NEWS

17 May, 2011 – If you would like to make a donation to the British Memorial Association, Fromelles you can now do so via PayPal. Please click on the 'Donate' button below. To learn more about the Association please visit www.westernfrontassociation.com

7 May, 2011 – Branch representatives were honoured to be among those present at the dedication of the Dorset Great War Memorial.
 
14 February, 2011 – Added Issue No. 7 of the Dugout
 
31 January, 2011 - Dedication Service for the Dorset Great War Memorial added.
 
10 January, 2011 - Events schedule for 2011 published and the branch 2011 Schools Competition Launched.
 
12 November, 2010 – For those around on the Western Front during armistice time Peter Barton aided by his colleague, researcher and historian Jeremy Banning, will be giving an illustrated lecture on the Battlefields of Arras. Venue for the lecture will be the Wellington Quarry, Arras. Full details can be found at http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com. Please note the lecture will be in FRENCH but there will be time available at the end for questions (in English).
 
9 October, 2010 – The Branch is pleased to host the official launch of the British Memorial Association, Fromelles which will take place immediately following the scheduled talk by Peter Barton on The Records of the Red Cross. Further information can be found in the following news release.
 
30 September, 2010 – The 2010 WFA Branch Schools Competition – Presentation Evening will take place at The Tank Museum, Bovington. The presentation event starts at 19:00 and is preceded by a guided tour of The Museum starting at 18:00. All are welcome.
 
24/25 September, 2010 – In association with the Dorset Family History Society the Branch will present an “Ancestors in the Great War Workshop” to be held at “Treetops”, the DFHS research centre, Stanley House, Fleets Lane, Poole, BH15 3AJ. For further details and an application form please visit http://www.dorsetfhs.org.uk/workshops.htm#war.
 
01 September, 2010 – Added Branch Gallipoli Tour May 2010 in Members Articles, Child Okeford New Roll of Honour and the Dorset Regiment Great War Memorial Takes Shape articles in the War Memorials section, and Issue No. 6 of The Dugout. Also updated the Personal Inscriptions article in Members Articles.
 
20 July, 2010 – Added Prisoner of War article

19 June, 2010 - An estimated three to four hundred people were in attendance at Givenchy-Lès-La Bassée on 19 June for the unveiling ceremony of the Tunnellers' Memorial. A brief report on a wonderful and superbly organised ceremony can be found at the links below. It was a very special day in commemoration of the tunnellers’ that will live long in the memory of all those that were present. Representatives from at least three branches of the WFA were present at the ceremony which was very pleasing to see.
 
A BBC Wales Today report on the ceremony is available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10371047
 
Pictures and video will be added to the Tunnellers Memorial website http://www.tunnellersmemorial.com/Default.htm in due course.
 
http://jeremybanning.co.uk/blog/
http://www.forumeerstewereldoorlog.nl/viewtopic.php?t=22518
 
30 March, 2010 - Added Issue No. 5 of The Dugout newsletter and updated Personal Inscriptions article
 
17 March, 2010 - Branch member Victoria Burbidge is the British Historian and Representative for the Association Fromelles-Weppes - Terre de Mémoire 14-18. She worked with author and historian, Peter Barton, to extract from the Red Cross lists the names of some of the British and Australian men killed during the Battle of Fromelles in 1916.
 
On 17th March, 2010 the British and Australian governments announced that 75 of the soldiers killed at the Battle of Fromelles and subsequently recovered from the Pheasant Wood mass grave had been positively identified. Sadly no British soldiers could be named at this stage.
 
While they could not be named individually, three British soldiers were confirmed to be among the 250 soldiers recovered from the mass graves at Pheasant Wood and 128 were confirmed to have served the Australian Army. The remaining 44 are, for the time being, classified as 'unknown'.
 
BBC reporter Robert Hall talks to Victoria about the significance of the announcement in the following two clips:
 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8572527.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8572643.stm
 
Further information on the First World War burial pits discovered at Fromelles is available at http://www.cwgc.org/fromelles/
 
15 March 2010 - Added Branch Battlefield Tour 2010 - Draft Itinerary v1.0 in Events 2010
 
15 February, 2010 - Added Sopwith Aircraft of the Great War in Members Articles
 
27 January, 2010 - Branch website is launched.