Impossible to say if remains are soldier
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 Germans 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. It is not clear when he joined the Army, but as a member of 2nd/7th Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment he was sent to France.
All of the bodies, bar one, have now been buried at a new cemetery close to the grave site during a programme of military funerals in February.
The war graves commission commissioned the cemetery and will be burying the final set of remains during the official opening in July.
The identification panel, which included British and Australian officers, began to review the evidence earlier this month and will be meeting again in May.
During their discussions, panel members looked at DNA samples supplied by potential relatives along with archaeological, historical and anthropological evidence taken from the grave site.
Spokesman for the commission Peter Francis said that it has not given up and has praised the efforts of archeologists.
He said: "It is an extraordinary achievement to name 75 individuals this far after a battle, nothing like this has ever been done before or achieved before.
"The fact that we have managed to name that many is extraordinary and should not be under estimated, it is testimony to the fantastic job that archeologists and everyone else has done in the project."
Mr Francis says that the commission is still urging families to come forward and register their interest in the project to give possible DNA evidence.
The Battle of Fromelles began on July 19, 1916, and was the first major battle on the Western Front involving Australian troops.The grave was confirmed in May 2008.
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Monday 06 February 2012
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