Long Lost Family (UK) Special 02

to sum up his life and one word killed doesn't say much about the essence of a man in the cold earth how did he get there did he get shot the multi in pain across the world today in fields like these like the bodies of hundreds of thousands of fallen British servicemen yet to be identified that's from one of ours each man left behind family desperate to know the fate of their loved one solving these tragic mysteries that have haunted generations may seem impossible but help is at hand in this special episode of long-lost family we meet the elite all-female team at the Ministry of Defence the war detectives we start off with a case number through detective work we tried to give him a name so they become a person they become alive to us with unprecedented access we follow the investigations with using state-of-the-art forensics and groundbreaking technology the bodies of unknown British soldiers are identified we've got the results this is a huge thing we're able to give these men names we discover the untold stories of men who fought and died for their country every single one of these soldiers they were somebody's son they were somebody's brother it was somebody's husband and answer their family's questions about their fate we have results from the DNA test and it is him as these extraordinary investigations unfold secrets hidden for decades are unearthed he never knew a double life well it is relatives have brought together you look like a Maroni and Families have the chance to honor their fallen loved ones at last after 101 years to bring him to a proper resting place the story is complete he's brought to the family and although he did die you're never done [Music] each year around 60 bodies of British servicemen killed in battle are found by farmers builders and archaeologists worldwide they're referred to in Jin barracks home of the Ministry of Defense's joint casualty and compassionate center the war detectives every investigation that the war detectives take on starts as just a case number the anonymous remains of a soldier the detectives mission is to identify that soldier brilliant so we have got a starting point for this case thank you so much the detectives first investigation is case 370 it dates back over 100 years to the First World War this is an interesting case it involves the mains that were discovered by a local resident outside of a small village called anew in northern France the gentleman was actually installing a drainage pipe across his property when he realized that he was uncovering human remains when bodies are discovered accidentally like this specialists are brought in to retrieve the casualty and the bones are sent for forensic analysis whilst the DNA profile is created for the bones at the laboratory I've traveled to France to find out more about the discovery [Music] motorola gay bar or Davina along with war detective Tracy I'm meeting Olivier Quentin who helped uncover the remains hello Olivier couscous a vet who VC well Nugent who they estimate elder solder [ __ ] we can eat you sad wha specific who is he I've actually little dark he's on tombe don't don't girl which second Elwood Hoover according Abu Salah the tooth nationality which imagine where's al Morsi Wow and Tracy what do you know about this area was there a battle being fought here so this area was infamous for a battle called the battle Cambre November of 1917 is there anything you can tell me about the soldiers that fought at that time they were all conscripts from all different parts of the army we had Tank Regiment we had infantry there were snipers our luminaries Angie Scott who here to fish for plus Roxy sister Ksenia oh my goodness look at that wow that is incredible is the 23rd London regiment that's a huge clue merci au revior merci merci merci beaucoup in November 1917 the 23rd London regiment were part of the British assault on the German occupied town of calm Bray this was one of the first modern battles of World War one following three years of futile trench warfare the British Army broke the stalemate by attacking with tanks planes and infantry together but the Germans launched a huge counter-attack and after two weeks of bitter fighting there were about 45,000 British casualties [Music] at the heart of the conve battlefield stands a Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorial it commemorates more than 7,000 soldiers killed in the battle whose bodies have not yet been found my goodness is sorry lost so many look private you have terrible amongst them are those still missing from the 23rd battalion of the London regiment there we go for London regiment that's right Wow so we've got one left Tennant so second lieutenant Aldridge yeah and twelve others so three out of that 13 we just take a pitch lay out the remains recently uncovered in the back garden must belong to three of these 13 soldiers whose whereabouts have been unknown for over a hundred years but which three men back in London wore detective Nicola Nash is trying to narrow down the search I'm hoping that looking at the service records is going to help us get closer to finding out who those remains belong to [Music] the British army service records for the London regiment are housed at the National Archives in Kew it's here that Nicola can find out more information about each of the 13 potential soldiers that might help the investigation john james steele he's our youngest 117 when he joined you know incredibly young and it details where he was working which was biscuit factory just benjamin stanbro he was 29 the stationers cutter this one's the service record for henry Wallington so he was only 19 so it's great to see all these little personal details all sort of different