First World War Canadian serviceman reburied in ceremony at Loos British Cemetery Extension

Members of The North Saskatchewan Regiment bearing the coffin (Photo: Eric Compernolle BEM).

On 9 July 2026, a burial service for Private Albert (Bert) Henry Detmold, 107th Overseas Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force took place in the CWGC Loos British Cemetery Extension, France.

He was killed in action, aged 33, during the assault on Hill 70, alongside more than 1,800 fellow Canadians in August 1917 and originally listed as missing, his name inscribed on the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.

The newly inscribed headstone (Photo: Eric Compernolle BEM), Private Albert Henry Detmold (Alleyn’s School, London, England).

In August 2020, remains were discovered during construction work for the new Lens Hospital. Recovered artifacts with research by the CWGC, the Canadian Museum of History, the Canadian Forces Forensic Odontology Response Team and DNA profiling helped the Canadian Casualty Identification Review Board identify the remains as those of Private Albert (Bert) Henry Detmold in December 2025.

He is the first Canadian soldier to be buried in the Loos New British Cemetery Extension and his Reburial Service involved members of The North Saskatchewan Regiment from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Also attending were family members, as well as representatives from the Government of Canada, the local French government, and the Canadian Armed Forces.

Read his story here on For Evermore

Liana Walters, great niece of Pte. Albert Henry Detmold, holds the folded Canadian flag from his coffin (Photo: Eric Compernolle BEM).