A World War One soldier who was injured and sent home, but then returned to the front where he was killed, has finally been buried close to where he fell; just weeks before Remembrance Sunday.
The burial service for Rifleman (Rfn) Frederick Thomas Adams which was organised by the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) , also known as the War Detectives, took place at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) Passchendaele New British Cemetery, in Belgium yesterday (Wednesday 16 October 24).
Bob Adams, Rfn Adams’ first cousin twice removed, who aided JCCC by providing the DNA sample used to identify him was there.
Bob said:
I was intrigued to receive an e-mail last year asking me to carry out DNA testing in connection with Frederick, and once a positive result had been established, I had no hesitation in accepting the invitation to attend the burial service.
We are very proud to be related to someone with such a distinguished service record, and we want to give him the respect that he truly deserves. We are honoured to be invited to attend the burial service today, to commemorate his life that was sacrificed in the service of his country.
Bob Adams, the first cousin twice removed of Rifleman Adams, with the party from 3rd Battalion The Rifles.
Rfn Adams, who hailed from Brighton, was a career soldier who arrived on the Western Front immediately after the outbreak of hostilities. Having been wounded near Armentieres, on 25 October 1914, he was sent home and did not return to the fighting until 1917, when he was sent back into action as part of a citizen Army. He was killed in Passendale on 19 November 1917. As he was missing Rfn Adams was commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial in Belgium.
In 2018, the remains of a soldier of The Rifle Brigade were discovered during roadworks in Passendale. He was found with two chevrons, indicating that he may have either have held the rank of corporal or that he may have been wearing or in possession of two Good Conduct Stripes. After extensive research and DNA testing, the soldier was identified as Rfn Adams.
JCCC Caseworker, Rosie Barron said:
It has been an honour to work with The Rifles to give Rfn Adams the full military funeral that he deserves and to have conducted the research which led to his identification. It has also been a priviledge to meet Bob and to have shared this experience with him and his family. Rfn Adams was a career soldier, and I am sure when he returned to the Western Front in 1917, his knowledge and experience would have been invaluable to the men around him. May he now rest in peace alongside his comrades.
Lieutenant Henry Waterson gives a reading at Rifleman Adams’ graveside.
The service was conducted by the Reverend Huw Ryden CF, Chaplain to 3rd Battalion The Rifles and was supported by a bearer party from that battalion.
Reverend Ryden said:
As we preside at the burial service of Rifleman Adams who had been missing for so long; we, by proxy, represent the generations who so deeply wanted to be here. Those past generations are the loved ones who hoped and prayed for the miracle of a safe return. If not a safe a return, then a funeral service to afford some closure and an opportunity to say their last goodbyes. We now stand for those loved ones, and with such a realisation, we stand here deeply moved by the weight and depth of meaning that this service carries.
The coffin of Rifleman Adams is carried to his grave by serving soldiers of 3rd Battalion The Rifles.
The graves will now be cared for in perpetuity by CWGC.
Director for Central and Southern Europe at the CWGC, Geert Bekaert, said:
As we move closer to the period of Remembrance, we are honoured to be able to commemorate Rifleman Adams from Brighton, who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy today.
We will care for his grave, and those of his comrades, in perpetuity.