Ms Julie Minns

I thank the hon. Member for South West Devon (Rebecca Smith) for bringing forward this debate, and for her work on behalf of the all-party parliamentary group for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and commemoration. The Somme carries particular significance for north Cumbria because of the Lonsdale Pals, formerly the 11th Battalion of the Border Regiment. Raised by the 5th Earl of Lonsdale shortly after the outbreak of war, it was one of the earliest pals battalions authorised by the War Office. Men from Carlisle, Penrith, Workington, Whitehaven, Kendal and communities across Cumberland and Westmorland enlisted together. They were neighbours, workmates, fellow parishioners, but they trained together and went to war together. That bond gave the battalion a powerful identity, but it also meant that, when casualties came, entire communities shared the loss. It was my privilege to lay the wreath at the county memorial last weekend on behalf of all Cumbria’s MPs, who represent the former counties of Cumberland and Westmorland. On the opening day, the 11th Battalion attacked the Leipzig salient near Thiepval and suffered devastating casualties. Among those killed was Corporal Stephen Putland, who was born and lived in Carlisle. His name is recorded on the Upperby war memorial in Carlisle and on the Thiepval memorial to the missing. He was not the only man to be lost that day. John McDivitt, John Nevin, James Jardine Wilson and Company Sergeant Major John Sewell were also lost. On the battle’s final day, further tragedy struck the pals. The battalion attacked German positions at Redan ridge, and among those killed was Colour Sergeant Major Robert Lorimer. His body was never recovered, and his name, too, is commemorated at Thiepval. Another man whose story is particularly personal to me is Harry Wilfred Lowthian, who served with the Lonsdale Pals during the Somme. My research suggests he would have been a distant relative of mine, and also the brother or nephew of Ernest Lowthian, Labour’s first candidate for the parliamentary seat of Carlisle. Earlier this year, I had the privilege of visiting France and Belgium with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. I visited Thiepval and several other sites, including Serre Road cemetery No. 2, which deserves a particular mention. It is the largest cemetery on the Somme battlefields, and standing among its rows of headstones is a powerful reminder of the immense loss in that battle. The visit also gave me a much deeper appreciation of the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which cares for 1.7 million Commonwealth service personnel—not their graves, but the personnel—who died in battle. It maintains graves, cemeteries and memorials at more than 23,000 locations in over 150 countries. I was particularly struck by the work of the commission’s recovery unit in recovering and identifying those still being discovered on battlefields today, more than a century later. The team carefully excavate, record remains, examine personal possessions and match them with military records, battalion diaries and wartime maps. Matching that with DNA can often establish the soldier’s identity over 100 years later. It is painstaking but vital work. As we mark 110 years since the Somme, we remember Corporal Stephen Putland, Robert Lorimer, Harry Wilfred Lowthian and the men of the Lonsdale Pals. We remember all those from across Cumbria, across the United Kingdom and throughout the Commonwealth, and our allies, who served and sacrificed. Their names live on in memorials and family histories, and through the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It is our duty to ensure that their stories continue to be told and that their sacrifice is never diminished by the passage of time.