professions you know one of them is even married with with two children which which really makes you think you know how hard it must have been for their families but crucially they give us the ages and the height of the soldiers when they join the army [Music] finding the ages and Heights over the possible candidates is a real breakthrough because the forensic report on the bones also gives estimates for the ages and Heights of the three recently unearthed bodies [Music] today this report has arrived at Indian barracks thanks the war detectives are going to talk me through how they cross-reference the ages and heights of the three bodies with the soldiers on the service records to find which are the best matches Traci has the details on each of the three bodies so casualty 1 had a height of approximately 6 foot 1 as tall very tall for First World War yes at his age is between 20 and 25 casualty 2 was 5 foot 6 and his age was between 17 and 23 and casualty 3 5 foot 7 between 20 and 24 so do any of these characteristics match those records so we have got details they could cross-reference with the first was a second lieutenant Aldridge he was actually 34 so that actually described him I think we do at this stage we've got a private meet we haven't got a height for him but we know he was 23 so that's a possibility private Steele was 5 foot 9 and 19 when he was killed so he could fit in with casualty - that's quite a discrepancy 5 foot 6 - 5 foot 9 it is but we have to understand that that was their height when they joined and young men joining up might well have grown a few inches okay and then we've got a private Thatcher he was 5 foot and 37 so another one that is less likely 37 years old yeah elderly for first of all it is yes and private Wallington five foot six and a half and age 20 out of the candidates need steel Warrington fit within the ranges that we've got for our three casualties for these men are the most likely at this stage at this stage yes and we just have to hope that they have got a viable family donor that we can match with those casualties [Music] the war detectives have three potential names for the bodies now if they can find a living relative for these men a DNA test comparing them to the DNA of the remains can hopefully prove the identity of the dead soldiers everybody belongs to someone you know every single one of these unknown soldiers they were somebody's son they were somebody's husband they were somebody's brother Nikola is starting with the youngest soldier the biscuit factory worker John steel just 17 years old on the service records John was still only 19 when he died he was far too young really to be married and have any children so to search for relatives alive today Nikola has to go back to the 1901 census to see if John had any brothers or sisters John was one of eight siblings and by following his sister Lillian's line Nicola has found a great niece Sandra white and made contact with her [Music] I know about my great-uncle John because my Nana was had he's photo on the mantelpiece she would say that's my dear John my lovely John and he just got killed in the war John was from a big farming family in Hampshire at the turn of the century the family moved to London and when war broke out John was working in the biscuit factory in Fulham alongside his sister Lilian when nan was only a year older than him so they were very close from where the war started he was 16 to young but he's three older brothers when you know come on son we not you know furnitures for you so you're got to sign up as well when you see John in his uniform he looks as if it's too big you know he looks as if he's borrowed it from his dad you know when you see boys dress up to think of him in the mud and the cold earth really how did he get there did he get shot and was he in pain I'm sure mine and over the years did think of that but she was never voice that because I think if you voice it it becomes real and I don't know never wanted it to be real Unni even though her nan has passed away the question of what happened to John still haunts Sandra I think is important that he's not forgotten there's a gap missing from the family when I look at the photo and I think we're not forgot you I'm searching if Sandra's DNA matches one of the three bodies discovered in France it will mean that great-uncle John Steele has been found it would be just marvelous to think that he's recognized then he has a grave and that would be a nice end you know to a very short life really [Music] while Sandra's DNA is sent to the lab for processing Nikola has started work on private Frank Meade's genealogy we're looking at the 1901 census I can see here his father and mother Thomas and Elizabeth and here's Frank himself six years old at the time and we can see here that he's actually got a younger brother Reginald who is only nine months old so that's fantastic news he's got a brother meaning potentially there's descendants Reginald did go on to have a family and Nicola has tracked down his grandson Paul Meade great nephew of Frank living over 5,000 miles away this album is well over a hundred years old Poole emigrated from Britain to the States when he was a teenager along with his sister Julia this is Frank mean I think he looks maybe pensive but hopeful in this picture and proud to be wearing the uniform and then his a younger brother Reginald Meade you know your great-grandfather my grandfather I can see the resemblance it's like each photo has sewn in some story attack Paul and Julia grew up knowing very little about their father's side of the family my father passed away when I was very young I was I was just a year and a half old when the Ministry of Defence contacted us and told us they had