I invite you to join me at Vision and Verb, where I talk about the ‘Tree of Light‘ giving hope and purpose at Christmas time to those who are feeling the loss of a loved one.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
1915

I hope you can find time to watch the following video.  The songs are sung by three soldiers who are currently serving in Afghanistan and the accompanying slides show images from the conflict zone.

This poem by John Hawkhead quite poignantly draws parallels between past an current conflicts.

Helmand

Night on the cold plain,
invisible sands lift,
peripheral shadows stir,

space between light and dark
shrouding secrets;
old trades draped grey.

Here too poppies fall,
petals blown on broken ground,
seeds scattered on stone

and this bright bloom,
newly cropped,
leaves pale remains,

fresh lines cut;
the old sickle wind
sharp as yesterday.

John Hawkhead
2009

The testing program sets out to identify the individuals that have been killed in combat and will be the largest undertaking of this kind to date.

From the press release:

The group burial in Fromelles was confirmed during a limited excavation in May 2008 and it is thought that between 250 and 300 Australian and British soldiers were buried there by German forces after the Battle of Fromelles, which took place in 1916.

The decision to start full-scale DNA testing has been made after a successful pilot study which tested a cross-section of the Fromelles remains. Samples were taken from the teeth and bones of remains found in different parts of the burial sites to assess the overall quality and quantity of DNA that could be expected to be obtained.

A full archaeological excavation of the site is expected to be completed by the end of September and an identification board will convene in March 2010 to consider the available evidence that may lead to the identification of individual soldiers.

As well as the remains of bodies, the archaeological excavation has already resulted in the discovery of several items, including uniform adornments, such as belt hooks and vegetable ivory buttons, which are particular to certain uniforms and will assist in identifying whether individuals are of British or Australian nationality.

Following the formal identifications the soldiers will be laid to rest with the due dignity they deserve.

• My original post

• Fromells military cemetary web page

• Commonwealth War Grave Commission

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) have set up a new website that explains a current project, which sets out to move the remains of more than 600 casualties from Pheasant Wood to new military cemetery at Fromelles for their reburial.

In May 2008, after several years of painstaking research and investigation, five burial pits dating from the First World War were identified at Pheasant Wood, near Fromelles in northern France.  The pits, which have lain undisturbed for more than 90 years, are believed to contain the remains of between 250 and 400 British and Australian soldiers, buried behind German lines after the Battle of Fromelles in July 1916.

The British and Australian governments have asked the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to oversee the operation to recover the remains and to create a new military cemetery at Fromelles for their reburial.  The work began in May 2009 and will be completed by July 2010.

The website explains that the attack at Fromelles took place during the night of 19th July 1916 and that by the time the action was called off in the morning, 5,533 Australians had either lost their lives or were wounded and missing.  The casualties amongst the British who fought alongside them were 1,547.

I think this is worthy project and a fitting way to commemorate those who suffered to make the world a better place.