The remains of a Canadian soldier who died in France during the First World War have been identified as those of Sgt. Harold Wilfred Shaughnessy of St. Stephen, N.B. He was 33.
Shaughnessy’s family members have been informed and he will be buried later this year at Loos British Cemetery outside Loos-en-Gohelle, France, according to a statement from the Department of National Defence.
Shaughnessy was a stenographer before enlisting at Montreal in August 1915, when he was age 31.
He was deployed to France as a member of the 13th Canadian Infantry Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
Shaughnessy died on August 15, 1917 during the Battle of Hill 70. About 2,100 Canadians were killed in the battle. More than 1,300 of them have no known grave, according to DND.
The remains were discovered on June 6, 2016 “during a munitions clearing process in advance of a construction project near the village of Vendin-le-Vieil, France,” according to DND.
The department says its Casualty Identification Program concluded the remains were Shaughnessy based on historical context, material evidence including an identification disc and a signet ring, and forensic anthropological analysis.
Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr said that Shaughnessy “will be revered and remembered by a grateful nation.”
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said the “courage and determination” of those who died at the Battle of Hill 70 “has not diminished with the century that has passed.”
“We honour them and remember them,” Sajjan said.
More than 60,000 Canadians were killed and 172,000 were wounded during in the First World War between August 1914 to November 1918, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia.
Despite a population of just eight million, more than 630,000 Canadians served in the war against Germany and its allies, including 425,000 who served overseas.