discovered remains which could be my great-uncle Frank at first I didn't know what to believe about him so Paul contacted his family back in England to find out more about his great uncle my cousin Christopher sent me these letters photographs and outstanding caricatures by Frank just have these few glimpses into his life before the war they're incredible they just give wonderful insights into Frank's sense of humor you know his interests as a young man Frank joined the war early in 1914 and served on the Western Front for three years as a stretcher bearer he wrote regularly to his younger brother reg when his letters there's an intimacy I think that you have between brothers old Fritz has a new kind of gas now which he sends over in a shell it makes you sneeze and also makes your eyes water we've all learned about the horrors of gas but Frank was making light of it it's like he didn't want reg to really worry you know his little brother but by the time Frank wrote on October the 5th 1917 the reality of three years of trench warfare had hit home the tone of the letter is a bit more stark dear reg I'm writing this letter in a small funk hole which I share with three of the fellows as it is a bit of a squash you must excuse the scroll I guess you have had the wind up a trifle lately reg during the air raids nevermind oh boy you're much better off in England than out here the final letter in the collection is from reg back to Frank just two months later unfortunately Frank never received that was Rick returned unopened yeah written on the cover killed just to sum up his life in one word killed is you know doesn't see much about the essence of a man with Paul having provided a DNA sample alongside this treasure trove of family history the war detectives hope to be one step closer towards identifying the fallen soldiers the difference between what we do and and when you're just reading a history book is that we're actually getting to know these individual men you know we sort of build up an actual personality of this man the fact that these men was so young you know and you can relate them to your family members and you know also also the the military that we work with you know I think they can see themselves in these men and that just brings them closer to us now the only thing the detectives can do is wait for the DNA results [Music] on the 3rd of December 1917 three young soldiers were killed in the first world war Battle of Cambrai on the Western Front nearly a hundred years later a farmer digging a drain in his garden stumbled upon the bodies and the war detectives are trying to identify them he would be a suitable donor for DNA to compare DNA coats have been sent out to the relatives of two possible soldiers biscuit factory worker private John Steele and private Frank Meade and now war detective Nicola Nash has discovered a descendent for a third private Henry Wallington so I've been looking into Wellington's family history and it's very complex however I've managed to find a half nephew and he has said he's willing to provide us with the DNA sample the relative does not want to appear on camera but amazingly he did turn out to be a positive DNA match so the war detectives have identified their first fallen soldier as private Henry Wallington good morning it's Nicola Nash calling from the ministry of defense the team have informed as many relatives as they can find about their discovery at one of them Margo Baines who lives in Lincolnshire has agreed to meet me [Music] well what did you know about Henry Wallington before the NID contacted you absolutely nothing nothing nothing this is the long-lost relative that we didn't know about what we do now Nicola filled us in with some the details Henry was my half uncle so he was my father's half brother they had the same father Joseph Joseph already had a wife and he had four children Henry being one of them but Joseph had an affair with a lady called violet my grandmother they had two children between them one of them being my father this is very interesting isn't it well it is a double life yes yes was your father fully away he had our half-brother he was never away that he had him he never knew as far as I know he never knew so this was a bolt out of the blue yes yes it was when I felt sad really he's part of the family and it's that strong feeling that although he died we carry his genes and so um although he did die having discovered a half-uncle she knew nothing about Margo's been in touch with Henry side of the family and a nephew John Henry Costin was able to provide more information about him private Henry Wallington was a 19 year old from Catford South London who worked for his stockbroker dad he enlisted in 1916 and fought for almost two years before he was killed Henry's body lay undiscovered in a garden in France for nearly a century now he can finally be buried officially with a headstone bearing his name but the two soldiers found with him are still to be identified and back at HQ the results have come in from the DNA tests the first is for private John Steele his greatness Sandra has spent the last 40 years wanting to answer her grandmother's questions about what happened to him and I'm on my way to Croydon to tell her the DNA results this is going to be so hard for Sandra but sadly the DNA result came back negative the remains that were found did not belong to Johnston war detective Nicola is joining me to break the news yes Sicily right thank you hi unfortunately this is a key part of the war detectives job because as DNA tests are done with any potential matches there's always a chance that the results will not be positive we have had the results how did you yeah oh it's a negative yeah no that's fine I am so sorry well