Battle of Fromelles - Mass Graves and New Cemetery

Mass Graves and New Cemetery

The bodies of Allied soldiers killed in the area re-taken by the Germans were buried in mass graves shortly after the battle. They were transported to sites behind German lines and buried in pits. Most of these pits were discovered by official post-war burial campaigns during the 1920s, which resulted in their re-interral in Imperial War Graves Commission (later known as the Commonwealth War Graves Commission; CWGC) cemeteries. The V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial, two kilometres northwest of Fromelles, where 400 unidentified AIF personnel killed in the battle are buried, is one such cemetery; it is the only large-scale, entirely Australian cemetery in France. The remains of those who fell in no man's land lay there until after the Armistice more than two years later. By that time largely unidentifiable, they were collected and buried in the V.C. Corner British cemetery

Towards the end of the twentieth century speculation arose regarding the existence of an unmarked and forgotten mass grave near Fromelles, containing the remains of Allied soldiers killed during the battle and subsequently buried by the Germans.

Research by an Australian amateur historian, Lambis Englezos, identified a site at 50°36′36.36″N 2°51′17.10″E / 50.6101°N 2.85475°E / 50.6101; 2.85475, in a field at the edge of a small wood on the outskirts of Fromelles ("le bois au fond du village", called by the Germans "Fasanenwäldchen", this latter translated after the war by Bean accurately as "Pheasant Copse" and recently less so by the CWGC as "Pheasant Wood"; it has no particular local name). Bodies were transported there by German soldiers on a narrow gauge trench railway on 22 July 1916, before being buried in eight pits measuring approximately 10 metres long, 2.2 metres wide and five metres deep. Englezos believed that these grave pits had not been discovered during the official post-war burial campaigns.

In 2007, a non-invasive geophysical survey, commissioned by the Australian government, was conducted by Glasgow University Archaeological Research Department (GUARD). The survey gave readings consistent with pits containing the remains of hundreds of soldiers. A subsequent metal detector survey led to the discovery of Australian Army artefacts at the site.

On 25 May 2008, Australian defence personnel minister Warren Snowdon said there was no doubt that bodies of Australian soldiers were buried there. That same day, an archaeological team from GUARD began an exploratory dig at the site. The first conclusive evidence of human remains was discovered on 29 May. Six burial pits were excavated and human skeletal remains were found in five of them. Only 20% of the area of the pits was exposed, to minimise disturbance of the remains. Numerous small artefacts, such as uniform badges and buttons, were recovered, confirming that the bodies were Australian and British. It was estimated that several hundred soldiers had been buried at the site. First World War historian Peter Barton and military archaeologist Dr Tony Pollard have described the importance of the find and how the excavation work will be done in video footage of excavation.

It was announced on 31 July 2008 that all human remains would be exhumed from the mass burial pits and re-buried with full military honours in individual plots at a new war cemetery, situated as close as possible to where the soldiers were found. Exhumation and re-interment will be carried out under the auspices of the CWGC.

In April 2009 it was announced that DNA samples would be taken from the remains to increase the chances of identification. The original burial location was unsuitable for a permanent cemetery because of regular flooding, and difficulty of access for visitors. The site for the new permanent CWGC cemetery was selected in late 2008 and is located approximately 120 metres from where the bodies were found. It will be very similar in appearance to other CWGC war cemeteries in France and will be built to the same standard.

Exhumation of bodies at the Bois Faisan site began in May 2009 and ended on 14 September, at which point the skeletal remains of 250 allied soldiers had been recovered, of whom 203 were subsequently identified as Australian. However, scientists at the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD) raised concerns that the timescales were too short to allow a satisfactory analysis of the degraded DNA samples, and that the number of identifications would be less than otherwise possible. During early phases of the excavation, there was criticism in the Australian press regarding Oxford Archaeology which led the excavation. A Belgian World War I archaeology expert who was seconded to the Fromelles project called their methods a "nightmare", and there were concerns expressed that work on protecting the site had not been undertaken, or had been undertaken only after damage had already been done. These reported concerns were rebutted.

Some people who visited the site were happy with the work. The UK minister said he was "grateful" to Oxford Archaeology, and his Australian counterpart thanked them.

Lambis Englezos spent a significant amount of time in Fromelles with Tony Pollard. Oxford Archaeology initially refused him access to the site, but after it was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald, they relented. Once he was allowed to become involved again, he provided assistance, particularly in briefing members of the project team on details of the battle and guiding them around its key sites. On 7 June 2009 Lambis was honoured by the Australian government, when he was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), in the General Division. His citation read: "For service to the community through research and advocacy roles relating to Australian soldiers of the Great War buried in Fromelles, France".

By the end of January 2010, about 70% of the work on the new cemetery (Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery) had been completed. On 30 January 2010, the first body was re-interred with full military honours. All remaining bodies are to be re-interred in individual burial ceremonies during February 2010 by members of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (Britain) and the Australian Army.

On 16 March 2010 it was reported that the first 75 lost Australian soldiers at Fromelles were positively identified using DNA.