News from Fromelles

The atmosphere in the small French village of Fromelles has been irreversibly changed since the archaeological dig at Pheasant Wood has revealed the remains of the missing Australian Diggers and British soldiers from the Battle of Fromelles.

Fromelles has long acknowledged its connection with Australia and the Diggers who travelled far from home to help defend the French homeland. The F.W.T.M. 14-18 (The Fromelles Museum) showcases an impressive display of World War 1 articles. Carole Laignel, Secretary of the F.W.T.M. 14-18 was interviewed by the local French media and asked about the impact the archaeological dig would have on Fromelles.

You can read about Carole’s interview in the La Voix du Nord by clicking here.  [Need help with translating the article? Why not use Google – Language Tools? Not sure how to do it?  Simply copy the http:// address of the page you want translated into the ‘Translate a web page’ box at Google – Language Tools. Click here to access Google – Language Tools]

The archaeologist from Glasgow University Archaeological Division (GUARD) may have finished the ‘limited excavation’ at Pheasant Wood on Friday 13 June 2008 but the project is still a long way from completion. The Australian public along with the Australian, British and French Governments now await the archaeologist’s recommendations and report.

Australian newspapers carried the following stories:

The Herald Sun: Major General Bill Crews AO, national president of the RSL states that: the RSL’s view is that, having confirmed the presence of a mass grave containing Australians, the site should not be further disturbed and should now be designated a war grave. To read more click here.

The Maitland Mercury: Donated burial ground is ‘part of the Hunter’: A public thank you to the 80-year-old landowner who donated her ground at Fromelles to the diggers who died on that World War 1 battle site came yesterday from Maitland Mayor Peter Blackmore and Hunter military historian David Dial. To read more click here. 

Both the Herald Sun and Maitland Mercury articles are open for comments on their websites if you wish to record your views.

Call back tomorrow for MORE NEWS.

FROMELLES is NOT honoured on The Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park, Sydney. FFFAIF supports the recognition of FROMELLES on all state memorials.