LGC Forensics has been selected to carry out novel DNA testing on British and Australian troops buried in World War One (WW1) mass graves in northern France.
The Fromelles Management Board, acting on behalf of the British and Australian governments, has selected LGC as a partner to combine forensic archaeology, anthropology and advanced DNA technology to help identify the bodies of soldiers who died at the battle of Fromelles in 1916.
More than 5,000 Australian, and more than 1,500 British troops were lost (killed or wounded and missing in action) during the battle on 19 July 1916 as a result of German gunfire.
Up to 400 soldiers are thought to have been buried without their dog tags in several mass graves in a site known as Pheasant Wood near the village of Fromelles.
More than 90 years after the WW1 battle, a complex forensic operation is being carried out to determine, where possible, the identity of the soldiers' remains.
Each soldier will be reburied within a dedicated new military cemetery.
LGC Forensics will initially carry out DNA tests on a number of bodies taken from two of the graves to determine if viable DNA profiles can be obtained from them.
The company's forensic anthropologists and DNA experts will work closely together to help to identify the best samples from which to extract the DNA.
If viable DNA profiles are generated from these, they will be compared with DNA profiles supplied by descendants of the war dead, who have come forward from both Australia and Britain.
The hope is that by conducting such familial DNA comparisons, the identity of the unknown soldiers can be established.
Assuming this initial work is a success, LGC Forensics will begin carrying out DNA tests on the remaining bodies buried at Pheasant Wood.
The pilot project is due to be completed in June and, if successful, the whole project will be completed in time for the 94th anniversary of the battle in July 2010.
