'Unknown' Sheffield soldier named in Netherlands Ceremony
The previously un-named grave of a World War 2 soldier has been identified and rededicated in his name in a service 81 years after his death.
Floral tributes laid at the grave of LCpl Smirthwaite (Crown Copyright)
A soldier in an unmarked grave has been identified as Sheffield-born LCpl Ronald Smirthwaite who was killed in the Netherlands in 1945.
For years LCpl Smirthwaite was commemorated on the Groesbeek Memorial as one of those World War 2 dead missing with no known grave.
Now, following extensive research, MOD investigators have now confirmed that the grave in Jonkerbos War Cemetery can now be marked with his name.
A rededication service for LCpl Smirthwaite was organised by the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre’s (JCCC) ‘War Detectives’.
The military party at LCpl Smirthwaite's grave (Crown Copyright)
JCCC Caseworker, Tracey Bowers, said:
“Ronald Smirthwaite was a proud Yorkshireman whose life was cut short during the final months of the World War 2. This rededication service restores his identity, recognises his Yorkshire roots and ensures that future generations understand his ultimate sacrifice.”
Ronald joined the Army on 4 May 1944, initially into the General Service Corps employed as a blacksmith’s striker, an occupation described as providing the muscle to the blacksmith’s skilled work.
Padre Paul Garnell who conducted the service said:
LCpl Ronald Smirthwaite after many years of being an “unknown soldier” is now known and will forever be memorialised and remembered along with his colleagues. This has only been possible due to the hard work and dedication by many.
The investigation was examined by the MOD and The National Army Museum following submissions by an Officer of the Royal Netherlands Army and a member of the public.
Capt. Ian Stubbs RN - Defence Attache, WO2 Richard Matkowski - 4Bn The Royal Yorkshire Regiment and Capt. Geert Jonker - Officer in Command of the Recovery and Identification Unit, Netherlands Army raise a salute at the service for LCpl Smirthwaite (Crown Copyright)
Records from the Hallamshire Battalion describe a fierce engagement on 22 February 1945 after which LCpl Smirthwaite was reported missing and presumed killed in action. It later emerged that he had been captured alive but seriously wounded and was lost while attempting to escape. His body had been recovered and buried before being reburied as an unknown soldier.
His headstone was replaced by one engraved with his name by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).
Polly Brewster, Commemorations Case Officer at the CWGC, said:
We are honoured to have worked with the Royal Netherlands Army, the Ministry of Defence and the National Army Museum to identify Ronald Smirthwaite’s final resting place. Eighty-one years after he fell, and after decades of uncertainty for his family and loved ones, it feels deeply poignant to be able to commemorate him at the site of his grave with a new, named headstone. His sacrifice will not be forgotten.