yes it would have been lovely to put him to a vest I mean my nan always had that picture on the mantelpiece and now and again she'd just in a kiss and all I think of him nearly every day oh my goodness he just looks so young doesn't he but yeah I think nan always felt you know where is he and I always thought that if it was him mmm get me going um I could imagine saying come on John I come home now Oh better yeah that would have been nice but yeah I mean I'm so sorry I know it's but we do know that that particular group all died on the 3rd of December and John was one of those they all fought together lived together so there's every chance that they would have been with John up right up to the very end I've always thought that even if it wasn't John I mean there's thousands of them as long as he's there with his friends but you still have to still be with me he'll come home one day hmm you will yeah [Music] later the same day we've come to the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woollett this is where thousands of men from London like privates steel Wallington and Meade signed up and trained for the Great War we are here to make contact with the relative of our last potential soldier private Frank Meade his great-nephew in America I just wanted to ask you a few questions if that's all right Oh perfectly we have learned a lot more and we're hoping to learn more to be able to connect yourself to the history of your family who shaped you who makes you who you are especially now that we live in here in the States it only brings you together because we all share that heritage well we did get the results of the DNA test it is a match it's wonderful really it thank you so much so it's fantastic news obviously you know I'm just so pleased that we've managed to name him and that he's finally gonna get a resting place it will be married at the same time this is the two other lads he was with you know it'll be this may sound strange really wonderful to meet those other families because he never had children and he never had a family of his own these would have been the people who he was probably closest with and they died together they were actually deliberately buried by their comrades in about grade I wouldn't miss this memorial service for for anything so it is the cola told me that when he fell in battle with his two other mates the other soldiers buried them in a garden before they moved on I thought that was very touching that they would do that after 101 years to find the remains and just gonna be a full on her burial he died at 23 but you know his story is going to continue on you it's the day before the military burial for case 373 soldiers from the London Regiment found in a garden together in northern France attending the ceremony will be the Meade family who have traveled from California to the town of Arras during the war Aras was on the frontline and thousands of British troops including the London regiment would have passed through its streets on the way to the trenches today the Meads are following in their footsteps as they arrive to commemorate great-uncle Frank who has been found at last there was a sense of relief you know for us that it was his remains from his letters it was a very insightful young man we know he deeply loved his family especially his younger brother a little bit of who Frank was you know and wherever that comes from wherever Frank got it from I think it's it's it's in all of us too you know it just gives me kind of a lump in my throat just thinking about that too Frank and Frank tomorrow Frank will be buried by the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment the modern descendant of the 23rd London regiment that Frank served with it's very important to us and you know it's important as well that the regiment were involved and they can see no matter when he died whether it was a hundred years ago or yesterday they're still going to be remembered Frank will be laid to rest alongside two of his comrades in arms one has been identified as private Henry Wallington whose half niece Margot will attend the ceremony sadly for the last soldier none of the potential relatives who did DNA tests were a match his identity remains a mystery and at this point he will have to be buried as an unknown soldier but there will be someone attending who wants to pay her respects to him Sandra White's great-uncle John was killed at the same time as the other soldiers but the DNA results didn't match so his body has not been found despite this Sandra's made the trip to France for the ceremony I want you to come really mainly for the boy who's not been named it's just so sad that someone's gone through all that and died and there's nobody there for him so me and John will be there just to say goodbye to him [Music] the closest Sandra can get to saying goodbye to John himself is to see his name commemorated on the Conn Bray memorial he found John yeah he's here and it's just wonderful to see his name in stone it's just marvelous I mean it'll always be there you know I can't stop touching it because it's just so real to me it's not it's really nice for me to see their 3 yeah together names together seeing John amongst all these people all these soldier boys were they are boys to me I get a sense of comradeship he wasn't alone yes when his time came so that gives me a warm heart and there's that part of the reason why you've come for the Unknown Soldier because I'm so proud of them and just to say thank you doesn't seem enough but there isn't any other words that I can say really thousands of them are so young to give their life for us today Frank Meade henry Wellington and the Unknown Soldier will be buried at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery