Don't Forget Me Cobber
The story of Fromelles, Pheasant Wood and Lambis Englezos is quite well known to Aussies since in 2008, a mass grave was discovered and 250 soldiers were exhumed - 203 of them being Australian boys.
A new cemetery was built at Fromelles and all the soldiers were buried with full military honours. As the relative of a soldier who has no known grave, I am of the opinion that this sort of research and endeavour is worth the time, effort and money. I am not an avid battlefields aficionado and certainly don't agree with war under any circumstances, but I am a lover of history and believe that our recent history is as valid a concern as dinosaurs or Pharaohs.
We visited the new cemetery, then had a coffee in a fabulous French/Aussie café. We wandered down to Pheasant Wood were the mass grave had been discovered and then out to the Cobber Memorial and VC Corner cemetery.
The battle of 19-20 July 1916 resulted in over 5000 casualties - many of the injured lay in No Man's Land and during the next three days and nights, soldiers came out of the trenches and rescued their mates. The full story behind the Cobber Memorial is on the AWM website.
The battle of Fromelles was a diversion for a bigger battle south at Pozieres.
The youngest of my 4 great uncles, Vern, won a Military Cross for his gallantry during the Fromelles battle while his brother Percy was fighting at Pozieres.
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