Thread: Lost Aussies Found?

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

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.

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."

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