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Dead remembered 97 years after Fromelles

"He can now rest in peace," says South Australian David Barber of his relative Private William Barber who finally has a dedicated headstone in Fromelles.

Dead remembered 97 years after Fromelles
"He can now rest in peace," says Australian David Barber of his relative Private William Barber.

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Source: AAP


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Five Australian soldiers who died in the World War I Battle of Fromelles finally have their own dedicated headstones in a military cemetery in France.

The diggers were originally buried in a mass grave at Pheasant Wood but DNA technology enabled them to be identified in March 2013.

Privates William Barber, Thomas Bills, Thomas Francis, William O'Donnell and John McKenzie were remembered during a dedication ceremony on Friday.

Private Barber's relative David Barber travelled from South Australia to the new Fromelles military cemetery.

"It's very significant for us to have him identified and have him in a marked grave now with his name on it honouring the sacrifice he made," Mr Barber told AAP.

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"He can now rest in peace."

Before enlisting Private Barber was a labourer from Goolwa in South Australia.

He wasn't married but had nine siblings. One brother was killed in Villers-Bretonneux in World War I.

Private Barber was in his mid-40s when he died in Fromelles.

He was one of the 250 Australian and British soldiers discovered in a mass grave in 2009.

Since then 124 Australians have been identified using DNA from relatives.

Some 87 Australians and two British soldiers remain unidentified while another 37 have been interred as "Known unto God".

Fromelles historian Peter Pedersen - whose great-uncle was killed on the battlefield but has no known grave - was at Friday's ceremony.

He said the five diggers would have relied on courage, determination, stoicism and mateship.

"It's wonderful closure for the families," Dr Pedersen told AAP.

"And it shows the lengths we will go to to make sure our dead from almost 100 years ago are properly acknowledged."

That's a view shared by Australia's ambassador to France, Ric Wells.

"No matter how many years pass, Australians do not forget those who have sacrificed their lives in time of war," he said in a statement.

Fromelles was the first major action involving Australian troops in France in World War I.

It was fought over July 19 and 20 in 1916 and resulted in more than 5500 Australian dead and wounded. Many of the fallen were never found.

The battle is regarded by some as the worst 24 hours in Australian military history.

But as Dr Pedersen notes: "Every battle in which Australia has been involved pales alongside Gallipoli. That's just a fact of life."

"But there's an increasing awareness of Fromelles," he said.

"It's by no means a forgotten battle."

French tourism authorities on Friday officially opened an 8.5km remembrance trail that will help visitors appreciate the ground over which the battle was fought.

A new Battle of Fromelles Museum, which has received $A1 million in funding from the Australian government, will be opened in 2014.


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