Family member 'incredibly emotional' after grave of Canadian WW I soldier identified

The family of a soldier who joined the Canadian Army in Calgary and served in the First World War say it's difficult to explain how important it is to learn that his grave has finally been identified.

"It was just incredibly emotional," said Stuart Neilson, who works as a police officer in Scotland.

"He's laid there for 106 years. I can't get my head around that. His mom and dad are my great-grandparents. And I just wish they knew that we'd taken the time [to find him]."

Sgt. Arthur Melvin is Neilson's great-great uncle. Neilson, along with his aunt, has been researching Melvin's life for many years. 

But he never knew the full story until now. Though the family dove deep into its history and conducted its own research, Neilson said it was just a "tiny part" compared to the "phenomenal" efforts of a team within the Canadian Department of National Defence.

On Tuesday, the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces announced that the grave of a Canadian soldier of the First World War had been identified. Melvin's grave was confirmed to be in Bois-Carré British Cemetery, in Thélus, France.

The process of identifying grave cases involves researching historical documentation to assign names to unidentified individuals, without additional help from remains.

After checking archives and scouring documents, researchers submit a report to the Casualty Identification Review Board, which must vote unanimously in order to accept the identification.

"The challenge that we had with this particular one was the location, simply because [Melvin] was ultimately part of the Battle of Arras [in spring of 1917]. It's a very huge Canadian offensive," said Renée Davis, a historian of military heritage at the Directorate of History and Heritage.

"He's in an area where there is a tremendous amount of fighting, and the village where he ultimately lost his life was overrun."

The Battle of Vimy Ridge, which was a part of the Battle of Arras, saw many Canadian casualties, and therefore many missing Canadian soldiers.

But Davis said partial identifiers on his headstone in Bois-Carré British Cemetery indicated he was an unknown sergeant of the 31st Battalion, with a date of death of April 9, 1917. Melvin was the only sergeant from that battalion missing on that date with no known grave.

All the archival documentation, including personnel files, casualty cards, war diaries and other documents, pointed to it being him in the grave, and could not be anyone else, Davis said.

"The documentation showed that Sgt. Melvin had been hit by a shell during the battle in the village of Thélus and was buried as one of the original graves at the cemetery in the aftermath of the assault," she said in an email.