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263050
Sgt. Raynard Cockell
British Army 8th Btn. Border Regiment
from:Ashford
(d.7th Jun 1917)
My third-great-uncle Raynard Cockell was a police officer in Ashford before joining the army. Initially, he was with the 3rd East Kent Regiment before moving onto the 8th Battalion, Border Regiment.
Whilst in an enemy trench during the 3rd Battle of Messines, he and 4 others where hit by shell fire and all died instantly. Their bodies were buried on the Messines Ridge in Belgium, any further attempt to recover the body properly failing due to being unable to locate his body because of continuing enemy shellfire.
His name appears on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial in Ypres, Belgium.