Lieutentant Charles Cautherley was gazetted from the Honourable Artillery Company and assumed the role of an officer in the Hertfordshire regiment joining the 1st Battalion in April 1916. By September the same year he was suffering from shell shock, but after a short period of recovery he returned to service with the battalion.
In late April 1918 Lieutentant Cautherley’s unit was withdrawing to a new defensive line near Voormezele in the face of a rapid German advance during their Spring Offensive. He was killed in the defence of Voormezele near Ypres on 26 April 1918, and his remains were placed in a grave marked “Unknown Officer” in the Poelcapelle British Cemetery, with his name inscribed on the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing close to Zonnebeke.
Recent research by the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) identified the remains as being those of Lieutentant Charles Stewart Cautherley, and so a rededication service with a new CWGC headstone was held at the cemetery on 21 March 2024 conducted by the Chaplain to the Household Cavalry.
Colour Sergeant Andrew Evans and Sergeant Aron Walker from the 2nd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment, had the privilege of attending the rededication and in doing so represented one of our forebear regiments. In addition, Lt Cautherley’s cousin, Simon, was present for the occasion and after the ceremony he was presented with a union flag used to drape over the headstone prior to its unveiling, and as a token of his family’s historic sacrifice.
The Regiment wishes to thank JCCC and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for their continued efforts to give all servicemen and women the final resting place they deserve. It serves as a clear reminder that even after 106 years, and several amalgamations of regiments, that those who have made the ultimate sacrifice will be shown the respect and grace they thoroughly deserve.
