The remains of two tank crewmen who went missing in action in 1944 have finally been laid to rest with the help of the Windsor-based Coldstream Guards Regiment who attended the burial.

The Guardsmen (Gdsm) William Bayliss, aged 22, and Gdsm David Blyth, aged 25, were serving with the first (Armoured) Battalion The Coldstream Guards in Normandy when their tank was destroyed.

The remains were found by a farmer ploughing a field in the hamlet of La Marvindière, near St Charles-de-Percy, in Normandy.

The ground had not been disturbed since World War II, when a pair of Sherman tanks, operated by soldiers of the Guards Armoured Division, were destroyed there on August 4, 1944. A Coldstream Guards cap badge was found close by.

The remains of Gdsm Bayliss were identified after his nephew agreed to assist with DNA testing. Having found a positive DNA match to some of the remains, the rest were then tested and a further match was found to the son of Gdsm Blyth. 

Burial services for both soldiers, organised by the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), also known as the ‘MOD War Detectives’, were held at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) St Charles-de-Percy War Cemetery in France on September 19.

Rosie Barron, JCCC case lead said: “This has been a fascinating and complex case to research and it is very rewarding to have seen a positive result for the families of Gdsm Bayliss and Gdsm Blyth.

"Gdsm Bayliss was a young man with an exciting future ahead of him. He was recently married and had just discovered he was to become a father.

"Gdsm Blyth had a wife and young son who grew up not knowing what had happened to his father and spent nearly 50 years searching for answers.

The focus is often placed on the sacrifice made by soldiers such as Gdsm Bayliss and Gdsm Blyth, but this story also brings home the reality of life for those they left behind."

The services were attended by both families, including Gdsm Bayliss’ grandson, Dean Taylor and Peter Blyth, the son of Gdsm Blyth.

Mr Blyth said: "It is through the hard work and dedication of the JCCC War Detectives and their colleagues of the CWGC that have given me the privilege of being present today of the laying to rest of my Dad."

The services were attended by serving soldiers of The Coldstream Guards and were conducted by the Reverend Martin Robbins, Chaplain to 1st Battalion The Coldstream Guards.