Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery is a First World War cemetery built by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on the outskirts of Fromelles in northern France, near the Belgian border. Constructed between 2009 and 2010, it was the first new Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery for more than 50 years, the last such cemeteries having been built after World War II. The cemetery contains the graves of 250 British and Australian soldiers who died on 19 July 1916 in the Battle of Fromelles.
The bodies were discovered following historical research that included analysis of aerial photographs showing the presence of mass graves on the edge of Pheasant Wood (Bois Faisan), just outside the village of Fromelles. The presence of the bodies was confirmed in May 2008, and the bodies were recovered during excavation work in 2009. A specially convened Identification Board published a report on 17 March 2010 announcing the first 75 bodies to have been successfully identified using DNA analysis. Further identification continued until at least 2014.
In parallel with the recovery and identification projects, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission was asked by the British and Australian governments to construct a new cemetery to house the bodies. Building work on the cemetery began in May 2009, and the main structural elements were completed by January 2010. The dead soldiers were reburied with full military honours in a series of funeral services in January and February 2010. The ceremonial first reburial took place on 30 January 2010.
Following this period of reburials, topsoil was added to the cemetery, and the horticultural elements planted and allowed to grow into place. One final reburial took place as part of the cemetery's dedication ceremony, which was held on 19 July 2010 to mark the 94th anniversary of the Battle of Fromelles.
Background
The Battle of Fromelles took place on the night of 19–20 July 1916, during the Somme Offensive of the Western Front in World War I. It was a diversionary battle, intended to draw the attention of the Germans away from the larger attacks elsewhere. It involved units of the Australian 5th Division and the British 61st Division attacking German positions in and around Fromelles. The German positions were well defended, and the battle led to huge losses by the attacking forces, with particularly heavy losses incurred by the Australian 15th Brigade and British 184th Brigade. This was the first major battle on the Western Front involving the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF),Battle history , Remembering Fromelles (CWGC), accessed 03/02/2010 and has been described as "the worst 24 hours in Australia's entire history."
Records kept by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission show that 1,780 Australian soldiers and 503 British soldiers died in the battle,Background , Remembering Fromelles (CWGC), accessed 03/02/2010 but many of these bodies were not recovered. These missing dead are commemorated not by individual graves and names on headstones, but by names carved on memorials dedicated for that purpose. The Australian missing dead from the battle are inscribed on the memorial at the V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial, and over 400 unidentified bodies from the battle are also buried there.V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery Memorial, Fromelles, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, accessed 03/02/2010 Many of the dead were recovered by German forces after the battle and buried behind German lines. Some of these burial sites were located in the years immediately following the First World War, and the bodies were reburied in cemeteries in the area, including the V.C. Corner Cemetery.Another brick in the wall, Nigel Steel, Wartime 44 (2008) 10–15
Discovery of mass graves
The burial pits at Pheasant Wood remained undisturbed for over 90 years. Their existence was discovered following research by retired Australian teacher Lambis Englezos. Following a visit to Fromelles in 2002, Englezos calculated a discrepancy in the numbers of unidentified Fromelles burials when compared to the lists of the missing. Following up on this, he investigated the possibility that the missing bodies had been buried in unmarked mass graves by the Germans, and never recovered since. In May 2006, 60 Minutes reporter Ray Martin and producer Stephen Rice began an investigation of Englezos's theories and visited Fromelles to examine his evidence. In July 2006 they broadcast a report supporting his findings and demanding action by the Federal Government. Several years of historical research, including examination of aerial photographs, Red Cross records, and German war records, led to the convening of an Army History Unit in Australia, and submissions to the All-Party Parliamentary War Graves and Battlefield Heritage Group in the UK. The evidence eventually became strong enough that an official investigation was ordered.'Getting us here – building the case', Remembering Fromelles (CWGC), accessed 03/02/2010
An archaeological evaluation of the suspected burial sites was carried out in May 2008 by the Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division (GUARD). This limited survey and excavation confirmed that the sites contained the bodies of British and Australian soldiers from the First World War, and this led to the funding of a larger project to fully excavate the site.'The GUARD investigations – proving the case', Remembering Fromelles (CWGC), accessed 03/02/2010 The main excavation was carried out by Oxford Archaeology from May to September 2009, and resulted in the recovery of 250 British and Australian bodies from five mass graves, and some 6,200 individual artefacts.'Questions and answers', Remembering Fromelles (CWGC), accessed 03/02/2010 Appeals have been made for relatives of soldiers known to have died in the battle to come forward, and DNA analysis by LGC Forensics is being carried out in an attempt to identify the bodies.
