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British war grave found in northern France

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Nikkohl Gallant
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« on: June 19, 2008, 02:49:28 am »

British war grave found in northern France
By Henry Samuel in Paris
Last Updated: 2:21PM BST 13/06/2008
British archaeologists have for the first time unearthed "absolute" proof of the remains of British soldiers at a recently-discovered mass World War I grave in northern France.



Excavation work continues at the World War I mass grave in Fromelles near Lille, northern France
Two British Army buttons, a collar fastener and a British matchbox have been unearthed at the site of the grave in Fromelles, the British ministry of defence has announced.

Fromelles, a small village near the French city of Lille, was the scene of the poorly planned and futile battle of July 19 1916, in which 5,500 Australians and 1,500 Britons were mown down in a "lattice of death" of German crossfire in just a few hours.

Wave upon wave of troops fell in a bid to capture 400 yards of ground, defended by an impregnable concrete tower of German machine guns in broad daylight. It has been described as the worst 24 hours in Australian history, but is little known in Britain –overshadowed by the nearby battle of the Somme.

The archaeologists led by a team from Glasgow University had already found two Australian army badges earlier this week at the site on private fields sloping down to a wood, where the remains of up to 400 servicemen are believed to be buried.

But it was unclear until this week whether Britons were also buried there.

"These are elements of uniform unique to the British, something we were hoping to find," said Dr Tony Pollard, who leads the Glasgow team.

"In two of the pits, we found two General Service buttons, which have the British army's lion and the unicorn standing either side of the crown and an inscription. They would fasten up the front of the army tunic and were used to fasten epaulettes and pockets."

His team also found a hook and eye collar fastener. "These are unique to the British tunic, as the Australian ones were fastened to the bottom and were very plain."

Also on the scene was a "quintessentially English" matchbox made in Gloucester. "It looked almost as if it had been dropped yesterday," said Dr Pollard.

"Given the sheer number of bodies and records tell us that there are 173 Australians here, there must be a lot of Britons," he said.

Refilling the pits, Dr Pollard added: "It's strange putting them back under, it's like putting them to bed, it's very moving. We've been face to face with these men for three weeks now and feel we have a duty of care to them now."

Project historian Peter Barton said the discovery was "by far the largest World War I mass grave found and probably the largest modern mass grave not the result of genocide."

"There's nothing to compare with this," he said.

The exploratory excavation has found "a number of unidentified remains" and the Glasgow team is now assessing their condition. No human remains will be removed during the dig, which finishes on Friday. The historic discovery will be marked by a short service with Britons, Australians and French locals.

The grave site - pits 10 yards long by 2.5 yards wide, which were hastily dug by German troops - was located last year after painstaking research into German records and thanks to aerial photography and ground penetrating radar.

German troops were under orders to treat the dead with respect and not to loot their possessions.

However, in all six pits examined, archaeologists found two tiers of tightly-packed bodies - a sign that the Germans were forced to work fast due to the searing heat and decomposing dead.

After seeing the remains, Derek Twigg, the Veterans Minister, said: "This is the first time that we've had absolute confirmation that there are British bodies as well as Australian remains in these pits."

"Visiting this in person brings home to you the sacrifices that our soldiers made and the viciousness of the battle that took place here and the fact that so many people lost their lives," he told the Telegraph.

"It is particularly moving to have confirmation that there are British soldiers as well, but also that they are lying side by side with their Australian comrades: they fought together and died together."

Mr Twigg said it was "far too premature" to take a decision on whether the bodies should remain in their current resting place or be exhumed and repatriated.

"But I want to make it very clear that we will make sure that those who are buried here and died in the battles around Fromelles will be properly honoured and commemorated," he said.

The next step will depend on the results of the archaeological report and the advice of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/2119428/British-war-grave-found-in-northern-France.html
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