Identification

Identification of the soldiers buried at Pheasant Wood is a priority for the project. By identifying the soldiers, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission will be able to provide named headstones for identified soldiers in the Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery.

Due to the time elapsed between interment in 1916 and the recovery of the remains at Pheasant Wood, identification will only be possible through modern science. Identification will be attempted through the extraction and matching of DNA from soldier's remains and the living descendants of those killed in action at Fromelles.

The first step in this process is the conduct of a limited DNA extraction and analysis of some of the remains from Pheasant Wood as they are exhumed. This limited extraction is conducted to confirm the viability of the extracted DNA. It is hoped that this will confirm the existance of viable in the remains. If this is the case, DNA will be extracted from all remains.

It should be noted that DNA viability can not be guaranteed based on remain location or the viability of adjacent remain DNA. If two sets of remains located together, may return mixed viability results despite their proximity to one another.

Assuming that viable DNA is extracted, the next step of the Identification will be to contact living descendants to obtain a DNA sample from them. This is expected to occur for the most direct living descendant only. This DNA will then be compared to the viable DNA extracted from the soldier's remains. Commonwealth War Graves Commission contracted scientists will compare the DNA and advise the likelihood of a relationship, thereby providing important information that might lead to identification.

All identified soldiers will be given a named headstone in the Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery with these named headstones being dedicated at a private function for relatives on 19 July 2010 following the public Commemorative Event.

Working Lists of Soldier's Names

On 2 April 2009, Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, the Hon Warren Snowdon MP, announced that Army had compiled a list of 191 First Australian Imperial Force soldiers it believes may be buried at Pheasant Wood, Fromelles, France.

This list was established through detailed analysis of historical records and eyewitness accounts maintained within Australia, the Red Cross in Geneva and the German military archives in Munich.

This list of 191 soldiers is history's initial 'cut' of who was killed at Fromelles and is known to be buried by German Troops. This list was compiled through intensive research conducted by Professor Peter Dennis, an independent historian contracted by Army, and follows consultation with several well-recognised war historians. Those involved in the research include individuals from Friends of the Fifteenth Brigade; Families and Friends of the First AIF Inc; Australian War Memorial; Army History Unit; Fromelles.net; Office of Australian War Graves, and Monash University.

Check the original working list (PDF) of names.

People who believe they are related to a soldier on the list should contact the Army on 1800 019 090 or through the webform and register their details to assist possible identification.

Army is particularly keen to hear from relatives of those soldiers for whom we currently have no registered contacts. Check the list of soldiers without contacts (PDF) as at 10 June 2009.