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Last night I attended a WFA webinar about The Fromelles Project 2008-2020. It was presented by Professor Margaret Cox PhD who was Scientific Advisor for the project responsible for archaeology, anthropology and identification. It was utterly fascinating.
The project involved unearthing a mass grave from behind enemy lines at Fromelles. The Battle of Fromelles was a bit of a win for the Germans. A lot of Australians died during the battle and 250 of them were buried hastily afterwards, with little by way of identification.
By using four datasets, archaeological, anthropological, historical and genetic (DNA), the project tried to unravel the names of as many of the soldiers as they could. Afterwards, the Commonwealth Graves Commission opened a new cemetery with appropriate gravestones and unnecessary pomp and circumstance.
Apologies for the floating head in the photo above. Professor Cox included an overlapping image of King Charles and other dignitaries who didn’t really have anything to do with Fromelles, so I cut them out. As you can see from the image, there were lots of people who attended that DID have some connection with the battle. Lots of Australians, whose families had been affected, were present for a start.
Professor Cox took us through the procedure from the beginnings of the project to the ceremony above, then, after a short comfort break, told us of the project legacy. Personal stories of a few of the families and how much the uncovering of their relatives meant to them.
While the process was amazing, the real life stories of people, some of whom didn’t even know they had WWI relatives, gave the soldiers a new life. The living had an opportunity to visit the dead.
Of course, most of the relatives and loved ones had also died. For instance, this is Gladys Dunne, the fiancé of one soldier who never came back.
On the eve of the year’s anniversary of the Russian war on Ukraine, it all proves we have learned nothing. Is war really the only way forwards? I guess some think so.
