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Pte William Butterworth: Military reburial for WW1 soldier WW1 British soldiers' remains reinterred 100 years after death
(about 2 hours later)
A soldier from Lancaster who died in World War One will be reburied in a military cemetery later after his remains were found in northern France. The remains of 15 British soldiers who died in World War One have been reinterred in northern France, 100 years after they were killed in battle.
Private William Butterworth, 36, from 2nd Battalion the York and Lancaster Regiment, died on 18 October 1914. Their remains were found during drainage work in 2009, close to the village of Beaucamps-Ligny near Lille.
His remains lay undiscovered until 2009 when the bodies of 15 men were found in a field near the Belgian-French border. DNA samples were used to identify 11 of the soldiers from the 2nd Batallion of the York and Lancaster Regiment.
DNA tests matched the remains to Pte Butterworth, the first of four brothers to die in the conflict. The regiment drew mainly from northern England but also included men born in Surrey, Dorset and Nottingham.
He was killed when the regiment was caught in German machine-gun fire during an offensive down the Lys Valley. The soldiers were reburied with full military honours at a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in Bois-Grenier near Lille.
Pte Butterworth will be reburied in Y-Farm Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Bois-Grenier, northern France at 11:30 CET (10:30 BST). They died in battle on 18 October 1914.
World War One CentenaryWorld War One Centenary
The identified soldiers are:
Work continues to identify the remaining four soldiers.
Glyn Prysor, from the Commonwealth Games War Commission, said: "They came up against very heavy machine-gun and shrapnel fire, which had devastating results.
"They tried to advance several times but they were beaten back and really that was a foretaste of what would then happen over the next few weeks in what became the first battle of Ypres."
The soldiers included Private William Butterworth, 36, from Lancaster, who had recently married and never saw his baby son.
He was the first of four brothers who died during the war.
His great-grandson Ian Birnie, who travelled to France for the ceremony, said: "When he were told that it was William, it was almost as if we'd lost someone only yesterday.His great-grandson Ian Birnie, who travelled to France for the ceremony, said: "When he were told that it was William, it was almost as if we'd lost someone only yesterday.
"It seems ridiculous as this happened 100 years ago, but to me, and to our family, this is a loss."It seems ridiculous as this happened 100 years ago, but to me, and to our family, this is a loss.
"I get upset about it because there wasn't just one brother, but the funeral will give us some closure for the four brothers.""I get upset about it because there wasn't just one brother, but the funeral will give us some closure for the four brothers."
L/Sgt Christopher and Pte Hugh Butterworth were killed in 1915. Pte James Butterworth died of his wounds after being sent home in 1917 and is buried in Lancaster. The ceremony was organised by the 4th Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment, which traces its history back to the York and Lancaster Regiment.
Their father James died in 1916, with newspapers at the time reporting he died from a broken heart.
In recognition of her loss, their mother, Agnes Butterworth, was one of the women invited to unveil Lancaster's war memorial in 1924.
The Butterworth brothers' names are bracketed together on the monument which stands next to the town hall.
Pte William Butterworth is also remembered on the Menin Gate memorial at Ypres in Belgium.