(MOD) Recovery of Fromelles WWI War dead begins

Work to recover the bodies of up to 400 WWI British and Australian soldiers began today at Pheasant Wood, in the small village of Fromelles in France.

In a simple yet poignant ceremony Reverend Ray Jones from St. George's Memorial Church in Ypres and Fromelles parish priest Father Duprez blessed the site of the five mass burial pits, before the turning of the first soil began.

Dignitaries from the UK, Australian and French governments were present alongside representatives from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which is overseeing the project on behalf of the UK and Australian governments, and the team from Oxford Archaeology which is undertaking the recovery operation. They were joined by people from the local community, and those visiting Fromelles to pay their respect to the fallen.

Quentin Davies, Defence Minister said:

"Today's ceremony marks the start of our programme to see these brave soldiers laid to rest with the honour and respect they deserve. Archaeologists will now embark on painstaking work that will hopefully lead to the identification of the remains of hundreds of British and Australian soldiers.

"I urge families whose relatives may have died here in 1916 to check the list of possible casualties and come forward if there is a chance their grandfather or great-grandfather died at Fromelles."

His Excellency Mr David Ritchie Australian Ambassador to France, said:

"The United Kingdom and Australian governments are jointly committed to honouring the ultimate sacrifice of these World War One British and Australian soldiers. It is only through this commitment that these men can finally be laid to rest."

By the end of the project in 2010 all bodies found will be permanently laid to rest in individual graves at a new Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery at Fromelles, the first to be constructed in fifty years.

Admiral Sir Ian Garnett, Vice Chairman of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission said:

"Today marks the beginning of the journey to afford many of those killed at Fromelles with a fitting and dignified final place of rest. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is honoured to be managing the project on behalf of the UK and Australian Governments, and the creation of the new cemetery will provide a focus for pilgrimage and remembrance for years to come."

The process of recovering the bodies will last until September 2009. It is the hope of both governments that identification of some of the fallen will be possible, and DNA extraction will be taken from a small cross-section of remains to test for viability.

The lists of names of UK and Australian soldiers who are thought might be recovered has been published, and families who believe their relatives may have lost their lives at Fromelles are urged to check the lists on http://www.cwgc.org/fromelles.