MPs to question handling of Fromelles remains
The Age
Wednesday August 19, 2009
THE British Parliament will raise questions about the exhumation of 300 World War I soldiers buried in a mass grave in France for more than 90 years.The all-party parliamentary war graves and battlefield heritage group, chaired by Lord Roper, is expected to reconvene in October and address the mounting controversy about the way the men's remains have been excavated as well as the tender won by the private company, Oxford Archeology.The anxiety has been fuelled by first-hand observations of the Fromelles site by Belgian battlefield specialist Johan Vandewalle, who was seconded to the site within a month of the company starting the excavation.A world-renowned battlefield excavation expert with 25 years' practical experience, he was called on to provide emergency advice and remedial works when water threatened to compromise the pits due to rain and inadequate site preparation.Air Commodore Steve Martin, the head of Australian defence staff in London, yesterday defended the project. He confirmed the Australian high commissioner in London had received a letter from Lord Roper last month raising concerns, but insisted the project was on track.
© 2009 The Age
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