Lost war heroes identified in mass grave

Two Illawarra men have been formally identified among World War I soldiers buried in a mass grave in France.Private Robert Gladstone Fenwick, of Helensburgh, and Kiama-born Lieutenant John Parker were killed in action during the Battle of Fromelles, which began on July 19, 1916.The battle was considered the worst 24 hours in Australian military history when 5553 Australians were either killed, wounded, taken prisoner or went missing. The official death toll was put at 1780 by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. About 500 British troops were also killed.Lt Parker and Pte Fenwick, both 21 and members of the 30th Battalion, were two of 400 Australian and British soldiers buried by the Germans at Pheasant Wood after the conflict.Last year, the remains of 250 soldiers were exhumed by a combined Australian, British and French team; 203 were identified as Australian soldiers. Of the 203 Australians, 75 have been formally identified.Among those still to be identified is Sergeant Harold Richardson, whose nephew Bob Richardson lives in Tarrawanna.Victorian man Tim Lycett, a leading player in moves to have the mass graves researched, said 249 soldiers had been reinterred at a new French cemetery. The 250th will be buried when the cemetery is officially dedicated in July.DNA was extracted from the remains to be matched with samples from descendants. Further information from www.army.gov.au/fromelles.