WW1 soldier's remains found on French building site
His remains, the MoD said, were discovered during construction work for a new hospital in Lens, and DNA testing of metal ribbons led to formal identification.Sjt Ashton initially served 12 and a half years with the Seaforth Highlanders before working for the Midland Railway Company.He re-joined the Army in March 1915, first with the Derbyshire Yeomanry before transferring to the 14th Battalion Durham Light Infantry in October 1916.Following his death in 1917, Captain Allden Owles sent a letter to his family which said that Sjt Ashton died "instantly" and served "bravely".
The service was organised by the MoD's Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), also known as the MoD War Detectives.Sjt Ashton was the first named soldier to be buried and laid to rest at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's Loos British Cemetery Extension, the MoJ.Alexia Clark, MoD War Detective said: "It has been a privilege to identify Sjt Ashton, and to be able to organise this burial service for him."When you consider the half-a-million men still missing from the First and Second World Wars, every one we can identify feels like an achievement."I am delighted that Sjt Ashton's family have now been able to give him the dignified burial he had been denied for so long."
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