7 soldiers from WW1 were laid to rest in New Irish Farm cemetery in Ieper.
John Lambert, an unknown soldier of the Royal fusiliers, an unknown soldier of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, an unknown soldier of the Hampshire regiment, two British unknown soldier and a German unknown soldier.
The remains of these soldiers were found during excavations around Langemark in 2016. Only one of the men could be identified. 17-year-old Private John Lambert of Newfoundland ( part of Canada), he died in August 1917 during the battle of langemark.
John was born on 10 July 1900 in St. John’s, Newfoundland as the son of Richard and Elizabeth Lambert – Whiteway. before he enlisted on 14 August 1916, Lambert worked as a labourer. So yes he lied about his age, he claimed he was 18. His regiment was part of the 29th Infantry Division of the BEF.
The division was to capture the ‘Gheluveld-Langemark’ part of the German defensive line. The plan was to fight its way through the German position to a depth of about 1400 on the left the French First Army . The Newfoundland Regiment was on the left of the brigade’s offensive and to their right, advancing next to the railway, was the 2nd Battalion, The Hampshire Regiment, a unit of the British Army. Together they were to capture the Division’s first two objective lines. This attack was delayed twice because of the rain and the muddy conditions. 27 newfound landers died during the battle of Langemark, John was one of them.
When the bodies were found in April 2016 also fragments of their equipment and uniforms were found like shoulder titles, cab badge, service buttons, British bullets . The remains of the German soldier were amongst them, but it could not be determined who was who so the soldiers were buried together and that is the reason why the German soldier is in CWGC cemetery today and not in the German cemetery in Langemark.