Headstone dedication for battle casualty – 100 years on
Channel: contactpublishing
Date: 2017-09-22

Members of the Australian Defence Force participated in a headstone dedication service in France on Wednesday after the remains of a previously unknown soldier were formally identified.
2nd Lieutenant Charles Maxwell Bowden of the 22nd Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, was identified by comparing DNA samples from the skeleton to Aussies alive today who proved to be his relatives.
The headstone dedication ceremony took place at Dive Copse Cemetery, Sailly-le-Sec, in France on 20 September 2017 as part of the 100th Anniversary commemorations of the Battle of Polygon Wood.
The Battle of Polygon Wood was a component of the Third Battle of Ypres, or ‘Passchendaele’, and was the 5th Australian Division’s first major battle in Belgium.
While the battle was considered a success for the AIF, it cost 5770 Australian casualties.
The ADF supported the commemoration by providing a Catafalque Party and wreath and flag orderlies from Australia’s Federation Guard, an Australian Army Chaplain and members of the Army Band.




This video is brought to you by CONTACT Publishing – producers of CONTACT Air Land & Sea magazine, the CONTACT fortnightly newsletter and the daily CONTACT military-news web site.


CONTACT reports on the people, platforms and operations of the world’s defence forces, particularly Australia. We are dedicated to presenting stories, photos and video that capture the essence of serving-members’ lives, as far as possible in their own words.

Subscribing to CONTACT is totally FREE (advertising covers our costs).
If you subscribe, you can expect to receive our quarterly magazine, our fortnightly newsletter and a copy of our viewee-twoee-sized "Weapons of the ADF" Part 1 and Part 2 – and no spam.

SUBSCRIBE TO CONTACT at http://www.aussiecombat.com


A bit more about CONTACT...

CONTACT is independently owned and operated by a proud Aussie Veteran.

The CONTACT web site (http://www.militarycontact.com) is our internet-based headquarters where we publish daily news and other interesting, relevant items. We also use Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/contactmagazine), Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/aussiecontact), Pinterest (http://www.pinterest.com/contactmagazine) and YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/contactpublishing) as ’embassies’ where we engage our audience, inviting them back to our headquarters – http://www.militarycontact.com

The CONTACT newsletter is a free fortnightly email-based publication that draws attention to recent news stories. Its intent is to bring readers the best of the previous fortnight in a handy-reference format, linking back to the original story on our web site.

CONTACT Air Land & Sea magazine is a high-quality, full-colour, features-based magazine published four times per year. Initially launched in March 2004 as a traditional paper-based magazine, it switched to digital in 2013. It is now only available by FREE subscription – http://www.aussiecombat.com


Sincerely,

Brian Hartigan
Managing Editor
Contact Publishing Pty Ltd

Mobile - 0408 496 664
Fax - (02) 4293 1010

PO Box 3091
Minnamurra
NSW 2533
AUSTRALIA