Fallen WW2 soldier's body identified 81 years on

A fallen World War Two soldier has been commemorated after his body was identified 81 years after his death.

L/Cpl Ronald Smirthwaite, who was born in Sheffield, was killed in the Netherlands in 1945 while fighting with the Hallamshire Batallion and buried in an unmarked grave.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Smirthwaite's identity had been confirmed after "extensive research" and the grave, in Jonkerbos War Cemetery, in the Dutch city of Nijmegen, had been marked with his name at a special service.

MoD caseworker Tracey Bowers said L/Cpl Smirthwaite was a "proud Yorkshireman whose life had been cut short in the final months" of the conflict.

She added: "This rededication service restores his identity, recognises his Yorkshire roots and ensures that future generations understand his ultimate sacrifice."

The MoD said the soldier had joined the Army in May 1944, and was initially employed as a blacksmith's striker, an occupation described as providing the muscle to the blacksmith's skilled work.

The department said records from the Hallamshire Battalion described a fierce engagement on 22 February 1945, after which Smirthwaite was reported missing and presumed killed in action.

It later emerged he had been captured alive but seriously wounded and was then lost while attempting to escape. He was aged 22 at the time of his death.

His body had been recovered and buried before being reburied as an unknown soldier.

Polly Brewster, from the Commenwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), the fallen soldier's sacrifice would "not be forgotten".

She added: "Eighty-one years after he fell, and after decades of uncertainty for his family and loved ones, it feels deeply poignant to be able to commemorate him at the site of his grave with a new, named headstone."

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