DNA hope over mass war grave
16/Mar/2010
A FIFE minister is keeping his fingers crossed that DNA samples will finally help him find his grandfather’s remains, almost 94 years after his relative was killed during the first world war.
The Rev Mitchell Collins, of Glenrothes, is praying that his family will soon be able to lay flowers on the grave of Private Mitchell Collins, who is thought to have died at Fromelles in France in 1916.
The attack at Fromelles on the night of July 19, 1916, turned out to be hugely costly for the allies, with more than 1500 Britons and over 5500 Australians killed, wounded or missing in just one day.
After around 250 bodies were found in a mass grave at Pheasant Wood near Fromelles two years ago, a programme of DNA testing was launched in a bid to establish their identities.
It is understood a joint announcement will soon be made by the UK and Australian governments, revealing how many of the men have been identified and who they were.
One of those who contributed a sample was Mr Collins, who hopes the mystery surrounding what happened to his grandfather will finally be solved.
“It would be massively moving if we could find my grandfather at last, and it would complete our family history.
“It was an absolute mess, a massacre at Fromelles, and we’re just hoping that we will finally know the truth,” he said.
Source and full story: the Courier
(Tags: dna, history)