced and the link confirmed through DNA testing. As Pte Malcolm had been missing for so long it was amazing and quite emotional to see the care that all those in the wider Army family have taken to identify and honour him. We were privileged to represent his family at his funeral. It is our way of respecting him and acknowledging the sacrifice he, and so many others, made in service of our country.
WO2 Gregory said: “It is an honour and an overwhelming privilege to be part of this burial service for a fallen WW1 comrade from the RAMC. Pte Malcolm has been placed alongside his brothers in arms whom all paid the ultimate sacrifice for their King and country.
“Pte Malcolm was a regular RAMC soldier supporting the citizen volunteers in a new Army unit. This is part of an historic event, and it is very befitting that a mix of Regular Army and Army Reservists from 202 (Midlands) Field Hospital have carried him on his final journey.”
The service was conducted by the Reverend Andrew Grant, Chaplain to 5th Regiment Royal Artillery, and a bearer party from 202 (Midlands) Field Hospital RAMC bore the coffin to the graveside.
The Reverend Grant said: “I am greatly honoured to have been asked to conduct the burial service for Pte Robert Kenneth Malcolm of the Royal Army Medical Corps.
“The continuing work of identifying the remains of those killed in the World War 1, and bestowing upon them the full honours of a proper burial, are key to reminding ourselves that, despite the unimaginable numbers lost in the conflict, each soul whose life was cut short was a precious human being, and loved by someone.
“This can be so easily forgotten when death back then was meted out on such an industrial scale.”
The grave of Pte Malcolm will now be cared for in perpetuity by CWGC.
Head of Commemorations Casework at the CWGC, Mel Donnelly, said: “We are very grateful to our partners in Belgium who conducted the painstaking excavation of the site near Fusilier Wood.
“Their professionalism ensured that the remains of a Commonwealth soldier recovered together with his insignia, enabling Private Malcolm to be identified. He can now be laid to rest alongside his comrades.”
