Paying respect to the men of Fromelles

A new chapter is about to be written about the heroes of Fromelles.

The Time Machine has followed this story from the beginning when the bodies of  World War 1 soldiers were discovered in a mass grave at Fromelles in northern France in 2009.

Now an exhibition, organised by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which tells the story of the 250 men is to open at the Imperial War Museum London on July 1.

‘Remembering Fromelles: A New Cemetery for a New Century’ charts the construction of the Commission’s new Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery, the first to be built in 50 years.

It explains the poignant story of how 250 Australian and British soldiers came to be found, excavated and then reburied in a fitting and final resting place.

Using artefacts found at Fromelles, personal recollections of those who worked on the project and photographs from each stage of the recovery process, the exhibition charts the construction of the cemetery and sheds new light on a forgotten story of the First World War.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Fromelles Project Manager David Richardson said: “This has been an incredible project to work on over the past two years.  The building of a new Commission cemetery is something I never thought I would see, but as it nears completion, its tranquil beauty is, I believe, the finest honour we could have paid these men.”

Remembering Fromelles: A New Cemetery for a New Century also details the painstaking and complex work to identify the soldiers.  Many of the DNA testing techniques, which were used alongside historical and archaeological evidence, have set new standards in the field of forensic investigation.

The exhibition opens as the Fromelles project reaches its conclusion, with the dedication of the new Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery taking place on 19 July 2010.  Echoing the traditional design of cemeteries built after the Great War, this new cemetery will give the soldiers of Fromelles the dignity in death denied to them for nearly a century.

Helen Steed, a relative of one of those soldiers identified at Fromelles said:  ”I have been overwhelmed by the determination shown by so many people to recover my grandfather and his comrades, and have them properly buried in a new, purpose-built Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery.”

The exhibition, which is free of charge to visit, runs until January 2011.  It is accompanied by a book of the same title which serves as a commemorative publication to these men and the sacrifice which they made.