Family members of the WWII soldiers thought to have been killed in the 1916 battle of Fromelles gave DNA samples after the bodies were exhumed last year. But it has not been possible to identify all the 250 Allied soldiers found buried in the mass grave. It has only been possible to say that three of the soldiers were British.
Sue Raftree, of the joint casualty and compassionate centre of the armed forces, which has been working to identify relatives of the soldiers, said the news was “bitterly disappointing”. By January, more than 800 UK families who thought they might have lost a relative at Fromelles had given DNA samples in the hope of identifying the bodies. Of the 250 soldiers found, a total of 203 have been identified as Australians. It is thought about 1,500 British and 5,500 Australian troops fell in the battle.
All but one of the soldiers found in the mass grave have now been reburied in a new cemetery at Fromelles. The last will be buried on 19 July at a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the battle.
In my previous post, it was already hinted at that the results might not be satisfactory.
“The man whose job it is to help identify the soldiers says it is like finding a needle in a haystack, albeit with a very good metal detector. The problem with DNA that’s been in the ground for 90 years is it degrades in quality and quantity,” says molecular geneticist Dr Peter Jones.”
“If it’s a very acidic site, there’s no chance of DNA at all because acids attack DNA rapidly. If it’s dry and arid like in a desert, you get good DNA. If it’s wet, less good.” The remains extracted from Fromelles’ muddy burial pits have produced small but workable amounts of DNA, says Dr Jones. The teeth, which preserve well because they are encased in enamel, give by far the best samples.” Read the article here.
RIP to all the soldier with deepest gratitude for your service.