Pheasant Wood, Fromelles.

Discussion in 'Prewar' started by Capt.Sensible, Mar 26, 2009.

  1. Marco

    Marco Senior Member

    Some pics from 5/2/2010

    [​IMG]

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    [​IMG]
     
  2. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    Thanks for the photos Marco!

    Cheers

    Geoff
     
  3. geoff501

    geoff501 Achtung Feind hört mit

  4. Capt.Sensible

    Capt.Sensible Well-Known Member

  5. Marco

    Marco Senior Member

    Thanks for that link Geoff. Been to some of the funerals and will revisit later this year when de named gravemakers have been placed.
     
  6. Capt.Sensible

    Capt.Sensible Well-Known Member

    'On the 17th March the Australian Federal Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Alan Griffin, confirmed that 75 of the 250 soldiers recovered by Oxford Archaeology from mass graves at Fromelles had been identified. This is a very significant milestone in the investigation at Pheasant Wood, near the site of the First World War Battle of Fromelles, which is the first large-scale attempt to exhume and identify individuals of the Great War since the work of the official burial parties in the 1920s. '
    http://thehumanjourney.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=536&Itemid=40
    This is just the first tranche of remains reviwed by the Board, so more are likely to be formally identified in the coming weeks.

    CS
    :poppy:
     
  7. geoff501

    geoff501 Achtung Feind hört mit

    The usual misquote at the foot of that page.

    "They Shall not grow old"
     
  8. Capt.Sensible

    Capt.Sensible Well-Known Member

    The usual misquote at the foot of that page.

    "They Shall not grow old"

    I think that it's the spirit that counts, not the spelling Geoff.

    H:D
     
  9. Mike L

    Mike L Very Senior Member

    Saw the newspaper and TV coverage of first burial. At least there is some wider interest in this excavation. Hope there is more publicity before the July final burial.

    They shall grow not old.....
     
  10. Capt.Sensible

    Capt.Sensible Well-Known Member

    Saw the newspaper and TV coverage of first burial. At least there is some wider interest in this excavation. Hope there is more publicity before the July final burial.

    They shall grow not old.....

    I'm sure there will be more publicity - the CWGC are quite switched on to the meedja, although the Aussie newspapers seem to have got the drop on them this time and were able to go to print with reactions from several families before CWGC had issued a full statement.
     
  11. geoff501

    geoff501 Achtung Feind hört mit

    I think that it's the spirit that counts, not the spelling Geoff.


    It matters to some.
     
  12. Capt.Sensible

    Capt.Sensible Well-Known Member

    'On 17 March 2010 the Australian and British governments announced the results of the first Fromelles Joint Identification Board. After analysing all of the available evidence – historical, anthropological, DNA and artefacts – 75 soldiers have been identified by name. The 75 identified all served with the Australian Army, with a further 128 soldiers also identified as having served with the Australian Army. 3 British soldiers were confirmed to be among the 250, leaving 44 soldiers currently unknown.
    A second Joint Identification Board will take place in May 2010 to consider samples that were not available for the March board. This will help ensure that as many soldiers as possible are identified before the 19 July 2010 event. Further Boards will take place yearly from 2011 until 2014 to analyse any new evidence that may be presented.'
    CWGC statement
     
  13. Capt.Sensible

    Capt.Sensible Well-Known Member

    ...and a statement from the Australian Ministry of Defence:
     

    Attached Files:

  14. geoff501

    geoff501 Achtung Feind hört mit

  15. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Excellent news Geoff....It must be an amazing feeling to find ones relatives after being missing for so long with all hope gone. One can only begin to imagine the emotions the relatives must feel and go through.

    Thanks for keeping us updated.
    Andy
     
  16. geoff501

    geoff501 Achtung Feind hört mit

    "
    The remains of 250 men were recovered from the unmarked mass grave at Pheasant Wood in Fromelles, 205 of them Australians. Apart from the 94 identified by name, 111 diggers have been identified only by their uniform.
    "

    Are the other 45 identified as British or have they just not been identified at all yet?
     
  17. Capt.Sensible

    Capt.Sensible Well-Known Member

    "
    The remains of 250 men were recovered from the unmarked mass grave at Pheasant Wood in Fromelles, 205 of them Australians. Apart from the 94 identified by name, 111 diggers have been identified only by their uniform.
    "

    Are the other 45 identified as British or have they just not been identified at all yet?

    Not yet identified as to nationality I think, Geoff.
     
  18. Capt.Sensible

    Capt.Sensible Well-Known Member

    Afternoon all,

    A new exhibition at the IWM is about to open:

    Remembering Fromelles
    '1 July 2010 - 30 January 2011
    A new exhibition revealing the story behind First World War graves excavated in 2009 and the creation of the Fromelles cemetery.'

    Imperial War Museum London > What's On > Special Exhibitions : Remembering Fromelles

    and a new book on the whole project is just about to be published by the CWGC:

    http://www.tommiesguides.co.uk/webstore/product.asp?numRecordPosition=1&P_ID=170022

    I have just had a look at the book and I think it is a very fine book indeed with some good photography and an account of how the fieldwork was undertaken, including the DNA analysis.

    CS

    :poppy:
     
  19. geoff501

    geoff501 Achtung Feind hört mit

  20. Capt.Sensible

    Capt.Sensible Well-Known Member

    This from the CWGC:

    'The dedication of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery, Fromelles, northern France, will take place on Monday 19 July 2010. During the dedication, an un-named soldier will be buried. He is the last of the 250 Australian and British soldiers found at the Pheasant Wood site to be laid to rest. '

    :: CWGC ::


    CS
    :poppy:
     

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