The Lost Soldiers
of the Battle
of Fromelles,
July 19-20thth 1916
Professor Margaret Cox PhD
President – Inforce Foundation
The Fromelles Project 2008-14
My Role:
Senior Scientific Advisor to the Australian and British
Governments. Contracted by the Commonwealth War
Graves Commission to advise on all matters relating to
archaeology, anthropology and identification. To recommend
other specialists as necessary.
Acknowledgements
Ministry of Defence, UK
Defence Department, Australia
Commonwealth War Graves
Commission, UK
Oxford Archaeology
Defence
The Battle of Fromelles 19th to 20th July 1916
Fromelles is c16km south
of Lille.
The Battle involved the 5th
Australians & 61st British,
against the 16th, 17th &
21st Bavarian infantry
along a 3.7km front
focussing on Sugar Loaf.
It aimed to draw German
troops away from the
Somme offensive, but by
July 1916 this was no
longer necessary.
‘Lions Led by Donkeys’

While this view has been largely changed for the latter part of WWI,
for Fromelles it is apt.

Despite clear signs that the battle would be a massacre Field
Marshall Sir Douglas Haig sanctioned Lieutenant Sir Richard
Haking’s plan and it went ahead.

The Germans had been bunkered in on the higher ground of Aubers
Ridge for months and could see everything the Allied Forces did in
preparation.

Our troops were mowed down (in part by
friendly fire) and nothing was gained.

Approximately 8,000 men were killed and
1,400 are still unaccounted for.

A battle near this spot a year before had
the same outcome.
The worst losses ever
for the Australian Army

The 5th Australian Division lost
5,533 men, whilst the 61st
British Division suffered 1,547
fatalities. German casualties
were approximately 1,000.
Background to the Project
 Research by Mr Lambis Englesos built a convincing case suggesting that
the missing soldiers from Fromelles were buried near Pheasant Wood.
 References in Red Cross records to 1600 Commonwealth soldiers
being buried by Germans.
 Col von Braun, commander of Bavarian Infantry Regiment 21,
ordered his men to prepare mass graves for 400 British soldiers.
 Aerial imagery of disturbed ground near the wood and
references to a railway track running in the direction of the
wood from the battle site.
Commonwealth soldiers‘ bodies lying near or
over the German lines were buried
by the Germans and transported to graves by railway
Note that most of the dead soldiers have no boots on their feet
Pheasant Wood, Fromelles
VC Corner Cemetery
and memorial 
Grave
site
New CWGC
cemetery site
Official response:
 In response to this research, plus public interest, the Australian
Government commissioned a geophysical survey in 2007, and in 2008
an archaeological evaluation into a series of suspected mass graves at
Pheasant Wood, Fromelles. This was undertaken by GUARD.

A series of test pits and
trenches were dug
across the grave.
Results suggested that
200 to 300 soldiers
were present in five of
the eight graves close
to Pheasant Wood.

The Fromelles
Management Board was
subsequently formed,
comprising
representatives of the
Australian and UK
governments.
Aims of the Fromelles Project:

To safely, scientifically and respectfully excavate the eight features
alongside Pheasant Wood

To scientifically record and recover all of the human remains from
the graves

To record and recover all associated artefacts whether military or
personal in nature

To fully analyse the soldiers’ mortal remains to attempt to determine
their identity and the army for which they fought

To fully analyse all artefacts recovered with the soldiers to help to
determine their identity and army

To rebury the soldiers in marked graves in a new purpose built
cemetery in Fromelles Village in 2010
Methods deployed

Archaeological excavation, recording and recovery using forensic
principles. Site to be managed as a crime scene re issues of chain of
custody and contamination

Full anthropological analysis including radiography

DNA analysis of bone and teeth from each individual

Tracing families of missing soldiers through the UK JCCC and the
Australian Army

Where possible, taking DNA samples from appropriate relatives of the
families of the c.1600 missing soldiers

Asking families for photographs and other information that may help
us establish an identity

Collating all archaeological, anthropological, historical, family and
genetic information to attempt to identify the soldiers.
Commissioning and timescales

The archaeological and anthropological work (subject to competitive
tender) was undertaken by Oxford Archaeology from May to October
2009

A concurrent programme of DNA analysis was carried out by LGC
Forensics (UK), this was initially complete by March 2010

Cemetery construction was from June to December 2009, horticultural
work in Spring 2010, and burial of the soldiers (except one) took place in
February 2010


The first identification process took place from January to May 2010


The formal opening, final burial and blessing of the cemetery was on July
19th 2010


