I am sorry that I do not know your Christian name, which is how I like to address my former comrades in our regiment. I do not know the precise circumstances of your death, but, as a former Lincolns Lance Corporal myself, doing my National Service in 1950 with the 1st Battalion in the Suez Canal Zone, I can still salute you as the brave NCO you undoubtedly were, who died in the service of his country. You were laid to rest in Cement House Cemetery, Ypres. We read that graves were brought in from fourteen other local cemeteries after the Armistice, so I do not know for certain which Lincolns unit you were serving with, nor where the fighting was taking place when you lost your life. The fighting must have been fierce, however, wherever it occurred, for you were one of 15 members of the Lincolns who perished and whose remains are now at rest here in Cement House Cemetery. All but one of you Lincolns buried here in Cement House perished in late 1917, which was during the Battle of Langemarck in the 3rd Battle of Ypres. I trust that the Guard of Honour at your graveside fired the traditional salute to a fallen comrade. I can but quote the memorial hymn again, “All you had hoped for, all you had you gave to save mankind – yourself you scorned to save.”   In addition to your gravestone at Cement House, you are also remembered every year at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance, when the parade is at the attention while the Queen’s Colour and the National Standard are dipped in salute as the Last Post is sounded. I offer my sympathy to your relatives who mourned your sacrifice. Rest in Peace. Harry.

Henry Harrison