[Antipodean Andy]

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.