Lost Aussies Found?

Kitty · Jun 1, 2008

An archaeological investigation has begun in France, on the believed site of a mass burial of over 400 Australian soldiers.

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Lost Aussies

Kyt · Jun 1, 2008

Another on the same story:

Mister-Info.com - Remains of WWI soldiers found in French mass grave

Grave at Fromelles unearths political minefield | theage.com.au

Nostalgair · Jun 1, 2008

Hi All,

This story has been peppering our national news each evening. It seems to be the result of years of research, predominantly by an 'amateur historian'.

Another bone found at Fromelles grave site - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Let's hope these lads are finally found.

Lest we forget.

Owen

Antipodean Andy · Jun 1, 2008

Unexploded shells may hamper grave dig - Breaking News - World - Breaking News

Antipodean Andy · Jun 10, 2008

Leave our old soldiers to lie in that rich earth - Opinion - smh.com.au

With the excavation of Australian war dead under way in Fromelles, it is timely to recall Rupert Brooke's poem, The Soldier. Probably one of the most recited pieces from World War I, it begins: "If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of a foreign field that is for ever England." Although Brooke himself died before ever reaching the battlefield, his patriotic words provided comfort to many of his countrymen facing the bleak future where their loved one had fallen in a foreign land.

In the history of warfare, World War I marked a new era. The scale of death was unprecedented and the immobility of the front meant that the living fought and died among the decomposing bodies of the already dead.

At Verdun, between February and December 1916, a battle that scarcely moved the front produced about 300,000 French and German dead and some 700,000 casualties. In a single day on the Somme at the start of July, 58,000 British troops were killed. The sheer volume of bodies constituted an enormous health risk. In periods of respite from battle, both sides buried the dead, their own and the enemy's. In the case of the mass grave under excavation at the Pheasant Wood site at Fromelles, the Germans, who were the victors in that battle, buried the bodies of the defeated British and Australian soldiers.

In World War I, the common soldier was recognised and remembered in a manner previously unknown. In earlier times, the footslogger appeared only in army size and body count statistics. By contrast, the name, rank and regiment of the first and last soldier killed in the British Expeditionary Forces is recorded. The latter, part of a Canadian unit, may be the unluckiest man in the war having been killed two minutes before the armistice was declared.

The US academic Thomas Laqueur has coined the term "hyper-nominalism" to describe World War I's compulsion to name the ordinary soldier. Where there was an identifiable body, it was placed in an individually-named grave and where there was no body, the dead were listed by individual name. The same obsession was carried back to the soldiers' home towns and villages. Masons and monumental sculptors could barely meet the demand.

In 1920, the creation of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, including a set of remains of an unidentified soldier, provided a physical body that could stand in for Britain and the Dominions where the absent individual bodies had been left in French and Belgian cemeteries.
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Antipodean Andy · Jun 10, 2008

Remains of Australian soldiers killed in World War I battle found in France - International Herald Tribune

PARIS: The remains of Australian soldiers who fought in a 1916 World War I battle are among the bodies recently found in a mass grave in northern France, Australian military officials said Monday.

Archeologists excavating a small field at Fromelles have uncovered "Rising Sun" badges worn by Australian soldiers, said Maj. Gen. Mike O'Brien, who is leading the excavation.

Previous clues, such as British bayonets and other Commonwealth military equipment, had narrowed down nationalities of the buried to British, Australian, or both.

The field is believed to be the long-searched-for burial site of about 400 British and Australian soldiers killed by German forces during one of Australia's bloodiest World War I battles.

The Battle of Fromelles, which took place July 19-20, 1916, was the first major battle in France in which Australians were involved.

No equivalent evidence has been found so far indicating that the bodies of British soldiers were among those discovered.

Australian Tim Whitford, who believes his great-uncle Harry is among those buried, traveled to France to watch the dig, which started May 28.

"This to me means repaying a debt that is 90 years old," he said. "But it's not only important to me and my family, it's important to the whole nation."

