The Missing of Fromelles: the poignant story behind this perished train ticket.



The Missing of Fromelles: the poignant story behind this perished train ticket. 

After 250 missing Australian and British soldiers were discovered in a mass grave near Fromelles in 2009, their remains were carefully exhumed, and all their personal items painstakingly catalogued. 

The recovery team collected 6,200 artifacts from the remains, ranging from everyday items such as buttons, buckles and smoking pipes to more intimate ones such as bibles, rosary beads and lockets. 

These personal items not only supported identification of remains but also told poignant stories about their deceased owners. 

The item that most ‘strikes a chord’ with me is this partially perished train ticket that was found folded with a gas mask. After the ticket was dried out, it revealed some remarkable text. 

It was an unused second-class return train ticket from Freemantle to Perth in Western Australia that its owner had purchased in 1915 in anticipation of his return to civilian life. 

I often ponder about the young man who purchased it. 

Undoubtedly, he was full of enthusiasm and wonderment as he travelled on the train to Perth, yet blissfully unaware that it was propelling him on an irreversible trajectory toward death. 

For a sneak preview of my soon-to-be released book, go to link:
https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781761265976/night-in-passchendaele/ 

Excerpt from: The Nameless Names: recovering the missing ANZACs. 

Photograph credit: Remembering Fromelles: a new cemetery for a new century. 


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