9 more Australians identified at Fromelles

[spof]

The ongoing research has returned another 9 names of men who will have their headstones change from unknown to:

 

Captain Kenneth Malcolm Mortimer 29th Battalion Australian Imperial Force (AIF)

2825 Corporal Alfred Thompson 55th Battalion AIF

191 Private Henry Bell 29th Battalion AIF

1218 Private William Edwin Boyce 32nd Battalion AIF

889 Private Henry Gardner 30th Battalion AIF

1011 Private Alexander McCulloch 32nd Battalion AIF

314 Private Stanley Richard O’Donnell 29th Battalion AIF

3983 Private James Robert Smith 31st Battalion AIF

795 Private Claude Yeo 30th Battalion AIF.

 

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/nine-australian-soldiers-identified-102-years-after-wwi-battle

 

 

That means that an amazing 159 out of 250 men now have known burials.

 

As expected, it is all 8th and 14th Brigade men. Still no sign of 15th Brigade nor the British 62nd Division.

[Buffnut453]

That's fantastic news.  It's always a good day when we can replace "Known Only to God" with a soldier's name. 

[micks]

Yes, it's great news.

It is good to hear that there is still a commitment to identify these men.

 

[Fattyowls]

Thanks Glen, good news.

 

Pete.

 

[SiegeGunner]

Very happy to hear than another nine have been identified.

 

Mick

[spof]

Remember when it ll started and how gack then e would have been happy to have a total of 9 identified?

[Marilyne]

What is amazing is that so much hard work is put in looking after that last straw to actually identify the men... hard work and certainly a lot of money. 

this is not so "selbsverständlich" (there's no English word coming to mind as to express just this) as it seems ... 

 

So very good news indeed, I'll make sure to visit them next time I'm around. 

 

Marilyne

 

[SiegeGunner]

On 4/10/2018 at 12:02, spof said:

Remember when it all started and how back then we would have been happy to have a total of 9 identified?

 

I remember it very well, Glen, and the achievements since that time have been nothing short of amazing ... a great tribute to all those involved in the painstaking research effort that has resulted in the identification of so many of the 250 men.  And with viable DNA available for something like 60 of the 90 sets of unidentified remains, there will hopefully be further successes still to come in the future.  

 

As regards British bodies, I never expected any to turn up at Pheasant Wood, as they were over on the other side of the battlefield, engaged with a different German regiment, and the trench railway (Förderbahn) between the sectors was badly damaged and out of use for a considerable length of time after the battle.  If any British remains are ever identified, I think they would have to be liaison officers or artillery forward observers attached to the Australians ... and I am not aware of any known to be missing and unaccounted for.

 

Mick