PASSCHENDAELE REFLECTIONS
04 October 2007
Re-interment ceremony rehearsal in Belgium
Twenty-one soldiers from across Far North Queensland have left their homes to re inter five WWI diggers lost 90 years ago in Belgium.
The men from the 51st Battalion, the Far North Queensland Regiment, have practiced the ceremony in Australia and Belgium’s Buttes New British Cemetery to coincide with the 90th anniversary of the 3rd Battle of Ypres in 1917.
They will re-inter the remains of five Australian World War I soldiers, which were discovered in 2006 during a pipeline excavation near Westhoek, Belgium.
The Australian Government and Australian Army History Unit worked closely with Belgian authorities to identify the remains.
Two of the soldiers - Sergeant George Calder, of the 51st Battalion, and Private John Hunter, 27, of the 49th Infantry Battalion, were identified through DNA analysis.
The soldiers will be laid to rest with full military honours on October 4 in the Buttes New British Ceremony at Polygon Wood - the scene of savage fighting which claimed more than 6000 Australian casualties over two days in September 1917.
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| 20071002adf8262658_168 Lieutenant Colonel Paddy Evans, Commanding Officer 51st Battalion, the Far North Queensland Regiment, informs families of Sergeant Calder and Private Hunter about the procedure of events during rehearsal for the re-interment at Buttes New British Cemetery. (Date taken: 03 October 2007) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
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| 20071002adf8262658_183 Sergeant Stephen Fauid, Sergeant Ian Wanchap, Sergeant Andrew Couchman from the 51st Battalion, the Far North Queensland rehearsing at the Buttes New British Cemetery. (Date taken: 03 October 2007) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
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| 20071002adf8262658_203 (L-R): Sergeant Paul Boag, Private Craig Armstrong, Corporal Amos Dai, Sergeant Rick Leeman, with Private Cameron Pietsch in the background, all from the 51st Battalion, the Far North Queensland Regiment, rehearse drills for the re-interment at the Buttes New British Cemetery. (Date taken: 03 October 2007) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
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| 20071002adf8262658_231 (L-R): Sergeant Louis Fauid, Sergeant Ian Wanchap with Sergeant Noel Chilloge, standing by next to Chaplain (Major) Jim Pearson from the 51st Battalion, the Far North Queensland Regiment, rehearsing at Buttes New British Cemetery. (Date taken: 03 October 2007) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
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| 20071002adf8262658_243 Sergeant Rod Fry of the Royal Military College Band rehearsing with the firing party from the 51st Battalion, the Far North Queensland Regiment at the Buttes New British Cemetery. (Date taken: 03 October 2007) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
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| 20071003adf8262658_243 Soldiers from the 51st Far North Queensland Regiment (51FNQR) perform a firing party rehearsal for the re-interrment of fallen WWI soldiers in Belgium. The party will fire blank volleys during the ceremony at the New British Cemetery in Belgium. (Date taken: 03 October 2007) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
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| 20071003adf8262658_374 Major Graeme Henley looks upon a fellow Tasmanian, Sergeant L. McGee VC, one of the many fallen soldiers buried at Tyne Cot cemetery in Belgium. It is the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the world and serves as a reminder of the battle of Passchendaele. (Date taken: 03 October 2007) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
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| 20071003adf8262658_401 Musician Lambton Cameron-Taylor, of the RMC Duntroon band, stands ready to pipe the lament during rehearsals for the re-interment of five Australian WWI soldiers in Belgium. (Date taken: 03 October 2007) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
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| 20071003adf8262658_472 Australian tourists reflect over the coffins of three unknown WWI Australian soldiers. Their remains were being stored in a morturary in Belgium. (Date taken: 03 October 2007) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
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| 20071003adf8262658_522 Soldiers from 51st Far North Queensland Regiment (51FNQR) act as pallbearers during a rehearsal for the re-interment of five WWI diggers in Belgium. (Date taken: 03 October 2007) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
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