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WWI soldier identified 109 years after death in Belgium
Corporal George Thomas Manning of the Suffolk Regiment, killed in Belgium in 1915, has been identified and will receive a full military funeral in spring 2026. Human remains found in 2019 were confirmed as Manning's through DNA testing in 2024, 109 years after his death. His family, including his wife and daughters, died never knowing his burial location.
Quick Facts
- Human remains found in ditch near Kemmel, Belgium
- DNA testing confirmed identity of Manning
- Full military funeral planned in Belgium
- Search for living descendants ongoing
- Brass badges with "Suffolk" inscription found with remains
Corporal George Thomas Manning of the Suffolk Regiment 2nd Battalion was killed in fighting near Ypres, Belgium on 9 March 1915, aged 34. His wife Florence Elizabeth Bayles and two daughters died without learning where he was buried. Manning's name was memorialised on the Menin Gate in Ypres, which honours 55,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers who died in the area with no known grave.
In 2019, human remains were discovered in a ditch during clearance work near Kemmel, Belgium. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission recovered the remains and transferred them to a mortuary in France. In 2024, the Ministry of Defence received a report identifying two brass badges bearing the word "Suffolk" found with the body. The MOD determined that only the 2nd Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment had ever been in that area of Belgium and that 26 soldiers from the unit remained unaccounted for.
MOD detective Alexia Clark built family trees of the 26 missing soldiers and contacted living relatives for DNA samples. After testing six candidates, a match was confirmed with Manning through a two-times great-nephew. Two additional relatives have since been located, including one in Australia. Clark stated: "I had been through six other men before I actually managed to get a match and prove that this particular man is George Thomas Manning."
Andrew Beal from Ipswich War Memorial noted that the research team had studied Manning's case approximately 10 years earlier. He observed that families of soldiers with no known grave often express deep distress at the inability to visit a physical burial site. "It probably was quite upsetting after the war [for Manning's family] to realise there was no grave and they couldn't find it," Beal said.
A full military funeral is planned for spring 2026 in Belgium, with Manning's remains to be interred in a cemetery alongside other Suffolk Regiment soldiers. The MOD and Ipswich War Memorial are actively seeking other descendants to attend the service. Manning was born in Ipswich in 1881 as one of nine siblings and married Florence Elizabeth Bayles in 1905.
Why This Matters
Identification of Manning restores a named grave and memorial location for a soldier previously listed among 55,000 unaccounted-for British and Commonwealth war dead at Ypres. The spring 2026 burial will provide Manning's descendants—living relatives in Australia and the UK—their first opportunity to visit a physical grave site, resolving a gap that existed for 109 years. The case demonstrates how DNA testing of archaeological remains enables family closure and proper military commemoration of previously unknown casualties; the MOD and Commonwealth War Graves Commission plan similar investigative work on 25 other soldiers from the same unit still unaccounted for.
Timeline & Sources
Jan 1, 1881
WireGeorge Thomas Manning born in Ipswich
Jan 1, 1905
WireManning marries Florence Elizabeth Bayles
Jan 1, 2024
WireMOD receives report confirming Suffolk Regiment badges with remains; detective Alexia Clark begins family tree research
Jan 1, 2024
WireDNA testing confirms identity as Corporal George Thomas Manning through two-times great-nephew match