Finding Her Majesty's hero: Queen opens up for first time about her family's search for missing body of her uncle who died in WWI battlefield aged 26

  • Captain Fergus Bowes-Lyon died fighting in the Battle of Loose in 1915
  • He was blown up and then shot in chest as he led a team of 100 men
  • His final resting place wasn't recorded and was only recently tracked down
  • Queen paid tribute to MoD investigators on trip to Gloucestershire base 

Captain Fergus Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother's brother, died fighting in northern France in 1915

Captain Fergus Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother's brother, died fighting in northern France in 1915

The Queen has praised the Ministry of Defence for their recovery efforts in attempting to track down the remains of her late uncle who was killed at the Battle of Loos.

Captain Fergus Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother's older brother, died fighting in northern France in 1915.

His body was never found, causing considerable anguish for the Royals.

However, the MoD - who continue to perform excavation work in the region - recently informed Her Majesty that they'd tracked Captain Bowes-Lyon's remains to a mass grave.

The find has been attributed to a rise in public interest in tracing their family history, which has increased the search team's efforts across the world's most famous battle sites.

When told of the work during a visit to the MoD's Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre, at Innsworth in Gloucestershire, the Queen said: 'Well yes, I think some of their work led to the discovery of where my mother's brother fell,' according to the Daily Telegraph.

Captain Bowes-Lyon was just 26 when he was killed in battle.

He was son of the 14th Earl of Strathmore, the fourth of the Queen Mother's five older brothers, and the uncle Queen Elizabeth II never met.

He fought as a Captain in the Black Watch and died commanding an attack at the heavily fortified Hohenzollern Redoubt.

As he and his comrades came under heavy German artillery fire his leg was blown off, and as he collapsed to the ground he was shot in the chest and shoulder.

The brave captain died an hour later as his sergeant tried desperately to keep him alive until medical assistance arrived. 

His final resting site was unknown. That, on top of his death, had a profound impact on the Queen Mother and her family, with the chaos of war meaning his burial spot was left unrecorded.

Captain Bowes-Lyon was born in April 1889, and like his younger sister's great-grandsons Princes William and Harry was educated at Ludgrove prep school in Berkshire and later Eton College.

After leaving school he joined the Army, enlisting alongside his brothers Patrick, Michael and John - known as Jock - after war was declared on August 4, 1914 - their sister Elizabeth's 14th birthday.

Like many other soldiers, Captain Bowes-Lyon brought forward his wedding, marrying Christina Dawson-Damer, daughter of the Earl of Portarlington, on September 17, 1914. Jock married 12 days later and the young Elizabeth was a bridesmaid at both ceremonies.

After training at Aldershot, Captain Bowes-Lyon and the 8th Battalion of the Black Watch left for France in Spring 1915. 

His body was never found, causing considerable anguish for the Royals. The Bowes-Lyon family in 1910. Lady Elizabeth, second from right, front row, was spoiled by brother Fergus, far left, and was left hugely upset by his passing

In a letter sent to his sister Rosie from the Front in May 1915, Captain Bowes-Lyon said: ‘We always have to have respirators – all ready to put on – as the gas comes very quickly and without warning.’ He ends with a promise to write to Elizabeth. ‘Give my love to Elizabeth,’ he says. ‘Tell her I will write to her shortly, but one does not get much time.’ 

He returned for leave in August that year, meeting his daughter Rosemary, who was born in July 1915, for the first and only time - spending just five days with his family before heading back to France. 

On the morning of September 27, Captain Bowes-Lyon was tasked with leading 100 men to help with the attack on Hohenzollern Redoubt - where he was killed in action. Two of his brothers had already been wounded fighting with the Black Watch. 

The family were first informed of his death by telegram, which arrived four days after his death. They were told his passing had been instantaneous and that he would not have suffered.

However, several weeks later they learned from another soldier that he had slowly died over the course of an hour.

His family then began their lengthy search for Captain Bowes-Lyon's final resting place and learned in 1918 that he was thought to have been buried in an area known as the Quarry.