hermès Hill [Music] hi Margo how are you okay thank you [Music] for each relative this ceremony means something different for Paul it's a chance to get to know the British side of his family that he knows so little about for Margo it finally lays to rest a family secret and for Sandra it's an occasion to honor her great uncle John but for all of them it brings them closer to their long-lost fallen soldier [Music] you know with three kids of my own from the time you children are born you dream about what they might accomplish and do in life and I'm sure the regret and this loss would have overwhelmed his parents knowing that they would never see them we stand before three of the brave and we remember them this day I am the family face flesh perishes I live on actually finally seeing these three boys being put to rest you know when you've worked on a case for so long we learn to love them and accept them as part of our family so when it comes to this day it's just as emotional for us as if we were real family to them today we give a place to three where many still don't have a place we therefore commit their bodies to the ground to earth ashes to ashes dust to dust [Music] and the going down of the Sun and in the morning we will remember them I do feel like Oh close you thinking of my join you know I know he's died and and I know he's not here but he's with me in spirit yeah just praying for the moon today just to rest now [Music] I had a very emotional connection when Frank was being laid to rest because I feel he was a lot like my father who perished way too young and I think Frank even though he never had children that himself I think he's alive in us and that will continue on forever [Music] case 370 is closed but back at HQ new evidence has come to light on an old case of World War one casualties originally buried as unknown soldiers we can now look at different groups of men who were killed in that area it seems a burial is not always the end of the story [Music] in this special episode of long-lost family we're following the war detectives a team from the mo D with backgrounds in research archeology and the military their mission is to identify as many service personnel lost in battle as possible either bodies discovered in farmers fields all those buried in war cemeteries as unknown soldiers every time I see a great that is unknown the first thing I want to do is take photo of it and then see if I can identify it sometimes extensive research proves without doubt who is buried in the unknown grave and a name can be added without doing a DNA test but sometimes new evidence comes to light on a previous DNA investigation and that's exactly what's just happened [Music] in 2010 archaeologists excavated the remains of six soldiers in a farmer's field near Ypres in Belgium it was called case - seven - Mina Sako et al in the irony party structure to our piano cat sack it was all you want a mean set fool you and I can see Junko mayavadis repeat four of the bodies were impossible to identify but artifacts beside the other two suggested they were Lancashire Fusiliers from the first world war DNA was taken but no matches were found and the men were buried as unknown soldiers but now war detective Louise door think she's found something that sheds new light on the investigation we were originally told that the remains of an in this corner of this field here but looking at the footage we can see here a Gatewood highs just over the shoulder of the archaeologist when he tools and when we've checked on Google Maps that house is the other end of the field 700 800 meters away discovering that the remains of the two Lancashire Fusiliers were found in a different location has thrown the case wide open having previously gone DNA tests with living relatives of men killed at the incorrect part of the field they all came back negative so now the war detectives have research which Fusiliers were killed at the specific new location and they're going to share this with me highly reason tracey hey so this case we have revisited yes and we've now got a new group of Lancashire Fusiliers that we're hoping to test have we been able to narrow it down to names we have the Fusiliers annual this all the burial places of all the men that they'd lost so we can eliminate those that already got a burial place so our potentials for this case our private frederick Foskett private Charles Maroney private William Pirlo and private William Taylor they were killed very near the German frontline in the early months of the war and that ties in exactly with where they were found we judge we know how they were killed as well they were together hiding by a railway line in a culvert and they were killed by a shell [Music] our two soldiers were killed just 11 weeks after the start of the war on the 18th of October 1914 as British troops fought near the famous battleground of Ypres in Belgium at this early stage of the war there was no conscription the men fighting were largely made up of soldiers who'd already served across the empire so the types of men were looking for could well be experienced soldiers to get a firm identification for the fallen soldiers Louise needs a DNA match and that requires a living relative the first lead is for private frederick Foskett I'm back at the barracks to talk to Louise and see what she's found out about Frederick hi Mickey grab yourself a chair thank you what do we know about Frederick Foskett well we know from the 1901 census Sir Jack was from East Finchley in London he had a brother and four sisters or living at the same address so what was he doing before the war he was already serving with the lacs Fusiliers so he was a professional he's a professional soldier you find any