Photo: 3047 Private Robert Arthur Dewar, 55th Battalion
The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel, Alan Griffin, on Saturday 8 May announced the names of a further 19 soldiers who were recently reburied in Fromelles, France. The men’s families have now been informed and the soldiers’ names are below.
The new identifications brings the total number of named Australian soldiers to 94.
Mr Griffin said, “I am pleased to announce the names of these 19 Australian soldiers, whose names have been lost to history for almost a century.
“These soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice at Fromelles in the service of their nation and this will not be forgotten. Their families now know where these men are laid to rest, nearly 94 years after the battle.
“They have been given the dignity of a burial in an individual grave in the new purpose-built Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery with full military honours, and their name will appear on their headstone.”
Of the 250 soldiers recovered from Pheasant Wood, in the village of Fromelles, 205 have now been identified as Australians.The number of British soldiers identified by the force in which they served remains unchanged at three, and 42 soldiers remain ‘Known unto God’.
All but one of the soldiers have now been reburied in individual graves in the Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery, with the final soldier being laid to rest on the 94th anniversary of the Battle of Fromelles on 19 July 2010.
The names of the soldiers identified at the May 2010 Joint Identification Board are:
3761 Private Raymond Charles Bishop, 55th Battalion
Lieutenant Eric Harding Chinner, 32nd Battalion
2006 Private George Croft, 30th Battalion
2010 Private Harry Croker, 30th Battalion
3047 Private Robert Arthur Dewar, 55th Battalion
4509 Private Laurence Harriott, 54th Battalion
188 Private Charles Henry Hawcroft, 30th Battalion
4807 Private David George Irvin, 54th Battalion
293 Private Hugh McLean, 32nd Battalion
269 Private Joseph Howard Nevill, 31st Battalion
2906 Lance Corporal George Pagan, 54th Battalion
320 Private Frederick Parry, 29th Battalion
3099 2nd Lieutenant Albert Ernest Pratt, 53rd Battalion
4614 Private Malcolm Spence, 30th Battalion
2898 Corporal Gregory Francis Stalgis, 14th Machine Gun Company
4885 Private Aime Verpillot, 53rd Battalion
4617 Private Joseph Patrick (AKA Wailes) Wallis, 54th Battalion
2910 Private Thomas Richard Webb, 60th Battalion
1314 Private Ernest Frank Wilkin, 29th Battalion
These 19 names will be added to the list of 75 Australian soldiers whose remains were recovered from the burial pits at Pheasant Wood and whose identities have been established by the Fromelles Joint Identification Board. This list is available on the Department of Defence website and can be accessed by clicking on the following link: Soldiers Identified at March 2010 Joint Identification Board.
Further information is available on some of the 94 Australian soldiers identified by clicking on the following link to RECENT NEWS Item: Fromelles ID profiles. This posting has information on some of the identified soldiers including links to media stories.