Jump to content
Free downloads from TNA ×
The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

DNA identification begins


Fedelmar

Recommended Posts

Minister for Defence Media Mail List

------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE HON. GREG COMBET MP

Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science

THE HON. ALAN GRIFFIN MP

Minister for Veterans' Affairs

Tuesday, 2 March 2010

027/2010

Identification of Fromelles fallen begins

A joint Australian/British Identification Board is now considering evidence in an attempt to identify the 250 soldiers recovered from the World War One mass grave at Fromelles, France.

Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, Greg Combet, and Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Alan Griffin, welcomed the commencement of this important process.

"The identification of the remains is an extremely complex process involving the review of anthropological, archaeological, historical and DNA information," Mr Combet said.

"The Joint Identification Board will seek to determine as many of the soldiers identities as possible. The Army will then notify registered relatives of identified soldiers."

"More than 1300 Australians soldiers died at Fromelles and have no known grave," Mr Griffin said.

"Almost all of the 250 sets of remains have yielded viable DNA samples.

"Nearly 600 DNA samples collected from descendants will be considered by the Joint Identification Board.

"A commemorative event to open the cemetery is scheduled for the 94th anniversary of the Battle of Fromelles on 19 July 2010. The battle was the bloodiest 24 hours in Australian history with 5,533 Australian soldiers killed, wounded or missing," Mr Griffin said.

The Board will be co-chaired by Major General Mike O'Brien (Australian Army) and Air Commodore Chris Bray (RAF). The Board will convene on 1 March 2010 at Australia House, London and will conclude on 12 March 2010. Planning is also underway for an additional board in late April or early May to consider samples that were not available for the March board.

People who believe their relative may be buried at Fromelles and have not already registered should do so at www.army.gov.au/fromelles or by calling 1800 019 090.

Media contacts:

Rod Hilton (Greg Combet): 02 6277 7620 or 0458 276 619

Sasha Nimmo (Alan Griffin): 02 6277 7820 or 0437 863 109

Defence Media Liaison: 02 6127 1999 or 0408 498 664

Link to comment
Share on other sites

JOINT ANNOUNCEMENT

Minister for Defence Media Mail List

------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE HON. GREG COMBET MP

Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science

THE HON. ALAN GRIFFIN MP

Minister for Veterans' Affairs

Tuesday, 2 March 2010

027/2010

Identification of Fromelles fallen begins

A joint Australian/British Identification Board is now considering evidence in an attempt to identify the 250 soldiers recovered from the World War One mass grave at Fromelles, France.

Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, Greg Combet, and Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Alan Griffin, welcomed the commencement of this important process.

"The identification of the remains is an extremely complex process involving the review of anthropological, archaeological, historical and DNA information," Mr Combet said.

"The Joint Identification Board will seek to determine as many of the soldiers identities as possible. The Army will then notify registered relatives of identified soldiers."

"More than 1300 Australians soldiers died at Fromelles and have no known grave," Mr Griffin said.

"Almost all of the 250 sets of remains have yielded viable DNA samples.

"Nearly 600 DNA samples collected from descendants will be considered by the Joint Identification Board.

"A commemorative event to open the cemetery is scheduled for the 94th anniversary of the Battle of Fromelles on 19 July 2010. The battle was the bloodiest 24 hours in Australian history with 5,533 Australian soldiers killed, wounded or missing," Mr Griffin said.

The Board will be co-chaired by Major General Mike O'Brien (Australian Army) and Air Commodore Chris Bray (RAF). The Board will convene on 1 March 2010 at Australia House, London and will conclude on 12 March 2010. Planning is also underway for an additional board in late April or early May to consider samples that were not available for the March board.

People who believe their relative may be buried at Fromelles and have not already registered should do so at www.army.gov.au/fromelles or by calling 1800 019 090.

Media contacts:

Rod Hilton (Greg Combet): 02 6277 7620 or 0458 276 619

Sasha Nimmo (Alan Griffin): 02 6277 7820 or 0437 863 109

Defence Media Liaison: 02 6127 1999 or 0408 498 664

________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for subscribing to the Ministerial media list

If you wish to unsubscribe go to http://152.91.28.130/unsubscribe.cfm

Enter your E-mail address, click the Submit button"

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...