relative I did I started off with his eldest brother Charles I found him and his wife and a baby son Charles Frederick musket it was quite easy to find a marriage for him and the birth of his son Colin Colin Foskett now aged 69 has been found living in a small village in the East of England [Music] when the letter came I opened it and the first thing I saw was Ministry of Defense at the top and I said to my wife I know a bit too old to be called up Colin lives with his wife Carol together they have three children nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren but despite this huge family Colin knows very little about his origins from the age of two I was in an orphanage then knew nothing about any family before then whatsoever suddenly after all these years to know about my past you know where my great-uncle was and what he'd done and I just couldn't believe it discovering the frederick fought in world war one has a special significance for the Foskett s-- bricky our eldest grandson mr. private in the army at the moment he's stationed in Cyprus I'm really hoping it it is Frederick Foskett because the whole family is so excited to see his name on the gravestone would be really emotional [Music] back at HQ Louise has dug up an obituary for another of the possible candidates private Charles Maroney he was 22 years of age and leaves behind a widow and child he was in the Army for nine years and then it looks as if he left decided to settle down into the city street got married and became a grocer with the cognitive society then war broke out and he's called back up again but despite all this information louise has been unable to find a living relative for Charles Maroney so she's been forced to try a different tack and send out an appeal in the Manchester local press where most of the Lancashire Fusiliers came from they lay where they fell for almost a century brave men who gave their lives in the First World War after painstaking research possible names have been released with the hope of tracing relatives they are privates William Cheatham Taylor Charles Maroney and William per slow this is our war detectives last hope of identifying the unknown soldiers found near Ypres in Belgium [Music] okay thank you so much thank you bye bye bye and amazingly there's been a response it all started when I read the newspaper article the monster evening news are you related to these heroes of the trenches sue price is from Preston and works for the police force private child's Maroney is my great-uncle he married in 1913 and they had a son Charles jr. it was a real tragedy when Charles died my father spoke often about childish stunts who never ever met his father it must have been a harrowing time when he lost his life in 1914 for the whole family but all those who came forward the war detectives needed a more direct line for DNA comparison so sue went in search for any other relatives on social media good morning I had a message are you Kevin Maroney and I just replied yes and it turned out to be my second cousin so Kevin is descended from private Charles maroney's younger brother Joseph he provided the DNA sample and now Sue and Kevin a meeting for the first time in London it was amazing to discover a cavern I'm excited it's meeting today it actually opened a whole new chapter my mother and father were estranged from the time I was five as far as I was concerned the side of the family on my father's side were dead to me now I've got a whole new family and I'm really looking forward to meeting it soon [Music] yeah yeah you look like him a ruining another family I've got now yeah absolutely oh look at the food sue and Kevin have come together in London today because the new DNA results are back for case to 72 I'm meeting the war detectives at the Tower of London the original headquarters for the Fusiliers the regiment our unknown soldiers belong to hi nice to see you and you too we've got the results from the Maroni family now for cheese- Oh is there anything else that we can offer the family to help there is actually this is from the cooperative workers newspaper and it's got a photo of Charles Maroni that's amazing and it talks about where he was employed in the green food department a baloon Street in Manchester and then a letter that was written to his wife and this is information that they won't have so to see a picture and have something I think that will be better than nothing yes hi how you doing so thank you for joining us today we have got the results in and I am really sorry to say that it's negative I'm really sorry we couldn't give you good news we want to give you a bit of information about him we're bitterly disappointed that we weren't able to have a positive identification we found in a bit tree and a picture of him from earlier in his military career it's amazing I just never seen a photograph of him and a letter that Charles wrote with his wife a few days before he died dear wife hmm and it says it is a great pleasure to me to answer your most welcome letter and thank you for the parcel which I may say was a kind of a godsend sir carry on [Music] I'm fine I'm sorry I'm fine and very pleased to hear that you and the little one are getting on alright it's good old self would say okay a couple of nights ago we had to watch a village with fixed bayonets and the sights the enemy left behind were awful it was a most pitiful sight to see the people who had been driven from their homes with their little children we got very well treated by the French people it was laughable to hear our chaps asking for Japan which is the French for bread the Germans are just beginning to start their shelling again and I'm afraid I'll have to bring this letter too close what's it like reading his