Pte Edward Attfield, 5th Btn AIF - missing in Cairo - was he murdered?

[AttfieldFamily]

The Attfield Family would like to thank all you kind people, especially Martin, who raised this topic and have finally brought this case to a satisfactory conclusion.  Of course, it is too late for his parents and his sister and brother-in-law, but we, as the extended family, are very pleased to have his name officially cleared and the mystery of his disappearance solved.

 

Thank you all,

 

Susan Morrison, on behalf of a group of "cousins" interested in family history.

[PPF]

Attfield name is also listed  on  CWGC memorial [Missing] in Jerusalem

 

https://old.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=181654617 

[Guest]

Hi All. I coordinate and run the Balnarring & District ANZAC Day service (on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria). A few weeks ago, I was contacted by the Manager of Unrecovered War Casualties - Army, in relation to PTE Attfield.

 

PTE Attfield's closest living relative, his great niece Bev Warren - who is an absolute character by the way, asked that Ned's medals and death certificate be presented as part of our ANZAC Day service. Of course I couldn't say no, so yesterday 101 years late, PTE Edward Attfield was officially awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal, the Victory Medal and the ANZAC Commemorative Medallion for having fought at Gallipoli. PTE Attfield's family was also presented with Ned's official Death Certificate. It was a moving moment and I would like to imagine that Ned is finally at peace. Congratulations and BZ to all involved in discovering the truth and bringing it to light.

 

Matt Keogh

CMDR, RAN

[melliget]

Hi Matt,

 

I had the honour of attending the service at Balnarring yesterday. Well done in running it - it was very moving, wasn't it, and seemingly well attended (luckily I'm tall and could see over the crowd). I managed to introduce myself to Beverly and her daughter in the quieter moments after the ceremony. Sorry we didn't meet.

 

I've worked on lots of cases but this has to be one of the most interesting and gratifying. Thanks must go to "Andrew P" on this forum, who made the connection with the grave of the unidentified Australian soldier in Cairo cemetery (from his previous research). Also to Rob Harris, National Politics Reporter for the Herald Sun, who brought Ned's story to life with his excellent three page article last Saturday and to Andrew Bernie and his team (Army) for investigating the case.

 

It was great to read on the CWGC site that, despite it not being a particularly safe place to visit these days, some family members did travel to Egypt to witness the rededication ceremony in Cairo War Memorial Cemetery.

 

https://www.cwgc.org/learn/news-and-events/news/2018/04/25/12/20/graves-of-two-australian-soldiers-identified-more-than-100-years-after-their-death-rededicated

 

Rest in peace, Ned.

 

Martin

 

Edited 27 April , 2018 by melliget

[madgarry]

Great work everyone involved, good to see an unknown finally honoured

[Guest]

[helpjpl]

I've followed this thread since it started in October 2014 and I'm so pleased for the relatives of Edward 'Ned' Attfield.

A big thank you to all involved in solving the mystery and finding his grave.

 

JP

[Andrew P]

Article from the Australian Army Newspaper regarding Pte Attfield.

Martin, I'm assuming you are the Victorian researcher mentioned in the article. Well done on this

Cheers

Attfield.pdf