Grave of schoolmaster killed in 1915 has finally been given a name following decades of painstaking research

The grave of a British Army captain who died during the Second Battle of Ypres has been identified at one of the world’s most famous war cemeteries – more than 110 years after his death.

Captain John Russell Pound, attached to the 2nd Battalion The King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, was killed in the First World War by a sniper on April 27, 1915, aged 27. 

A rededication service for the Shropshire officer was held on March 18 at CWGC Tyne Cot Cemetery in Belgium.

A soldier and a schoolmaster

Before the war, Capt Pound was a schoolmaster at Shrewsbury School, where he took a keen interest in the Officer Training Corps. 

He was commissioned in August 1914 and attached to the 2nd Battalion for active service on the Western Front.

His battalion was ordered to retake a trench near Zonnebeke on 25 April 1915. Two attempts failed, and it was during the subsequent occupation of adjoining trenches that Capt Pound was fatally shot in the head. 

A 110-year mystery solved

After the war, his remains were recovered and buried at Tyne Cot as an unknown captain of The King’s Shropshire Light Infantry. 

His identity was confirmed following research by CWGC, the National Army Museum and the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC).

The service was attended by Sir Robert Pound, the captain’s great-great-nephew, who said: “After generations of uncertainty about his final resting place, it means so much to finally honour him at his grave.”

JCCC caseworker Rosie Barron said: “His story has now been concluded, and a 110-year mystery has been solved.”

Richard Hills of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission added that Capt Pound’s newly engraved headstone would ensure he was “appropriately commemorated, now and for generations to come.”

‘Ten Heroes, One City at War’ event in Birmingham tomorrow

The news about Capt Pound comes ahead of the Ten Heroes, One City at War gala dinner and VIP reception, taking place tomorrow (Sat, March 21) in Birmingham to honour the legacy of the 10 Birmingham men awarded the Victoria Cross in the First World War.

The event is being staged by the Army Benevolent Fund (ABF) charity, which supports military veterans and their families in times of need. Proceeds will support the ABF’s ongoing work. 

Taking place at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and sponsored by the One Thousand Trades Group, the event will honour the 10 men’s extraordinary bravery while shining a light on Birmingham’s wartime role, including the museum’s service as the Number 11 Recruitment Office from 1914 to 1918, which led to the formation of three City Battalions within the Royal Warwickshire Regiment.