World War I soldier identified as
Private George Richard Storey
- World War I - Battle of
Polygon Wood - Private John Hunter
-
Sergeant George Calder -
Wednesday - 13
August 2008 -
MINSCIENCEANDPERSONNEL105/08
Minister for Defence Science and
Personnel, the Hon. Warren Snowdon MP,
today confirmed that an Australian World
War I soldier recovered from a lost
grave in Belgium in 2006 has been
identified as Private George Richard
Storey.
“It is with great pleasure that we are
now able to confirm the name of George
Storey, and have notified his family of
the final resting place of their brave
relative killed during the Battle of
Polygon Wood in September 1917, so far
from home,” said Mr Snowdon.
Private Storey’s remains, along with
those of Private John Hunter, Sergeant
George Calder and two other unidentified
Australian soldiers, were discovered
during excavations near Westhoek,
Belgium two years ago.
“While very good research work produced
a list of seven possible names for the
men, DNA matching techniques were only
able to confirm the identity of two of
the five prior to the re-burial ceremony
with full military honours last year,”
said Mr Snowdon.
Confirmation of George Storey’s
identification was made using DNA
together with compelling historical
research.
“It has been a long, arduous process,
but now Private Storey’s place of burial
is known to his country and most
importantly his family. Plans are
underway to replace the current
headstone at his grave from ‘known unto
God’ to ‘Private George Richard
Storey’”.
A small, informal ceremony will be held
in Belgium to mark the occasion and it
is hoped that representatives of the
Storey family will be in attendance.
Private Storey was born in London,
England but was working as a farm hand
in Western Australia when he enlisted on
31 March 1916 as a 20 year-old.
As part of 5th reinforcement, he was
posted to the 51st Battalion and
embarked for Europe on 20 September 1916
where he joined his unit on 19 December.
He was wounded on 9 June 1917 but
recovered in time to rejoin his unit on
27 August 1917 and participate in the
attack on Polygon Wood.
He was killed in action on 30 September
1917.
His brother, Jack Storey, survived the
war and returned to Australia in January
1918.
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