Soldier remains identified
Unknown soldier at Serre
Nearly 90 years after his death the missing soldier is buried. © NML
In October 2003 the remains of three soldiers were discovered during a dig on a German defensive position, the Heidenkopf, near Serre on the Somme. One was British identified by his buttons, boots and personal equipment. The one remaining brass shoulder title showed him to be a member of The King’s Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment). The 1st Battalion of the King’s Own took part in the attack on 1 July 1916, and the Heidenkopf was one of its objectives. A check of military records showed that no other battalion of the regiment ever fought in the sector, which confirmed the date of death.
The body was found on top of spoil from a mine exploded on the 1 July in a location that would remain in German hands until early 1917. The soldier had a few personal objects with him but as these contained no other clues to identify him, he was buried in April 2004 by soldiers of his successor regiment, The King’s Own Royal Border Regiment, in row 4A Serre Road 2 Cemetery.
Brothers in death
Men of the 121 Reserve Infantrie Regiment. Jakob Hönes, one of the those eventually identified, is marked with an ‘x’. © NML
The same excavation in 2003 revealed the remains of two German soldiers. All three men had fought and died for the same piece of land and they shared the same fate, their bodies were not recovered.
Identification of German soldiers can be difficult. As the War went on units often wore mixed patterns of uniform for economy reasons. Eventually the soldier’s uniform was identified as that of the 121 Reserve Infantrie Regiment (RIR) from Wurttemburg, which served in the area in June 1915 and July 1916.
Jakob Hönes
His personal possessions did not greatly aid identification but archaeologists found a badly corroded identity disc on his chest that was printed with his regimental details, but not his name. He was in 7 Kompanie, which was known to be in the Heidenkopf from 10-13 June 1915, but not later in 1916. Cleaning in the lab revealed that the owner had scratched some personal details on the back of the disc. The top line read ‘Mun...’ the next ‘Hines’ the third ‘Jak...’. A researcher from the USA provided a list of the casualties from 121 RIR, on which was found the name Jakob Hönes who was killed on 13 June 1915. The id disc was re-examined and ‘i’ was found to be ö. The soldier had a name at last.
Archaeologist excavating the body of Jakob Hönes. © NML
Jakob Hönes was from a village near Stuttgart called Münchingen. The archives there yielded further information about his life. Jakob, a farm worker, was born in 1880, one of five children.
He and his wife Marie had six children, the last of whom was born after he was recalled to the army having previously completed two years of required National Service aged twenty.
Relatives informed
Contact with Münchingen also revealed that one of Jakob’s six children was still alive. Ernst Christian Hönes was elderly and frail and could give few details about his father, never having known him. He was, however, delighted that his father had been found and would be properly buried. News of Jakob’s discovery also united his descendents, who provided the archivists with facts and photographs of his life.
Pocket contents from the body of Albert Thielecke. © NML
Jakob served with his younger brother Christian in 121 RIR and, according to a family story, Christian was with him when he died. They were both involved in the defence of the Heidenkopf against French attack. Jakob’s body had been wrapped in a groundsheet and dragged into the small shell hole where he was found nearly 90 years later. Three of the five brothers died in the War. When Jakob was buried at Labry German Military Cemetery near Verdun fourteen members of his family attended the ceremony, along with representatives of NML.
Albert Thielecke
The second German casualty was identified after the UCL lab found his name in his bankbook. He was one of Jakob’s officers, Albert Thielecke. Albert was killed by a bullet to the head on 11 June 1915 and was buried ‘next to the lines’. His grave was lost in the later fighting. The two men were buried in the same grave at Labry.