As he heard the news confirming that some of the bodies were Australian, he was standing at the site with a British national, another presumed descendant of an Australian soldier.

"It's a very emotional time when you're standing there and you know your people are in there, and you just needed that little bit of proof," Whitford said by telephone.

According to Whitford, who was part of a team that initially encouraged the government to dig in Fromelles based on clues from aerial photographs, descendants have already started dropping by the site to pay their respects.

"I think this will soon become a place of pilgrimage," he said.

More than 30 bodies have been unearthed so far. O'Brien estimates that several hundred bodies still lie under the soil.

The excavation will continue until June 13, when the site will be returned to its previous state, skeletons included. O'Brien said no decisions have been made yet on whether the French, British and Australian governments will do anything further with the site — such as acquire it from its current private owner or run DNA tests on the bodies to check for matches with descendants.
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Antipodean Andy · Jun 11, 2008

Laser to look at Diggers' mass grave | NEWS.com.au

ARCHAEOLOGISTS hope a high-tech laser scanner will show details of the final resting place of Australian soldiers buried in a mass grave in northern France.

After nearly three weeks of using shovels and small hand-held tools to search for human remains in a field on the outskirts of Fromelles, the archaeologists have turned to the laser scanner to pinpoint where each body lies.

About 170 Australian World War I soldiers and more than 300 British are believed to have been buried by German troops in pits after the disastrous Battle of Fromelles in July 1916, where nearly 2000 Australians died in 24 hours.

So far, the remains of about 30 soldiers have been found, as well as two Australian rising sun collar badges.

Work at the site is due to wrap up tomorrow, with a short memorial service attended by the archaeologists, Australian army representatives, local officials and villagers.

Tony Pollard, the archaeologist leading the dig, said data recorded by the laser scanner would help produce a three-dimensional image of the human remains and other objects in the eight pits.

While he has used the scanner before to map the intricate network of tunnels and galleys in a British dugout buried under 15m of clay in Belgium, it is the first time the device has been used to examine a mass grave.

"The laser will give us a record of everything it sees, even down to the smallest objects, so we can use the information to generate an overall picture," Dr Pollard said.

"We have partially exposed skeletons at the bottom of the trenches and the laser scanner will record and pinpoint in detail each skeleton and their arrangement with each other.

"It will allow us to revisit the site in a virtual fashion and, obviously, it will be helpful to present to people who haven't visited the site."

The images will not be released publicly, but could form part of the archaeologists' report on their excavation work that will be handed to Australian officials.

No human remains have been removed during the excavation work at the site, which could contain up to 400 bodies.

Dr Pollard said that while his team had been able to confirm skeletal remains of 30 people, many more were buried there.

"I am not going to give a figure at the moment but these pits are very tightly packed with human bodies," he said.

"There are a lot of men buried in this field and, certainly, a lot more than 30."
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Nostalgair · Jun 11, 2008

Thanks for the post Andy.

Let's hope those living and passed will find some peace in these events.

Regards,

Owen

Antipodean Andy · Jun 12, 2008

Howard visits diggers' mass grave | NEWS.com.au

FORMER prime minister John Howard has made a surprise visit to the excavation site of a mass grave containing Australian soldiers in northern France.

Mr Howard and his wife Janette, who have been holidaying in Britain and Europe, spent about an hour yesterday touring the site on the outskirts of Fromelles where archaeologists have been searching for human remains.

The archaeologist leading the project, Dr Tony Pollard, said Mr Howard, whose grandfather and father fought on the Western Front in World War I, was shown a series of eight pits dug by German troops in July 1916 to bury Australian and British soldiers killed in the notorious Battle of Fromelles.

"I showed him around all the pits and he was moved by what he saw," Dr Pollard said. "He was very interested in what was happening and thanked us for our work."

Dr Pollard and his team of archaeologists have spent the past three weeks carrying out a delicate excavation of the pits where they have found the remains of at least 30 people.

