20 Jul 2010

Final tributes paid to unknown soldiers

4:44 pm on 20 July 2010

Moving tributes have been paid to Australian and British soldiers who died in the Battle of Frommel in July 1916.

The last of 250 bodies of World War I troops recovered from mass graves have been re-interred in northern France.

More than 2000 Australians were killed in two days and many were put into a mass grave by the Germans. Their grave was uncovered only a couple of years ago.

The ABC reports 205 of those recovered have now been identified as Australian, three were British and 42 are still classified as unknown.

DNA technology has been able to positively identify 96 Australian soldiers whose inscribed tombstones were unveiled on Monday.

Thousands of Australians travelled to Fromelles for the ceremony. Prince Charles and Australia's Governor General Quentin Bryce were also there.