Een nieuwe grafsteen voor Lance Corporal William Voice MM

Rededication Service for Lance Corporal William Voice MM - Zillebeke - 28/04/2026

On Tuesday 28 April 2026, at 10:30 a.m., a ceremony was held at the British Cemetery Bedford House Cemetery in Zillebeke. Lance Corporal William Voice MM was given a new gravestone bearing his name, thanks to research that proved he was indeed buried there.

The service was conducted by Reverend Cikky Day CF, Chaplain to 22 & 26 Royal Engineers.

William Voice was born in Horsham, Sussex in 1886, and baptised on 27 June that year. He was the only child of William Voice - a carpenter and his wife Ann. William completed his schooling and followed his father into the carpentry trade.

On 1 January 1908 William married Agnes Ethel Greer in Portslade by Sea, and later that year their first child - a son called Ronald was born. Ronald was followed by two daughters - Gladys born in 1910, and Christabel, born in 1913.

William joined the army on 18 June 1916 - although conscription had begun in 1916, as a father over 30 William would not have been amongst the first to be conscripted, and so it is possible that he was a volunteer. Unfortuntaley his service record not survived to tell us anything about his army career, but on 19 June 1917 he was awarded the Military Medal.

In late July 1917, the 8th Battalion of the Queens Royal West Surrey Regiment were in trenches in the area of Klein Zillebeke. They were suffering repeated shelling, and taking substantial casualties. Over the three day period 30 July - 1 August the casualties were:

Officers - 3 killed, 9 wounded
Other Ranks - 32 killes, 156 wounded and 105 missing.

William was one those killed or missing that day, and following the way when his remains could not be identified his name was placed on the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing in Ypres.

In the summer of 1921 the remains of an unknown British solider, the winner of a military medal, and a member of the Queens Royal West Surrey Regiment were recovered at Klein Zillebeke. At the time it was impossible to identify him, and so he was buried at Beford House Cemetery as an unknown soldier. Recently research has allowed to connect these remains with the last movements of William Voice, identifying his final resting place. On 28/04/2026 his grave has been rededicated accordingly.