Lance Corporal (LCpl) Claude Stanley Dell of the 5th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, a soldier from Scarborough who died in World War 1, was laid to rest with full military honours on 13 October 2026. The burial took place at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) Poelcapelle British Cemetery in Belgium.
LCpl Dell was killed in action on 25 April 1915, only two days after his battalion arrived on the Ypres Salient and a week after his arrival in France. His remains were discovered in 2021 by workmen digging a rainwater cistern in Hazeweidestraat, St Juliaan, Belgium. An archaeological excavation followed, and artefacts found with the remains indicated they belonged to a soldier from the 5th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment.
The Ministry of Defence’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) investigated to identify the soldier. Research narrowed down twenty missing men from the regiment who died in the area in Spring 1915. Genealogical investigation and DNA testing eventually confirmed the remains were those of LCpl Claude Stanley Dell. He had joined the war alongside his brothers Charles and Guy, who also served in the 5th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment.
The service, organised by JCCC, included serving soldiers of the Royal Yorkshire Regiment and CWGC staff, with LCpl Dell's great-niece Judith also in attendance. Alexia Clark, an MOD War Detective, expressed gratitude for being able to identify and lay LCpl Dell to rest. Dr Daniel Seaton, Commemorations Case Officer at CWGC, stated that LCpl Dell's grave will be cared for in perpetuity, ensuring his sacrifice is remembered.