Fallen war hero is laid to rest at last

Remains had been discovered more than a century after death

- BY YASMIN AL-NAJAR

A SOLDIER from Rossendale has been laid to rest in France more than a century after his death.

Haslingden born soldier, Lance Corporal Fred Ramsbottom of the Suffolk Regiment was laid to rest last Wednesday with full military honours at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's (CWGC) Loos British Cemetery Extension in France, more than a century after his death in the First World War.

A de-mining operation on the northern outskirts of Lens on land designated for a new hospital led to the discovery of human remains in early March 2020.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission was notified on March 9 2020, and a careful archaeological excavation followed. The remains indicated the grave was lost in the chaos of battle.

Artefacts recovered at the site showed the soldier had served in the Suffolk Regiment and died after 1916.