The remains of a soldier of the Newfoundland Regiment, found in Belgium in 2016, have been positively identified.
Private John Lambert was born in 1900 in St. John’s. He enlisted with the Newfoundland Regiment after lying about his age and died in August of 1917.
Lambert died of wounds received in action during the Battle of Langemarck. He was buried along with other soldiers near a Field Ambulance Relay Post, and his remains were found in 2016.
(Patch used to identify that the remains were of a Newfoundland Regiment soldier. Courtesy Government of Canada.)
He was among four sets of remains uncovered during an archaeological dig near Ypres, Belgium. Lambert was identified as a soldier of the Newfoundland Regiment by the “NFLD” shoulder badge.
DNA tests were conducted on the remains of four soldiers, positively identifying Lambert among them. This is credited as the first time a Newfoundland Regiment soldier was identified using that process.
Connecting Past With Present
Belgian authorities reached out to the Canadian Armed Forces’ Casualty Identification Program, which in turn reached out to the Royal Newfoundland Regiment for help in finding the soldier’s descendants. The Regiment then called in the Rooms to aid with the search.
Greg Walsh, Provincial Archivist at The Rooms, helped positively identifiy the remains, and calls the day he found it they had a match one of the best days of his career. @VOCMNEWS pic.twitter.com/Bmkyuw8NlM
— Richard Duggan (@RDugganVOCM) December 1, 2020
Provincial Archivist and Director of The Rooms Provincial Archives, Greg Walsh delved into the archives to help connect Private Lambert with his living descendants. According to the records, there were 16 Newfoundland Regiment soldiers who had fought nearby but with no known graves. Investigating those names, Walsh was able to connect 13 of the 16 soldiers to their living descendants.
Burial Plans Underway
(Left to right: Private John Lambert and an unnamed soldier. Photo courtesy Government of Canada.)
Plans are underway to bury Lambert at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission‘s New Irish Farm Cemetery in Belgium by soldiers of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment at the first appropriate opportunity. Members of Lambert’s family will be in attendance.
The remains of three British soldiers found with Private Lambert will be buried alongside one another.