However, the site was lost to shell-holes and trenches, and in 1930 Captain Bowes-Lyon's name was carved onto the  Loos Memorial for those killed in the conflict who had no known grave.

In 2011 Captain Bowes-Lyon's grandson, James Voicey-Cecil, with the help of his second cousin, the Prince of Wales, and historian Christopher Bailey, helped trace where he was buried. That place was Quarry Cemetery at Vermelles, in a mass grave (pictured, the Battle of Loos, where Captain Bowes-Lyon died)

In 2011 Captain Bowes-Lyon's grandson, James Voicey-Cecil, with the help of his second cousin, the Prince of Wales, and historian Christopher Bailey, helped trace where he was buried. That place was Quarry Cemetery at Vermelles, in a mass grave (pictured, the Battle of Loos, where Captain Bowes-Lyon died)

When Elizabeth married Albert, Duke of York, second son of King George V, at Westminster Abbey in April 1923, she left her bridal bouquet on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier inside the Abbey. Her biographer Dorothy Laird wrote: ‘Perhaps she was thinking of her brother Fergus, who had died at Loos.’

In July 1937, Elizabeth, now the Queen, met a railway worker called Peter Douglas at Stranraer who had been standing beside her brother when the bomb exploded. She asked him if Captain Bowes-Lyon had met his death from a bullet or a bomb.

He told her that there was a heavy barrage at the time and that he couldn’t be sure.

Then, in 1940 - by which time she was Colonel in Chief of the Black Watch Regiment  - she was at the regimental depot at Perth when she spotted her nephew, John Elphinstone.

‘It gave me such a shock to see John in his Black Watch uniform,’ she wrote to her mother-in-law, Queen Mary. ‘He suddenly looked exactly like my brother Fergus who was killed at Loos, and in the same regiment.

‘It was uncanny in a way and desperately sad to feel that all the ghastly waste was starting again.’ 

The MoD - who continue to perform excavation work in the region - recently informed Her Majesty, pictured yesterday on a visit to the MoD's Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre, at Innsworth in Gloucestershire, that they'd tracked Captain Bowes-Lyon's remains to a mass grave

The MoD - who continue to perform excavation work in the region - recently informed Her Majesty, pictured yesterday on a visit to the MoD's Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre, at Innsworth in Gloucestershire, that they'd tracked Captain Bowes-Lyon's remains to a mass grave

The Queen  with Major Terry Warburton in the medal room of the army's joint casualty and compassionate centre at Imjin barracks. She was shown the medal documents of famous British generals as well as her own documents for service during the war and those of Prince Philip

The Queen with Major Terry Warburton in the medal room of the army's joint casualty and compassionate centre at Imjin barracks. She was shown the medal documents of famous British generals as well as her own documents for service during the war and those of Prince Philip

Finally, in 2011 Captain Bowes-Lyon's grandson, James Voicey-Cecil, 59, with the help of his second cousin, the Prince of Wales, and historian Christopher Bailey, helped trace where he was buried.

That place was Quarry Cemetery at Vermelles, in a mass grave. 

Earlier this year, Mr Voicey-Cecil told the Mail On Sunday: 'In September 2011, a military historian, Christopher Bailey, wrote to the Prince of Wales to tell him he had spoken to a local man called Jean-Luc Gloriant who lived overlooking the site of the Hohenzollern Redoubt and felt sure he knew where Fergus was buried.’

Prince Charles passed the letter to the Strathmores and the following month Mr Voicey-Cecil and his wife travelled to France to meet Mr Gloriant and visit the mass grave at the Quarry Cemetery at Vermelles. 

The Queen looks upon a cabinet of medals during her visit yesterday

The Queen looks upon a cabinet of medals during her visit yesterday

'It was a bright, crisp October day and he took us on a tour of the battlefield,' said Mr Voicey-Cecil. 'After he showed us some of his extensive research, we left by his rear garden gate, alongside which the Saltire permanently flies.

