Grave of Missing Windsor Soldier of World War One Identified in Belgium
Source: gov.uk (2025-03-18)

More than a century after his death, the previously unmarked grave of Corporal of Horse (CoH) Charles Edward Dean has finally been identified and marked.

A rededication service, organised by the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), also known as the ‘War Detectives’, was held at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) Bedford House Cemetery, Belgium, this morning (18 March 25).

JCCC Caseworker, Alexia Clark, said:

I am grateful to the researcher who originally submitted evidence suggesting the location of Charles Dean’s grave. In rededicating his grave today, we have reunited his mortal remains with his name, ensuring that his sacrifice will not be forgotten.

Corporal of Horse Charles Edward Dean, 1877 – 13 May 1915

Charles Edward Dean was born in 1877 to James Albert Dean and his wife Fanny, in Wiltshire. James was a boiler maker, and Charles grew up with six siblings – four older and two younger.

In 1900 Charles joined the Household Cavalry, signing up for 12 years long service with the Life Guards on 9 March. He had been promoted to the rank of Corporal by the time he married Ada Josephine Taylor in Rotherhithe on 25 April 1908. Shortly after the wedding Charles and Ada moved to Windsor where they had four children together – Edward born in 1908, Ada in 1910 (who died in infancy), Elsie in 1912 and Charles who was born two weeks after his father’s death in May 1915.

Being a regular soldier, Charles was put into action quickly on the outbreak of war in 1914, and we know that the first detachment of the 2nd Life Guards sailed for Belgium on 6 October 1914. By May 1915 the Life Guards were in the Ieper (Ypres) area, digging trenches and receiving instruction on how to use gas masks, following the first use of gas in the area just a few weeks earlier. On the night of 12 -13 May they were tasked with relieving The Buffs from the trenches near Potijze. The Battalion War Diary is scant on information about what happened that night, but in total 35 men of the 2nd Life Guards lost their lives on these two days, Charles being one of them. Half of these men have no known grave to this day.

In July 1921 a casualty of the war was discovered by the teams looking for field graves. His resting place was not marked in anyway, but was near Crump Farm, between Potijze and Verlorenhoek. The team responsible for documenting the discovery of the body and ensuring his reburial could find nothing to identify him by name, so they recorded instead that he was an unknown Serjeant Major of the 2nd Life Guards – a description they derived from his clothing, the crown and chevrons on his uniform, and his numerals. Two other men from the 2nd Life Guards were also recovered from the same spot. All three were buried a few miles from where they were found at Bedford House Cemetery. Only one of the three was identified by name, Lance Corporal WH Butler who was carrying a disc with his name on it. The third man had only a numeral which meant he could be identified as a member of the 2nd Life Guards, but no rank could be attributed to him.

In 2020 a case was submitted to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in which a researcher claimed to have identified the unknown ‘Sergeant Major’. They correctly pointed out that this rank does not exist in the Household Cavalry, but that the same insignia can be attributed to the rank of Corporal of Horse. Research showed that only one man of this rank was missing in this area at this time, and as such he could be identified as Charles Edward Dean.

The service was supported by serving soldiers of the Household Cavalry.

Captain Charles Carr-Smith, Musician Benjamin Kinch, Padre Thomas Sander & Captain Henry Tregear of the Household Cavalry (Crown Copyright)

The service was conducted by the Reverend Tom Sander, Chaplain to The Household Cavalry.

The Reverend Sander said:

It is an honour to officiate at these services of rededication for fallen servicemen who gave their lives in the service of our country. In these services we unite their final resting place with their earthly name and, what was once known only to God, is now known in the sign of all. May their names be held in everlasting remembrance, and may they rest in peace and rise in glory.

The headstone was replaced by CWGC. Director for the Central and Southern Europe Area at the CWGC, Xavier Puppinck, said:

We are honoured to mark the final resting place of Corporal of Horse Charles Edward Dean. We thank the researcher and all those involved who helped to confirm Corporal Dean’s previously unmarked grave. His sacrifice is now formally recognised with a new headstone, and we are committed to preserving his grave, along with those of his comrades, in perpetuity.

Corporal of Horse Dean's family stand with the Military Party behind his headstone (Crown Copyright)