words we just can't imagine what they obviously went through when they were over there but at least we've got a photograph whether it's never seen a photograph of him a very sad thing is the other son I was only 12 months old when he died in fact Charles had only been married a few months more than that mmm there was very sad it does become really personal you know we feel like we failed if we can't put his name on a headstone so we won't stop looking well thank you for that but we do an amazing job you really do and you found each other yes yes that's the bonus you know I've got a new family sadly two other DNA tests taken for private spur slow and cheatin Taylor also came back negative so the war detectives last chance to put a name on one of the headstones lies with the Foskett family [Music] the war detectives are trying to identify the remains of two Lancashire Fusiliers killed near Ypres and buried as unknown soldiers so far all the DNA tests have come back negative but the last possibility is Colin Foss gets great uncle Frederick so you didn't know anything about your history did you at all Colin knew nothing about his past because he grew up in care but thanks to the war detectives he recently discovered not only that he had a great uncle but that Frederick fought and died in World War one and today he's here with his wife Carol and daughter Lara to find out whether Frederick has been found thank you so much for coming to talk to us Colin can you tell me all of this what does it mean to you oh it's amazing absolutely amazing because I knew nothing about my family I was put in a orphanage at the age of 2 and saw my mother probably half a dozen times that I can remember in my life and in all of sudden you know I've now got this extended family and Carol and Lara what's it been like for you well we feel for him obviously he's got family you didn't know he had which is good my sons in the army he joined three years ago and how was that were you bit like no I've only just stopped crying when he visits and when he leaves yeah and he you guys nervous yeah like I see well I have got the result of you and it is him oh it is off after all this time it's just yeah unbelievable this is that Sheehan Lancashire Fusiliers cap badge which was found with the remains shrinking yes and also a few coins here it's just so amazing that they can come up with a match after a hundred years we know that Frederick was killed by a shell whenever you talk about the past you talk about your family and my dad never had that so now he does so the next step is we will order a new headstone which will have his name thank you so much it's very welcome could be able to see his gravestone gone from Unknown Soldier to Frederick Foskett it would be well over well we [Music] today colin is following the journey his great uncle Frederick undertook at the outbreak of war in 1914 and heading to Belgium I filled a connection with my great-uncle because I've had no other real family to you know to look back on when Frederick's body was discovered in 2010 it couldn't be identified so he was buried as an unknown soldier of the greates war now after years of investigation by the war detectives his grave will be rededicated with a new headstone bearing his name tomorrow I don't know whether you can say celebrate but we can actually say no instead of being one of the unknown he's at least now has got a name joining Colin Carroll and Laura for the ceremony a Collins soldier grandson Ricky and his wife Rosie I've been serving now for four years but when I found out that I've got someone else in the family that served it's a it's quite nice knowing that I've I'm doing the job that they went through the Rose being pregnant as well generations down the line couldn't remember that the family has been serving them from the part of the country more than 100 years ago to Lancashire Fusiliers arrived on these shores to fight just weeks later they were dead and now the war detectives have succeeded in naming one of them private Frederic Foskett we've come together to give thanks for the life of private Frederic Foskett killed in action on the 18th of October 1914 he was lost for more than 100 years but today 27 year-old Frederic from East Finchley can finally be remembered when you go home tell them of us and say for your tomorrow we gave our today it's been definitely worth opening case 272 again you know forever there's a chance that we can give these men back their names it's worth it I just can't imagine the horror that Frederick's parents must have gone through never knowing when they went to their own graves what had happened to their boy and today at least we've managed to put some of that to rest [Music] not far from the cemetery is the field where Fredrick was killed [Music] two to three feet in and about 200 yards from the entrance yeah but now no you know more of my history I've got a family you know it could be proud of [Music] [Music] he was so young 27 same age as me only I've got my first child on the way all my life to look forward to and he's out here buying [Music] [Music] you [Music]

Channel: Cinelic

Views: 713,727

Keywords: 23andme, adopt, ancestry, birth parents, children given up, davina mccall, documentary, family reunion, family search, full documentary, full episode, heritage, genetic, long lost family, long lost family uk, long lsot family, lost family, mini documentaries, mini documentary, dna, reality show, reunion, separated at birth, biological, show, documentary 2019, soldier, world war, finding family, long lost family 2019, long lost family full episode, long lost family complete episode, llf

Id: rHK0lBlS6BM

Length: 60min 58sec (3658 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 14 2019