Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery

Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery
Used for those deceased 19–20 July 1916 Battle of Fromelles
Established	30 January 2010 (2010-01-30)
Unveiled	19 July 2010
Location	50°36′28″N 02°51′5″E / 50.60778°N 2.85139°E / 50.60778; 2.85139 (Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery) near  Fromelles
Designed by	Barry Edwards
Total burials	250
Burials by nation
* United Kingdom, 3 Australia, 205 (96 identified by name) Unknown, 43
Burials by war
First World War
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Funerary and memory sites of the First World War (Western Front)
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, ii, vi
Designated	2023 (45th session)
Reference no.	1567-ND01
Statistics source: CWGC

Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery is a First World War cemetery built by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on the outskirts of Fromelles in northern France, near the Belgian border. Constructed between 2009 and 2010, it was the first new Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery for more than 50 years, the last such cemeteries having been built after World War II.^[1][2] The cemetery contains the graves of 250 British and Australian soldiers who died on 19 July 1916 in the Battle of Fromelles.

The bodies were discovered following historical research that included analysis of aerial photographs showing the presence of mass graves on the edge of Pheasant Wood (Bois Faisan), just outside the village of Fromelles. The presence of the bodies was confirmed in May 2008, and the bodies were recovered during excavation work in 2009. A specially convened Identification Board published a report on 17 March 2010 announcing the first 75 bodies to have been successfully identified using DNA analysis. Further identification continued until at least 2014.

In parallel with the recovery and identification projects, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission was asked by the British and Australian governments to construct a new cemetery to house the bodies. Building work on the cemetery began in May 2009, and the main structural elements were completed by January 2010. The dead soldiers were reburied with full military honours in a series of funeral services in January and February 2010. The ceremonial first reburial took place on 30 January 2010.

Following this period of reburials, topsoil was added to the cemetery, and the horticultural elements planted and allowed to grow into place. One final reburial took place as part of the cemetery's dedication ceremony, which was held on 19 July 2010 to mark the 94th anniversary of the Battle of Fromelles.