Canadian WWII soldier killed on Belgian battlefield buried after 72 years

A Canadian soldier killed during the Second World War, whose remains went undiscovered for 70 years on a Belgian battlefield, has been laid to rest in a Commonwealth cemetery outside the city of Bruges.

Pte. Kenneth Donald Duncanson’s family attended a ceremony at the Adegem Canadian War Cemetery Wednesday. Members of his former unit, the Algonquin Regiment, buried his remains with military honours exactly 72 years to the day he was killed in action.

Duncanson died fighting for a bridgehead crossing the Dérivation de la Lys (canal) and the Leopold Canal. His actions laid the groundwork for Battle of the Scheldt, a series of assaults to liberate the Port of Antwerp from German forces, allowing the Allies to open critical supply lines into Europe.

The 29-year-old from Dutton, Ont., 30 minutes southwest of London, Ont., was taken prisoner by German troops, who left his body on the battlefield.

Duncanson joins 67 Second World War-era members of The Algonquin Regiment buried at the Adegem cemetery, along with 848 fellow Canadian soldiers who died during the liberation of Belgium and the Battle of the Scheldt.

Maridon Duncanson, a relative who documented her family’s military service, told CTV London in May that news of the discovery helped resolve a painful mystery.

“Our families were all close. I know they didn’t speak about it, and the people who were overseas didn’t (speak about it),” she said.

A hobbyist with a metal detector found Duncanson’s remains on Remembrance Day 2014 in a farmer’s field near Molentje, Damme, Belgium.

The Canadian Department of National Defence’s Casualty Identification Program worked with the Royal Canadian Dental Corps and the Canadian Museum of History to identify the remains. The identification was made using a combination of historical context, anthropological analysis, artifact evidence, and dental records.

The Raakvlak Intercommunal Archaeological Service of Bruges and DND recovered Duncanson’s remains in April.

“Private Duncanson’s funeral provides an opportunity for all Canadians to reflect upon the experiences of those men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country,” Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said in a news release. “We will always remember them.”

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  The remains of Pte. Kenneth Donald Duncanson, a Second World War soldier from Dutton, Ont., were discovered in Belgium on Remembrance Day in 2014.

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  Maridon Duncanson, the daughter of Pte. Kenneth Donald Duncanson's cousin, speaks to CTV London about the discovery of Pte. Duncanson's lost remains.