ON the eve of Remembrance Day, the final resting place of five previously unidentified Australian soldiers who served and died in France during the First World War have today been confirmed.
Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel Darren Chester said the men were originally buried as unknown Australian soldiers, but thanks to the hard work of Fallen Diggers Incorporated, the Australian Army’s Unrecovered War Casualties team and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, they had now been identified.
The soldiers were identified as:
Mr Chester said notations on original grave records provided some details, however, further investigation had allowed the identity of these men to be conclusively proven.
“I would like to acknowledge the ongoing work of Fallen Diggers who have helped identify 32 Australian First World War soldiers,” Mr Chester said.
“In consultation with the men’s descendants, the Australian Army, Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Office of Australian War Graves will make arrangements to replace the previously unmarked headstones with new ones, bearing the soldiers’ names and service details.
“It is sobering to think that more than 100 years on we are still identifying those who made the ultimate sacrifice as part of the First World War. Lest we forget.”
There are approximately 9,000 graves of unidentified Australian soldiers in
Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries globally. Further information on Unrecovered War Casualties is available on the Army's website: https://www.army.gov.au/our-work/unrecovered-war-casualties/
Further information on the soldiers identified:
Private George Thomas Littleboy
https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=177746
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=8202769
Private Henry McIntosh Hopping Mills
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C322812
https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=209432
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=8013894
Private Thomas Cohen
https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=57159
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P04084.001/
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3267212
Sergeant Edwin Douglas Lillie MM
https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=176635
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=8193855
Lance Corporal Patrick Joseph O’Neill
https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/143979
https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=228638
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=7996770
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