96th Anniversary

Yesterday was a double sad day for my family. A year ago I was in France with my mother to be at Thomas' death site 95 years (to the day) of his death. At the same time of this commemoration my mother's father passed away in Australia.

So this year November 5th was a time to commemorate my great-grandfather (Thomas Rutherford) and my grandfather (Frederick McPaul) deaths.

This photograph was taken by me on November 5th 2011 and it shows the area where Thomas and the others are still buried today.

Unknown Soldiers In Photographs

The following photographs were sent to me to by a family member of John Harris. They have been placed on the November 5th 1916 website, on John Harris' personal page. They contain John Harris and other soldiers whom names are unknown - if you recognise a soldier please let me know.

John Harris is standing on the left-side of this photograph.

John Harris is standing on the right-side of this photograph.

John Harris is sitting on the left-side of this photograph. The solider standing behind him and the one sitting next to him are from the 1st battalion as they are wearing 1st battalion patches on their uniforms (top of left arms).

Trying to Get Government Support

The following is a brief overview of the steps myself and my father took to try and get government support:

 
My dad and myself decided that we would try and get the federal government to look at my research. Dad hoped that my research would be enough for the government to make them search the Gueudecourt area in the hope of locating our missing soldiers.

I wanted official researchers to look at my research and tell me if I had done the right thing and to say what I found was correct. Once this happened I would feel much happier about trying to locate family members and let them know what I had found.


Our first step was to contact our local federal member to ask him to forward my research onto the appropriate person in the government. Once we did this most of the correspondence was between him and the different officials my research was forwarded onto.


After more than a year, the federal government finally got back to me with their response. It was a mixed response for my dad and myself. Their response gave me the response I was looking for, but did not give dad the response he wanted. I have to admit that I have now begun wanting to know for sure the soldiers are still under the ground.

The government basically said that my research was good and that I was right - the soldiers were buried in March 1917 and never moved. The said that I did not have any new information and that I didn't have specific enough information for their March 1917 burial. Due to these two items they could not do anything further.

I still hope that some day they can help me confirm the soldiers are still there and/or help me erect a memorial to the soldiers.

100th Anniversary

I will be going to Gueudecourt for the 100th anniversary on November 5th 2016. If there is anyone who would like to join me at Gueudecourt and visit the field where the 1st Battalion soldiers are still buried meet me in Gueudecourt at the monument at around 10am (this time may change closer to the date).