EXPERTS have been unable to identify if a Bourne First World War soldier's remains were among hundreds of bodies found in a mass grave.
Hopes were high that Private John Swift would finally get a dignified burial but an identification panel has been unable to say if his remains were within the grave found in France.
About 250 Australian and British soldiers were buried by the Germ
ans in mass graves at Pheasant Wood, in the village of Fromelles.
But hopes were dashed this week when the Commonwealth War Graves Commission announced that it could only identify that three soldiers were serving in the British Army but could not name them.
The commission has had some success in naming 75 Australian soldiers along with identifying 128 bodies as Australian servicemen.But 44 bodies remain completely unknown.
The commission says it has not given up hope of identifying the bodies and that the panel will continue to review new evidence until 2014.
The news has saddened one of Pte Swift's living relatives, James North 38, of Edenham Road, Hanthorpe.
He said: "It is a shame that they have not been able to identify him after all this.
"It would be nice to know if they have found him and to put him to rest."
His father Roger, 63, of Hanthorpe, came forward last year to say that his grandmother Bertha was a cousin to John.
Pte Swift's parents address is listed as 3 Meadow Gate, Bourne, after his death.
