WW1 soldier finally laid to rest after remains identified by scrap of tartan and thistle brooch in French field

A First World War soldier identified by tartan pieces and a thistle brooch has been laid to rest 109 years after his death.

Private David Gemmell, who served with the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders), was buried with full military honours in France.

In 2019, a farmer in Cuinchy, northern France, discovered the bodies of two unknown soldiers while ploughing his field.

An investigation by the Ministry of Defence’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), also known as the “MOD war detectives”, followed this discovery. The British front line occupied the area from January 25 to February 6, 1915.

Items found with the remains confirmed the casualties were British, and tartan fragments along with a thistle brooch suggested they belonged to a Scottish regiment.

A spoon bearing a service number significantly aided the search, and DNA testing confirmed one of the bodies was that of Private David Gemmell, 37, from Dundee. He was buried on Wednesday at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) Woburn Abbey Cemetery in Cuinchy.

The military party and other invited guests stand with the family of Pte Gemmell (Ministry of Defence)

MOD war detective Tracey Bowers said: “The spoon with the service number 3800 narrowed down the list of candidates. But a spoon found near a casualty doesn’t always mean they were the owner.

In this case, following DNA, we were able to confirm the identity of 3800 Private Gemmell, who was killed on January 25.”

It is believed the two soldiers were either sleeping in a dugout or holding the line when they were killed.

Despite DNA testing, the second casualty remains unidentified, but research is ongoing.

The Gemmell family said: “It is a privilege and honour to be here to see our grandfather and great-grandfather buried. A beautifully emotional occasion, we were here not just to remember Private Gemmell but the unknown soldier alongside him.

“We would like to thank all those involved, in particular the regiment, JCCC and the local community.”

Private Gemmell first enlisted in 1895 at the age of 17 and served for six years. The mill worker re-enlisted in September 1914, shortly after the war began.

Following his death, his family published several heartfelt newspaper notices, and words from one of these were used by his relatives as the personal inscription on his headstone.

The Rev Geoffrey Berry, chaplain to the Black Watch, conducted Wednesday’s service.

Xavier Puppinck, France area director of the CWGC, said: “We are profoundly privileged to stand here today, united in reverence as Private David Valentine Gemmell is laid to rest.

“His selfless sacrifice and unwavering service are forever etched in the annals of history and in the sacred stones of the Commonwealth War Graves, Woburn Abbey Cemetery. May his legacy endure under our unwavering care.”

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