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Grave evidence
Edition 1171, July 26, 2007 |
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A SCIENTIFIC survey of a World War I battlefield in northern France has uncovered evidence that Australian soldiers were buried there.
Bruce Billson, Minister Assisting the Defence Minister, said the survey found evidence that possibly more than 160 Australians were buried on the site by the Germans after the Battle of Fromelles in July 1916.
He said a preliminary report from an expert scientific team revealed sub-surface anomalies in the soil that coincided with war-time aerial photos and confirmed the presence of a series of pits.
“The most dramatic evidence, two copper alloy amulets or medallions with inscriptions clearly identifying them as belonging to Australians, were located close to the two western-most pits and close to the light railway that war-time photos show the Germans using to move the dead.”
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