Australian soldiers given final honour

Australian soldiers given final honour on 96th anniversary of the Battle of Fromelles

The Parliamentary Secretary for Defence, Senator David Feeney, today paid his respects to nine Australian World War One soldiers at a headstone dedication ceremony in Fromelles, France.

Senator Feeney attended the ceremony at the Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery to mark the 96th anniversary of the Battle of Fromelles and joined relatives of the men as named headstones were dedicated.

“This is another significant milestone in honouring the men who fought on the Western Front,” he said.

“These men died during the bloodiest 24 hours in Australia’s military history—and almost a century on, we can finally give them, and their families, the dignity of a known grave.”

This latest nine Australian soldiers were identified by name in March this year and are among 250 Australian and British soldiers who are buried in the Fromelles (Pheasant wood) Military Cemetery.

When added to the 110 Australians identified in 2010 and 2011, this brings the total named soldiers to 119—all of them Australian.

Another 92 have been identified as unnamed Australians and two soldiers have been identified as serving with the British Army. Thirty-seven more remain ‘known unto God.'

“I am very pleased to be able to share this moment with family members of Australian soldiers—it is proof that no matter how many years have passed, Australians do not forget those who have sacrificed their lives in time of war,” Senator Feeney said.

The Army’s Fromelles project team will continue to work towards identifying all of the 250 soldiers discovered near Fromelles in 2009 until 2014.

Relatives of soldiers who died in the Battle of Fromelles are encouraged to contact Army, in the hope that they may be able to contribute to efforts to identify the remaining 131 men.

For more information, visit www.army.gov.au/fromelles or call 1800 019 090.

Details of the nine soldiers are below:

Name Unit Address at Enlistment Occupation at Enlistment Place of Enlistment Date of Enlistment Age at Embarkation Marital Status Comments
PTE Leonard Broadhurst 55th Battalion Dulwich Hill, Sydney NSW Salesman Sydney 24 Aug 15 23 Single Born in Birmingham England
Father served as munitions worker in France
Brothers Bert and Frederick served in AIF and survived war
PTE Robert Forland 53rd Battalion Condobolin NSW Labourer 20 Aug 15 19 Single Served in local cadet unit before war
PTE John Forrest 54th Battalion North Ryde, Sydney NSW Carter Liverpool NSW 2 Jul 15 24 Single Born in Scotland
Previous service in 6th Gordon Highlanders, British Army
PTE John Goulding 31st Battalion South Brisbane QLD Labourer Brisbane QLD 30 Aug 15 32 Single Emigrated to Australia at 6 years of age
Enlisted for service in South Africa during Boer War but war ended prior to induction
PTE William Jamieson 31st Battalion Junee NSW Porter Cootamundra
NSW 26 Sep 15 18 Single
PTE Arthur Johnson 29th Battalion Footscray, Melbourne Victoria Quarryman Melbourne Victoria 19 Jul 15 38 Married
CPL Alfred Tuck 29th Battalion Kyneton, Melbourne Victoria Tinsmith Melbourne Victoria 12 Jul 15 21 Single
PTE Claude Ward 3oth Battalion Auburn, Sydney NSW Plumber Newcastle NSW 6 Sep 15 23 Single
PTE John Wynn 30th Battalion Largs via Maitland NSW Labourer West Maitland NSW 27 Sep 15 19 Single Descendant Peter Wynn who is attending ceremony played first grade rugby league for Parramatta

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