Work will continue until 2014 with annual ID commissions

Total cost £5m - shared between the two governments.
The Archaeology
•
Clay substrate - waterlogged environment; area prone to very heavy
rainfall all year around so specialist engineering and drainage
solutions sought.
•
Standards and Protocols Based on those developed by the Inforce
Foundation which are internationally accepted as being the highest
possible standards.
Published in 2008:
The Scientific Investigation
of Mass Graves. CUP.
By: Cox, M., Flavel, A.,
Hanson. I., Laver, J. and
Wessling, R.
Excavation was within a very large tent – graves
machined to 20cm above deposits, then hand dug. Evaluation
trenches excavated first. Graves pedestalled within excavated areas,
perimeter trenches and sumps used to help remove water.
The graves were excavated by a team of highly
experienced forensic archaeologists, anthropologists,
surveyors, photographers, scene of crime officers and
logistics and health and safety managers (including
EOD/UXO).
Results of the 17 week excavation:
•
Six of the graves contained human remains with associated finds
assemblages
•
Five graves had between 44 and 52 soldiers in each and the sixth
had three. The soldiers had been carefully placed lying head to
feet across the 10 X 2 yard graves in two layers separated by soil
and lime
•
Two graves appeared never to have been used as such
•
•
The remains of 250 soldiers were recovered – another c.1400
remain missing
6,200 artefacts were recovered – all subject to analysis, recording
and short term conservation.
Initial examination and
recording of both human
remains and artefacts was
in the field
Military artefacts: Belt buckle – shape important
Right: corroded Rising
Sun badge
1. Pilot study established survival and
condition of the DNA and the best
bones or teeth to use
2. DNA samples of teeth and bone from
each individual were taken in the grave
using forensic protocols and
immediately transferred to a fridge or
freezer in the main mortuary complex
using strict chain of custody protocols.
Collecting DNA
samples
Site layout
DNA – sampling……………..
Human remains
Work within the DNA protection zone
Scene of Crime Officer
and Grave Supervisor
The Anthropology - State of the art temporary mortuary
complex constructed and equipped for this project
Cleaning and
sorting human
remains
Note - no gloves or masks had to be worn in the
temporary mortuary for DNA purposes as
samples were removed for this on site.
Radiography – digital x-rays used for human remains and
artefacts following strict scene of
crime protocols
The anthropology laboratory
Skeletons examined,
photographed,
analysed and
recorded
Dentures and
dental work

Coin purse (left), pen nib, penknife and train
ticket
Personal items can assist with identification
ID tags and
other medallions

The Identification
Process (ID):

Collect and analyse
each relevant data type
Collate and analyse all
data sets for each
soldiers’ (archaeology,
anthropology, DNA,
historical data)
Examine this with ante
mortem data from
missing soldiers and the
DNA from family donors
Recommend an ID level
to the JIB:
(i) ID to name,
(ii) ID to army,
(iii) known unto God



NGOs
e.g. ICRC
Other
nations
First
Families
of the
Missing
Government
Agencies
Public &
Media
4. Notification
3. Joint Identification Board
Determine
identity
Review
recommendation
2. Data Analysis Team
Provisional identification level
Data Analysis
Data Collation
1. Data Sets
The Buried Soldiers
Post-mortem data
including DNA.
The Missing
Ante mortem data for
the Missing from family
records, historical and
military sources.
The Families
DNA profiles for some
families of the Missing.
DNA – Crucial for positive identifications





In material of this age, mitochondrial DNA or Y-STR analyses only
Pilot study undertaken to assess if the DNA survived in suitable quantities
and quality - e.g. all base pairs for Y-STR
Prevention of contamination is crucial during recovery, storage and
analysis – elimination database established
Appropriate storage of samples is crucial as is chain of custody through
the process
DNA samples from living male and/or female relations of the missing
soldiers are crucial:






Soldier’s family must still survive
Appropriate relatives must exist - ie have to be either direct male descendants
from the soldier or his brothers’ or uncles’, or direct female descendants from
his sisters’ or maternal aunts’
Have to be traced and the relationship verified via genealogical research
Must be prepared to donate DNA
Soldier must not be adopted or illegitimate as this is not recorded from this
period – such soldiers cannot be identified to their ‘families’ only their genetic
families which raises ethical issues
Single or combined probability values must be high enough to be convincing,
and fit in with other data types, as IDs must be ‘significantly more likely than
not’.
Paternal Line
Maternal Line
Fromelles 19th
July 1916
Mitochondrial
Mitochondrial
DNA
Maternal
Lineon the paternal line
Descents suitable for
DNA testing
Chromosome
YYChromosomal
Descents suitable for
DNA testing
Paternal
Lineon the maternal line
Our work has (so far) led to
119 men like these having
their identity restored

Work will continue until 2014

We have to-date identified 119 of the 250
men recovered from Pheasant Wood.

219 have been identified as having fought for
the Australian Army (119 by name), two for
the British army and 29 remain ‘Known unto
God’.

We are still attempting to name the
remainder but cannot do this
unless relevant families of missing
soldiers exist, come forward and
donate DNA.
End here unless time permits
Cemetery construction June 2009
January 2010 –
burial of 249 soldiers
Formal opening of the new
cemetery – July 19th 2010
Lest we
forget…..