Work has started on the new cemetery at Fromelles, in northern France, which will provide a final resting place for around 400 British and Australian soldiers.
The troops died during the Battle of Fromelles in July 1916, with the bodies buried in a number of pits by the German army in the hours after the battle.
A team of archaeologists are currently extracting the bodies and countless items of clothing and equipment and it is hoped that DNA techniques will enable as many of the soldiers as possible to be named and given an individual headstone.
Families who believe their relatives may have lost their lives at Fromelles are urged to check the lists of casualties at www.fromelles.org.
Read Also in the GeneaNet Blog:
– WWI Graves of UK, Australian Soldiers Excavated
– The U.K. Ministry of Defence Names WWI Mass Grave Troops
– Aussie who Found WWI Mass Grave Banned
– Plans for First War Cemetery to be Built in Fifty Years Made Public
– Fromelles War Graves to be Excavated
– The Names of 191 Australian World War I Soldiers Buried in Fromelles, France, have been Released
– 20 Million Cards Concerning World War I Soldiers Discovered
– The Bodies Of Australian And British Soldiers Buried In A Mass Grave In Northern France During World War I Are To Be DNA Tested
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