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Grave of Dumbarton WWII soldier rededicated in France
Private William Falconer, born in 1911, served with both the 1st and 2nd battalions of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.
He was recalled to the army at the outbreak of the Second World War and was attached to No. 13 Docks Labour Company.
Pte Falconer died on June 14, 1940, aged 28, while serving with the 4th Company Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps.
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The exact details of his death are unclear, but he is thought to have died of severe burns after a road traffic accident.
He left behind a widow and a young daughter.
Pte Falconer is one of four British servicemen who died during World War Two in France who have now been rededicated, more than 85 years after their deaths, after their graves were identified.
The services for Private Falconer, Gunner Joseph Humphries, Signalman Edmund Roberts, and Major Richard White-Cooper were held at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Le Grand-Lucé War Cemetery near Le Mans in France.
The graves were identified after John Hawthorn, the husband of Signalman Roberts' granddaughter, submitted a case to the CWGC hoping to identify his final resting place.
This led to extensive research and all four graves were identified.
Mr Hawthorn said: "Words are not adequate to express the emotions I had when I got the email from Rosie Barron, telling me that the JCCC were happy to confirm they recognise Sig Edmund Roberts is buried in the CWGC cemetery at Le Grand Luce, France.
"We are eternally grateful to the tireless work of CWGC and the JCCC, especially Rosie for all she has done.'
The services were organised by the Ministry of Defence's Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), also known as the 'War Detectives'.
The CWGC has replaced the headstones over the graves and will care for them in perpetuity.
Polly Brewster, commemorations case officer at the CWGC, said: "It has been an honour to have been a part of the identification process for these four men, and to have helped their families in their choices for their Commission headstones.
"We owe particular gratitude to the family of Signalman Roberts because without his dedicated research, this would not have been possible.
"It also feels all the more poignant knowing that this rededication ceremony means all casualties at Le Grand-Lucé have now been identified, so can be commemorated by name at their final resting place."
