Fromelles prepares to remember fallen Australians
By Rachel Brown in Fromelles
Updated 10 hours 36 minutes ago
Thousands of Australians have descended on the small town to farewell their loved ones. (ABC News: Tim Leslie)
The bodies of 250 Australian and British soldiers were recovered from a mass grave near the French town in 2007.
Thousands of Australians have descended on the small town to farewell their loved ones at a memorial ceremony which will get underway from 8:00pm AEST.
Families say they always knew missing soldiers were buried near Fromelles, but it was not until a soldier's good-luck charm was dug up in Pheasant Wood a couple of years ago that the mass grave was discovered.
The reinterment of the soldiers found at Pheasant Wood began in January, and today the last soldier will be buried again alongside his former comrades.
Ninety-six of the soldiers have been identified through DNA testing, and their inscribed tombstones will be unveiled today. For the others, their families have until 2014 to submit DNA samples.
Fromelles hopes its new military cemetery will be a popular pilgrimage destination, like Gallipoli and Villers Bretonneux.
The town's mayor Hubert Huchette says the town holds a special place in its heart for Australia.
"In 1916, the Australian soldiers were on the frontline," he said.
"In 2010, Australians, French people, British people, the young ones as well as the older ones, are gathered together on the frontline to honour them."