Suchergebnisse

On the 19 July 1916, the Australian Imperial Force fought in their first major battle on the Western Front in World War I. The Battle of Fromelles, as it has come to be known, which lasted only 24 hours, has come to rep resent one of the most tragic battles in Australia's military history. Despite, the terrible loss of human life suffered by the Australian Imperial Force at Fromelles, this battle was to be lost in Australia's history until recently. The quest of one man, Lambis Englezos, to find the remains of the Australian soldiers from the Battle of Fromelles who were declared missing in action has not only sparked Australians' interest in this particular battle but has also opened the debate on the Australian Government's involvement in locating and then relocating our war dead. The Australian Government since the end of the Graves Registration Unit in 1922 has refused to support the speculative searching for the. remains of Australia' s war dead. Instead, the position of the Australian Government has been to take appropriate action only if and when the remains of Australian war dead are discovered by accident. This was reflected in The Australian Defence Instructions {General) Missing in Action Presumed Killed : Recovery of Human Remains of Australian Defence Force Members of 1996, which outlined the policies and procedures of the Australian Government and the Australian Defence Force. However, the persistence of Lambis Englezos to prove his theory to the Australian Government brought the Australia Defence force policy of 1996 under scrutiny and highlighted its inadequacy in dealing with his claim . Lambis Englezos was convinced the remains of 250 Australia and English soldiers remained buried in burial pits at Pheasant Wood, undisturbed since they had been buried there by the Germans after the Battle of Fromelles . Consequently, new procedures were to be put in place to analyse the evidence presented by Lambis Englezos pertaining to burial pits at Pheasant Wood, in order to determine whether or not the site should be investigated by the Australian Government. Similar non- government pressure caused the Australian Government to assist in the attempts to locate the wrecks of HMAS Sydney and Australian Hospital Ship 'Centaur'. The success of the investigation of the burial pits at Pheasant Wood, and hence the discovery of the 250 Australian and English soldiers who had been missing for 94 years has resulted in a change in the Australian Defence Force policy. In 2009, the Australian Defence Force released a revised policy relating to the recovery of human remains of Australian Defence Force Members missing in action. The amendments of the 2009 Australian Defence Force policy reflect the framework that was implemented during the investigation into the missing at Fromelles. The discovery of the remains of Australian soldiers at Frome lies and the quest of Lambis Englezos generated a significant amount of media attention. This resulted in increasing community interest in the missing soldiers of Fromelles and the growing public pressure on the Australian Government to react . Since the discovery of the remains of Australian soldiers at Fromelles in 2008, the Australian Government has invested to date $6 .2 million. Each soldier is being DNA tested in hope of proving his identity and individually reburied in the newly constructed Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Cemetery. The debate that has ensued since the discovery of the missing soldiers of Fromelles is related to the moral questions as to the right method of honouring our war dead. Should the Australian Government make every effort to relocate our war dead? Or, is there a time when their remains should be left in peace and honoured through other ways? The Australian Defence Force policy released in 2009 was revised in order to provide a more structured and appropriate framework for the Australian Defence Force and the Australian Government to investigate claims of the human remains of our missing war dead. However, the discovery of two shipwrecks from World War II, The HMAS Sydney and the Australian Hospital Ship 'Centaur' highlight the inconsistency of the policy. The inconsistencies lie in the decisions made by the Australian Government in the recovery of the remains. The Australian Government has gone above and beyond the boundaries of its previous policy to recover the remains of the Australian soldiers at Fromelles . However in the instances of the HMAS Sydney and the Australian Hospital Ship 'Centaur' no effort has been made to recover any remains, nor has there been any discernable public pressure to recover such remains. It is recommended that the Australian Government and the Australian Defence Force adopt a policy that is consistent in its treatment of the remains of Australia's war dead.