“I couldn’t believe it at first. I always thought he was in a shell crater and buried and never found.\u0022
That’s when Wayne McKay, of Almonte, was told his great uncle had been positively identified — more than a century after Ledingham fell on the field of battle.
An official with the graves commission contacted the directorate in May 2019, indicating that its research suggested Ledingham was the unnamed soldier buried in Canada Cemetery, in Tilloy-lez-Cambrai. His grave was marked with a headstone that said, “A Corporal of the Great War. 43rd Bn. Canadian Inf. 12 October 1918.” Researchers concluded Ledingham was the only unidentified Canadian corporal killed in that area at that time.
“It was basically through a process of elimination that they identified him,” said McKay, who recently published aThis Sunday, two members of the Winnipeg-based Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada will travel to Almonte to officially notify Ledingham’s next-of-kin that he has been identified. Lt.-Col. Jon Baker and Chief Warrant Officer Jon Dawson will meet McKay and two siblings at the Almonte Legion.
George Ledingham, McKay’s great uncle, was born in Ballater, Scotland, and immigrated to Canada with his brother, Bill. They both joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
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