26th July 2012:

A further nine Australian soldiers, whose remains were recovered from OA South’s excavation of mass graves at Pheasant Wood, Fromelles, northern France, were named at the annual Joint Identification Board meeting in London on the 23rd March.

The identifications have been made possible through historical, artefactual and anthropological evidence, in addition to comparison of DNA extracted from the soldiers’ remains with that of their living descendants. Headstones engraved with the revealed names will be erected in time for the 96th anniversary of the Battle of Fromelles on the 19th July.

Warren Snowdon MP, Australian Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, said ‘the additional identifications demonstrate the tenacity and dedication of a great team and how the latest scientific methods and great research can produce outstanding results.’

A total of 212 soldiers have already been identified using evidence recovered by the multi-disciplinary team of experts led by OA South.