Fromelles Diggers may not be identified
Thursday - 30 May 2008 - Australian
THE names of most of the Australian war
dead lying in an apparent mass grave in
northern France may never be known, say
historians dedicated to solving the
mystery of Fromelles.
Cautioning against raised expectations
among relatives of the 170 missing
Diggers whose remains were unaccounted
for after the bloody 1916 battle,
Fromelles researcher Andrew Pittaway
said it might be better to leave the men
where they lay if only a handful could
be named.
The early indications were the Fromelles
men found by British archeologists this
week were buried side by side, but if
their bodies had been carelessly heaped
into the burial pit, the chances of
identifying individuals were slim.
"If they were all thrown in together
then it would make identification nigh
on impossible," Mr Pittaway said. "From
all reports lime was put on the bodies,
which might have destroyed the clothing
and other identifiable material."
He said if there was little chance of
identifying more than a few of the men,
authorities should consider leaving the
grave undisturbed and marking it with a
single memorial.
The discovery of the likely mass grave
site at Fromelles came as a relief for
Mr Pittaway and his fellow amateur
historians dedicated to commemorating
the Diggers whose fate has been unknown
since the battle of July 19-20, 1916.
Nearly 2000 Australian troops were
killed, and double that number wounded
in what is still the army's greatest
single disaster.
The coalition of researchers have
created a website with the names of all
the missing Fromelles men, and are
encouraging descendants to submit
details of their lost soldier kin. The
information will be handed to the Army
History Unit.
According to reports from the dig site
yesterday, an arm and hand have been
unearthed, prompting work to be wound
back to a slower, more deliberate
effort. Rain further slowed progress
when digging resumed last night,
Australian time, however the team of 15
archeologists expressed confidence they
were close to unearthing more bones.
Kevin Rudd said it was important to
handle the troops' remains "very
sensitively".
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