They have also unearthed two Australian Rising Sun badges worn by Australian troops during WWI as well as buttons from British Army uniforms.

The dig began after Melbourne schoolteacher Lambis Englezos spent years tracing the exact location of the pits, which have remained undisturbed and unmarked for more than 90 years.

About 170 Australian soldiers and around 300 British soldiers are believed to be buried at the site. Work at the site is due to wrap up today, with the Australian and British government officials yet to decide whether the remains found will be reburied at a future date.
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Nostalgair · Jun 12, 2008

Hi All,

Here's some more news related to the search.

Buttons prove British soldiers buried with diggers: Defence - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Cheers

Owen

Antipodean Andy · Jun 13, 2008

The Australian school teacher who did the research and finally pinpointed the exact location of the grave should be recognised for his efforts. I know he probably won't want to be but...

Imagine the turmoil that land has seen yet the men lay undisturbed. Such incredible history being continually discovered.

Pathfinder · Jun 13, 2008

I agree Andy. They will probably give the credit to that "amatuer historian".

Kyt · Jul 31, 2008

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | WWI grave troops to be reburied

The remains of British and Australian troops killed in WWI are to be taken from a French mass grave and reburied in individual plots at a new cemetery.

The bodies of up to 400 soldiers found at the grave in north-east France in May will be reburied as close as possible to where they were found.

The men will be given full military honours to commemorate their bravery.

They died in the Battle of Fromelles in July 1916, thought to be one of the bloodiest for Australian troops in WWI.

It took place over 19 and 20 July 1916 - 5,533 Australian soldiers and 1,547 British soldiers were killed.

'Ultimate sacrifice'

It had been intended to divert German troops from the Battle of the Somme, which was raging 50 miles to the south.

Poor planning meant the mission failed and it soured relations between many Australians and their British commanders.

Veterans Minister Derek Twigg said: "It is right and proper that those brave men who lost their lives at Fromelles are buried with the honour and dignity befitting their ultimate sacrifice.

"The new cemetery will be a lasting tribute to their bravery and a place of pilgrimage for families who lost a relative in the battle. It will ensure the memory of their actions lives on for future generations."

The mass grave by Pheasant Wood on the edge of Fromelles was discovered by an amateur Australian historian and later confirmed by a team of archaeologists from Glasgow University on behalf of the Australian Government.

The exhumation and reinterment will be carried out under the auspices of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

A timing for recovering the remains is expected to be announced later in the year.
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Kyt · Apr 20, 2009

BBC NEWS | England | Berkshire | DNA scheme to identify WWI dead

Hundreds of unnamed soldiers from World War One could be identified using DNA tests after their bodies were found in several mass graves in northern France.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, based in Berkshire, plans to exhume and identify about 400 soldiers killed at the Battle of Fromelles in July 1916.

About 1,700 British servicemen and more than 5,500 Australian soldiers lost their lives in the two-day battle.

The excavation project is due to begin next month.

The website www.fromelles.org will go live in the next few days while Fromelles Descendant Search with details on the dead Australian soldiers is already active.

'Not at peace'

In the aftermath of the battle, the dead Allied soldiers were buried by their German counterparts. The graves were discovered in 2008.

Peter Francis of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission said: "Most of the identifying features were removed from the bodies by German troops, in order to give them information on the units they were fighting against."

The commission aims to identify the bodies and give them a military burial at a new site near Fromelles.

As part of the identification process, experts will take DNA samples from the bodies and try to find a family link with the help of the soldiers' relatives.

Mr Francis said: "When we speak to relatives, the phrase we keep encountering is that they are not at peace.

"With the website, we're hoping to put that right."
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Antipodean Andy · Apr 20, 2009

A lot of work but great to see it being done.

liverpool annie · Apr 24, 2009

Starting to name the British now ....

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Tayside and Central | MoD names WWI mass grave troops

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