Thread: WW1 mass grave I/D .

Salute ,, must have been painstaking work ,well done , and RIP


The identities of more than 200 British and Australian soldiers buried in several mass graves in northern France during World War One are expected to be revealed this week. Skip related content

A joint British/Australian Identification Board has been considering evidence in the last two weeks in an effort to identify 250 bodies found in Pheasant Wood, in Fromelles.

Both governments will announce on Thursday the names of those who have been identified.

The board has considered a variety of types of evidence, including anthropological, archaeological, historical and DNA information.

According to the Times newspaper, 86 British families with relatives thought to be in the grave have given DNA.

Families of identified soldiers will be contacted by the Australian Army and the Ministry of Defence initially by phone and then by a follow-up letter, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) said on its website.

Relatives of those not identified will be invited to continue to take part in the project over the next four years.

The battle of Fromelles, in July 1916, saw the 5th Australian Division suffer 5,533 casualties -- the bloodiest day of fighting in the country's history -- while the 61st British Division suffered 1,547 casualties.