Thread: Archeological Dig at Fromelles France

Kate · 27-05-2008, 11:11 PM

News has come through that they may have found human remains at the archeological dig at Fromelles.

The dig was started yesterday to find Australian, English soldiers killed in WWI. The dig has now been suspended so that they can assess the find to see if it is the Australian Diggers. It is wonderful that this discovery has been made within a day of the dig starting.

DNA will be done on the remains to identify them. There are at least 170 Australian Soldiers and around 400 British Soldiers buried there.

Relatives are hoping that the Australian remains will be re-buried in a proper cemetery with all their names recorded. It would probably be wonderful if they could be returned to Australia. It will give closure to many Australian families who lost relatives in the Battle of Fromelles.

German archives show that an order to retrieve and bury the bodies was issued on July 21, 1916, just two days after Australia lost 1791 men and another 5500 were wounded in the space of just 24 hours. The notes reveal that zeltbahn (huge canvas sheets) were to be used to transport the bodies to the burial pits but that they were not to be left behind.

The corpses represented a great risk. It was high summer, these men had to be buried to lower the risk of dysentery.

It is now a matter of waiting for results of the tests done on clothing and other remains to see if it is the Australians.

If the Australian Government do this for our soldiers it will put pressure on the British to do the same. It is going to be a massive undertaking.

27-05-2008, 11:11 PM	#1 (permalink)
Kate Advanced Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 312 Total Awards: 3	Archeological Dig at Fromelles France News has come through that they may have found human remains at the archeological dig at Fromelles. The dig was started yesterday to find Australian, English soldiers killed in WWI. The dig has now been suspended so that they can assess the find to see if it is the Australian Diggers. It is wonderful that this discovery has been made within a day of the dig starting. DNA will be done on the remains to identify them. There are at least 170 Australian Soldiers and around 400 British Soldiers buried there. Relatives are hoping that the Australian remains will be re-buried in a proper cemetery with all their names recorded. It would probably be wonderful if they could be returned to Australia. It will give closure to many Australian families who lost relatives in the Battle of Fromelles. German archives show that an order to retrieve and bury the bodies was issued on July 21, 1916, just two days after Australia lost 1791 men and another 5500 were wounded in the space of just 24 hours. The notes reveal that zeltbahn (huge canvas sheets) were to be used to transport the bodies to the burial pits but that they were not to be left behind. The corpses represented a great risk. It was high summer, these men had to be buried to lower the risk of dysentery. It is now a matter of waiting for results of the tests done on clothing and other remains to see if it is the Australians. If the Australian Government do this for our soldiers it will put pressure on the British to do the same. It is going to be a massive undertaking.