He may be gone, but Queen Elizabeth's long-lost uncle, who went missing while serving in the military during World War I, is not forgotten. Captain Fergus Bowes-Lyon is still very much on the Queen's mind, and she recently revealed she was determined to find out where he fell when he was killed while fighting, so that the royal family could reclaim his remains.
Bowes-Lyon was the Queen's mother's brother. In 1915, he was killed while leading a 100-man charge against German forces during the Battle of Loos in northern France — but his body was never recovered. Up until now, Queen Elizabeth has never spoken about her uncle's disappearance, but that all changed when she recently toured the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre in Gloucestershire, where she honored a team of military researchers who located Bowes-Lyon's grave in France.
"Well yes, I think some of their work led to the discovery of where my mother's brother fell," the Queen reportedly told JCCC officials.
The team she was referencing included seven people who are trying to help British families find the remains of family members killed in wars reaching as far back as WWI. They're currently handling 60 cases and were able to find Bowes-Lyon thanks to Elizabeth's grandson James Voicey-Cecil, her second cousin Prince Charles, and historian Christopher Bailey, all of whom did a bit of primary detective work prior to turning over the case to the team of experts.
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It's amazing to think the royal family carried this pain with them for 100 years and yet the Queen was able to keep from discussing it. We've become a society that over-shares in every way possible, and it's nice to think the royals took it upon themselves to track down Bowes-Lyon before relying on outside help to finish the job. With hope, all of the families eagerly awaiting news about their loved ones will get the same results.
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