A young soldier killed on the Western Front in one of the most devastating military attacks of WWI has finally been honoured with a gravestone engraved with his name – more than a century after he died.
For 105 years second lieutenant Wilfred John Massey Lynch, from West Derby, lay in a nameless grave at the Crucifix Corner Cemetery at Villers-Bretonneux, France. The 25-year-old was killed by German troops on April 4, 1918, during the latter stages of Operation Michael.
Now, Wilfred's final resting place has been marked with a headstone unveiled during a service led by the Ministry of Justice. 2nd LT Lynch's grave was located by the ministry's "war detectives" who provided the information to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
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Also found was the grave of another soldier, Lt Harold Rymer Smith, from Middlesex, who also died in Operation Michael, a major German offensive that resulted in the loss of 250,000 British and French troops.
Following a memorial service for the two men on Thursday, March 23, Wilfred's great niece Ann Massey Lynch said: “Growing up, it was my parent’s stories of service in WWII that formed the backdrop to conversations. Older relatives, like my grandfathers, were either dead or did not speak of their experiences or of the relatives who had died as young men in WWI. So, my great uncle Wilfred was a shadow who was known through a family photo of 1916 and through his daughter Lisle.
"I am deeply moved that both the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), and the CWGC, should take the time to create such a beautiful rededication service and to erect and care for a new headstone. Lisle would have been so grateful. It gives dignity to such an early death and has re-awakened his young life story for me. I shall mark March 23 as a special day to remember both Wilfred and all those who gave their lives in the Great War.”
Both Wilfred and Harold were killed during Operation Michael which lasted from March 21 to April 5, 1918. The operation was the first of three phases of the German Spring Offensive, or Kaiserschlacht, which did not conclude until July 1918. The aim of the Spring Offensive was to use Germany’s newly released troops to achieve victory before the Americans, who had recently joined the Allied forces, could deploy their forces. It was initially successful and the Germans retook most of the ground that they had lost in the fighting of previous years. However, the attack overstretched their resources and eventually faltered.
Wilfred was killed in the latter stages of Operation Michael, when the Germans attacked with the aim of forcing the British Fourth Army back towards Amiens, France, with the final aim of taking the city itself.
At 7am on April 4 1918, Wilfred's battalion, the 3rd Dragoon Guards, was sent to operate on the right flank of 43rd Brigade north of the Villers-Bretonneux to Warfusee Road. At 9:15am they carried out reconnaissance and filled in any gaps they found in the line. A new line was dug and they remained around this location throughout the day as the enemy attacked. It was during this fighting that Wilfred was killed.
After the war, Wilfred's body was recovered and he was buried as an unknown Officer of 3rd Dragoon Guards where he remained nameless for 105 years.
War detective Rosie Barron of the JCCC said: “It has been a privilege to have contributed to the identification of these two officers and to have organised these rededication services. Had the German Spring Offensive of 1918, in which they fell, been successful then the outcome of the First World War could have been very different. It is thanks to men such as Lt Smith and 2nd Lt Massey Lynch, who paid the ultimate sacrifice during such fierce fighting, that the Allies were able to stem the German advance and bring the war to a conclusion later that year.”
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