Exhibition tells story of Fromelles' fallen

An exciting new exhibition, organised by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which tells the story of 250 World War I soldiers recovered from a mass grave in northern France last year will open at the Imperial War Museum in London on July 1.

Remembering Fromelles: A New Cemetery for a New Century charts the construction of the new Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery, the first to be built in 50 years, and explains the fascinating story of how 250 Australian and British soldiers came to be found, excavated and then reburied in a fitting and final resting place.

Using artefacts found at Fromelles, personal recollections of those who worked on the project and photographs from each stage of the recovery process, the exhibition charts the construction of the cemetery and sheds new light on a forgotten story of World War I.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission Fromelles project manager David Richardson said: "This has been an incredible project to work on over the past two years. The building of a new Commission cemetery is something I never thought I would see, but as it nears completion, its tranquil beauty is, I believe, the finest honour we could have paid these men."

Remembering Fromelles: A New Cemetery for a New Century also details the painstaking and complex work to identify the soldiers. Many of the DNA testing techniques, which were used alongside historical and archaeological evidence, have set new standards in the field of forensic investigation.

The exhibition opens as the Fromelles project reaches its conclusion, with the dedication of the new Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery taking place on July 19. Echoing the traditional design of cemeteries built after the Great War, this new cemetery will give the soldiers of Fromelles the dignity in death denied to them for nearly a century. Helen Steed, a relative of one of those soldiers identified at Fromelles, said: "I have been overwhelmed by the determination shown by so many people to recover my grandfather and his comrades, and have them properly buried in a new, purpose-built Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery."

The exhibition, which is free of charge to visit, runs until January.

It is accompanied by a book of the same title which serves as a commemorative publication to these men and the sacrifice they made.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is responsible for marking and maintaining the graves of those members of the Commonwealth forces who died during the two world wars, for building and maintaining memorials to the dead whose graves are unknown and for providing records and registers of these 1.7 million burials and commemorations found in most countries throughout the world. For more information visit www.cwgc.org.