‘He counted some paces across the frozen ploughed field. Suddenly he stopped, pointed to the ground and said, “Here exactly is where your grandfather fell: Little Willie Trench.”

‘We then went to the Quarry cemetery at Vermelles where Fergus had been buried and he showed us the grave of the Unknown Officer, which he strongly believed was my grandfather.

‘There were several strands of evidence including the facts that no other officer was buried in the Quarry and no member of the Black Watch either. Of the other officers killed, some were buried elsewhere in marked graves and the bodies of the rest were never found.’

Mr Bailey's findings were accepted by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. A headstone carrying his name and the words 'Buried near this spot' was then erected in his honour.  

During her visit yesterday, the Queen spoke with staff at the MoD's Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) - which helps bereaved families deal with the administrative challenges following a death.

The team also helps in identifying and laying to rest the human remains of fallen heroes from previous campaigns as far back as the First World War - something which struck a chord with the Queen.

Tracey Bowers from the JCCC Commemorations Team said: 'It was very humbling to show Her Majesty the good work we do for our service personnel and their families and what we do to honour those who have given their life in service of our country.' 

The visit also included a visit to the MoD Medal Office at Innsworth, which assesses, engraves, and issues awards to serving personnel, veterans, and next of kin.

She was presented with a card detailing the Defence And War Medal she received at the end of the Second World War, which was met with a smile. 

The 89-year-old monarch also tried her hand at engraving a medal using a laser. She then rounded off her visit by meeting staff at NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps at Imjin Barracks next door. 

Chief engraver Barry Thompson said: 'It was a great privilege to show her what we do in the Medal Office workshop. She was very interested in how the engraving machine works.'

The Queen met Samantha Bunyan, who can boast four generations of her family receiving military honours.

Mrs Bunyan's grandfather James was honoured for his services in the First World War while her father John served in the RAF in Singapore.

The 48-year-old, originally from Kilmarnock in Scotland, added:'"My daughter Aimee serves with the Royal Signals in Cyprus and I am in the 225 Medical Regiment.

'It was great to meet the Queen here given that four generations of my family have been given honours by four different members of the Royal Family.' 

THE BATTLE OF LOOS: 'SUBLIME HEROISM UTTERLY WASTED'

The Battle of Loos, which Winston Churchill later called a tale of ‘sublime heroism utterly wasted’, was the first in which Lord Kitchener’s New Army of patriotic volunteers – rapidly trained and sent to France after answering the call of his famous recruitment poster – were pitched against the well-defended Germans.

After a four-day artillery barrage that proved to be largely ineffective because of a shortage of big guns and ammunition, a British force of 75,000 men, including about 30,000 Scottish troops, marched across open fields in full view of enemy guns.

This painting shows Piper Daniel Laidlaw at the Battle of Loos. Laidlaw, from Berwickshire famously played Blue Bonnets Over The Border as he went over the top, inspiring his comrades to follow him. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his efforts

This painting shows Piper Daniel Laidlaw at the Battle of Loos. Laidlaw, from Berwickshire famously played Blue Bonnets Over The Border as he went over the top, inspiring his comrades to follow him. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his efforts

The result was slaughter on an unprecedented scale, not helped by the fact that the Army deployed poison gas for the first time, some of which blew back towards the troops and settled in the trenches and craters that provided their only cover.

More than 8,000 British soldiers were killed on the first day of the battle alone, with the brunt borne by the Scottish regiments. The 8th Battalion, Black Watch, in which 26-year-old Fergus served as a captain, lost 511 men; the 9th Battalion lost 680.

Of the 20,598 names on the war memorial on the Loos battlefield, which commemorates soldiers with no known grave, a third are Scots.

Though most towns and villages in Scotland suffered losses, Dundee – which lies just ten miles south of the Glamis Castle, home to the Bowes-Lyon family – was particularly badly affected. It was said at the time that there was barely a home in the city that did not lose a father, husband, son or brother. 

Queen opens up about her family's search for Fergus Bowes-Lyon who died in WWI

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