France: Australian Remains

Senator Bishop asked the Minister for Defence, upon notice, on 16 March 2005:

1. Can the minister confirm when the four sets of remains were found at Merris in Northern France.
2. Who was responsible for researching: (a) the retrieval/burial site; and (b) the identity of the remains.
3. How many Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel, or other Defence personnel, attended the site or travelled to France and on what occasions.
4. What was the cost of (a) travel to France; (b) the time of other personnel in Australia and Europe; (c) DNA testing; (d) attendance of relatives at the funeral ceremony; and (e) attendance of ADF and other personnel at the funeral.
5. Who was formally invited to attend the funerals of each of the four bodies found, and when were the funerals conducted.
6. Why did efforts to identify two of the bodies fail.
7. What assistance was provided by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and what costs, if any, were incurred by its involvement.
8. In each of the past 10 years: (a) how many reports have there been of uncovered Australian remains at Gallipoli; (b) how many of those reports were investigated on site; (c) by whom; and (d) with what outcome.
9. In each of the past five years: (a) how many other remains of Australians missing in action overseas have been recovered (with the exception of Gallipoli); (b) from what locations; and (c) what were the estimated cost on each occasion, itemised in similar terms to the information provided in answer to parts (3) and (5) above.
10. In compiling the answer to this question, were the Australian War Memorial, the Office of Australian War Graves and the Department of Veterans' Affairs consulted and their assistance sought; if not, why not.

Senator Hill - The answer to the honourable senator's question is as follows:

1. March 2003.
2.  
   1. Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).
   2. Office of Australian War Graves.
3. Nil. CWGC attended the site.
4.  
   1. Nil.
   2. Historical research $8072.68 including GST.
   3. Nil.
   4. $14,600 (estimate).
   5. $39,700 (estimate).
5. French Chief of Army, French Department of Veterans' Affairs, CWGC, Mayors of Communes of Merris and Bailleul. 22 April 2005.
6. Historical research and forensic examination was unable to determine identities with reasonable certainty.
7. Recovery of remains, report on recovery, historical information, provision of sites in a CWGC war cemetery for interment, and assistance with burial. Nil cost.
8.  
   1. No remains identified as Australian have been recovered at Gallipoli.
   2. , c. and d. Not applicable.
9. 2000 - Beaufighter A19-97:
   1. Two flying officers.
   2. Near the village of Gani, south of Kokopo, New Britain.
   3. Four Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) personnel were involved in the recovery exercise. The cost of the recovery was approximately $23,600.
      
      Formal invitations to the funeral were extended to relatives and a friend of the deceased. The cost of attendance was approximately $8,000.
      
      The funeral was conducted at the Bita Paka War Cemetery, Rabaul Papua New Guinea on 15 November 2000.

2000/2001 - Beaufort Bomber A9-217:
1. Four flying officers.
2. Off Kawa Island, west of the Trobriand Island group.
3. Four Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel were involved in the initial reconnaissance of the site. Seven personnel were involved in the first attempt and six in the second recovery exercise. An underwater archaeologist from the Museum of North Queensland also participated in the second exercise. The cost of the recovery was approximately $100,000.
   
   Formal invitations to the funeral were extended to relatives and a friend of the deceased. The cost of attendance was approximately $9,200.
   
   The funeral was conducted at the Bita Paka War Cemetery, Rabaul Papua New Guinea on 2 May 2001.

2002 - Royal Air Force (RAF) Lancaster JB659:
1. Two flying officers.
2. Port of Amsterdam.
3. No ADF personnel were involved in the recovery and the ADF incurred no recovery costs.
   
   Formal invitations to the funeral were extended to relatives of the deceased. The cost of attendance was paid for by the RAF.
   
   The funeral was conducted at the Zwanenburg General Cemetery, Haarlemmermeer, Amsterdam on 29 November 2002.

2003 - RAAF Lancaster ED867
1. The remains of aircrew were recovered from a Lancaster crash site north of Berlin in 1999. These remains were buried in the Berlin War Cemetery in 2000 as unknown RAF aircrew.
   
   Subsequent investigation by a family member determined that the wreckage was a RAAF Lancaster ED867. This aircraft was shot down near Berlin on 29 January 1944 with the loss of all crew. The remains of one crew member was recovered at the time by German authorities and subsequently buried in the Berlin War Cemetery after the war.
   
   The remains buried in 2000 were exhumed and examined by Luftwaffe forensic experts. No definitive forensic identification of the remains of the six missing crew were possible. Agreement was reached in January 2003 with the RAF and Commonwealth War Graves Commission to re-inter the remains in a collective grave, but with individual headstones.
2. North of Berlin.
3. ADF personnel were not involved in the recovery and the ADF incurred no recovery costs.
   
   Formal invitations to the funeral were extended to relatives of the deceased. The cost of attendance was approximately $50,000.
   
   The funeral was conducted at the Berlin War Cemetery on 15 July 2003.

2004 - RAAF Lancaster PB290
1. Four flying officers.
2. Near the town of Giessen, north of Frankfurt.
3. The ADF incurred no recovery costs.
   
   Forensic examination is still in progress.
10. Yes.

close