Two young World War 2 tank crewmen, Guardsman William Bayliss and Guardsman David Blyth, who went missing in Normandy in 1944, have finally been laid to rest in an emotional ceremony. The heartfelt occasion, organised by the Ministry of Defence’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), paid tribute to their sacrifice and brought closure to their families after nearly eight decades of uncertainty.
Guardsman William Bayliss, aged 22, and Guardsman David Blyth, aged 25, were serving with the 1st (Armoured) Battalion The Coldstream Guards in Normandy when their tank was tragically destroyed. Their remains were discovered by a farmer ploughing a field in the hamlet of La Marvindière, near St Charles-de-Percy, in Normandy. Remarkably, the ground had remained untouched since World War 2 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 also found nearby.