Planning Following the discovery of the mass graves at Pheasant Wood in May 2008, the British and Australian governments set up a jointly funded body, the Fromelles Management Board (FMB), to achieve three main aims: to recover, identify, and re-inter the bodies. The FMB would co-ordinate between multiple French, British and Australian organisations, and provide overall supervision for the project. Although the British and Australian governments, through the FMB, retained overall responsibility, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) was asked to act as their agent and provide day-to-day project management, with the Fromelles Project Manager, provided by the CWGC, also being a member of the Board.'Fromelles – the story so far', Air Commodore Steve Martin, AM (Australian Defence Staff – London) and Tracey Vennai (UK Ministry of Defence), Co-Chairs of the Fromelles Management Board, 14 September 2009
In addition to providing management for the project, the CWGC was asked to construct a new cemetery for the reburial of the bodies that would be recovered. Although asked to do this by the British and Australian governments, the design, construction and maintenance of such cemeteries is part of the central remit of the CWGC, and as such the estimated 900,000 euros construction cost was covered by funding from CWGC member countries. The funding for the excavations, DNA analysis, and reburial ceremonies, was shared equally by the British and Australian governments.'Ministers announce end of excavation at Fromelles', Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Maidenhead, UK, 9 September 2009
The plans and designs for the new cemetery were drawn up by the commission's architect, Barry Edwards. One of the immediate problems faced was deciding on a suitable location. The original location of the mass graves was considered as a site for the cemetery (and was offered as such by the landowner), but the ground was found to be too prone to flooding. The site that was chosen was nearby, about 120 metres to the southwest of the original battlefield mass graves, but on a higher piece of land just outside the village of Fromelles. The overall cemetery shape is hexagonal, and the design incorporated radial rows of headstones leading towards a raised Cross of Sacrifice on the southern side of the cemetery. This higher location for the cemetery allowed the deliberate placement of the Cross of Sacrifice at a place where it would be visible on the skyline when viewed from the nearby V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial. This memorial is one of several locations in and around Fromelles where those who fell in the battle are commemorated. The Fromelles battlefield of 1916 would also be visible from the elevated Cross of Sacrifice terrace. Another consideration in the design was the cemetery orientation, with the headstones orientated to the south to avoid shadows and to increase the daytime visibility of the headstone inscriptions. The exact layout of the burial plots was left flexible as the number of burials needed was not known at that point. A small car park was included in the design. Unlike earlier CWGC cemeteries, this modern cemetery was designed to include ramps to allow accessibility for wheelchair users.'A cemetery of today with its roots in tradition', Remembering Fromelles (CWGC), accessed 03/02/2010
The CWGC plans for the new cemetery were made public in April 2009 and announced by the commission's Director-General, Richard Kellaway, who stated a desire that the cemetery would be worthy of the sacrifices made by those who would be buried there, and that it would become "a place of dignified pilgrimage and remembrance for generations to come."'Plans for first war cemetery to be built in fifty years made public', Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Maidenhead, UK, 22 April 2009
In September 2009, a report was published by the Fromelles Management Board ('Fromelles – the story so far'). Written by the Board co-Chairs from the UK Ministry of Defence and the Australian Defence Force, the report stated that the object of the project is "the dignified recovery of the remains of those soldiers who have lain in the field at Pheasant Wood for the last 93 years so as to provide them the same courtesies that were extended to their colleagues when the battlefields were cleared at the end of the War – an individual burial with military honours and their name on their headstone where ever possible."
Construction The cemetery construction contract was awarded to Beton-Bouw Bentein BVBA. This company, which was founded in 1921, helped to rebuild Flanders after the war, and had previous experience working with the commission.'Work starts on new war cemetery', Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Maidenhead, UK, 28 May 2009 Before construction could begin, the area had to be checked by the French authorities for ordnance and other materiel left from the war. This was done in April 2009, and though no unexploded munitions were found, other wartime debris was cleared from the area, including barbed wire and shell cases.War time debris – Fromelles, 24 April 2009, David Richardson (CWGC, Fromelles Project Manager), accessed 03/02/2010 Construction proper began in May 2009, with the site being levelled in preparation for the laying of the foundations, while temporary hoardings were put up to enclose the site.Ground Works begin at the new cemetery, 21 May 2009, David Richardson (CWGC, Fromelles Project Manager), accessed 03/02/2010