After the horrors of Gallipoli in 1915, it was not long before the soldiers of the Australian Imperial Force were thrust into action on the Western Front in France, initially at Fromelles in Northern France in July 1916.

Intended as a diversionary attack to stop the Germans from transferring troops south to the Somme region where the main fighting was taking place at the time, the Australian 5th Division and the British 61st Division were tasked with attacking a strong German line near the Aubers Ridge in French Flanders.

The Battalions of the Fifth Division had not fought at Gallipoli, so this was their first taste of battle.

The Australian and British troops advanced in daylight across open ground under heavy enemy fire, resulting in almost 2,000 Australians killed and 400 taken prisoner.

Those who fell in the enemy trenches were buried by the Germans, but those in No-Man’s-Land remained there until the end of the War. Once it was safe to return at the end of 1918, the remains that had lain in the open for three and a half years were collected and buried in two mass graves in VC Corner Cemetery, but unfortunately, none could be identified. The names of 1,299 Australians who died in the battle and don’t have a known grave are inscribed on a stone wall at this cemetery.

The names and identification discs of those recovered and buried by the Germans at the time were passed on to the British, but the location of the graves was not disclosed.

In the early 2000s, investigations by retired Melbourne teacher Lambis Englazos resulted in the discovery of a mass grave where the remains of 200 Australian and 50 British soldiers were buried by the Germans after the battle.

With the help of DNA technology, more than 90 Australian soldiers were identified, and nearly a century after they fell in battle, they have been interred in the new Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery, the first new Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery constructed in over fifty years.

Arthur Joseph Weir from Winiam, near Nhill, was one of these, who, after all this time with no known grave, now has one.

Weir was born on 6 February 1889 and was working on his family farm at Winiam when Australia joined the First World War in August 1914. He enlisted nearly a year later on 15 July 1915, listing his membership with the Winiam Rifle Club as his previous relevant experience.

He was accepted into the 29th Battalion, which was assigned to the 8th Brigade of the A.I.F.’s Fifth Division, which embarked in Melbourne on 10 November 1915, arriving in Egypt on 7 December.

While there, they spent time garrisoning the Suez Canal and completing their training before they continued to France to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in June 1916.

They had only been in France for a month before they took part in the fighting at Fromelles.

This was the first significant engagement with the enemy by the A.I.F. on the Western Front, and the Australian War Memorial described it as "the worst 24 hours in Australia’s entire history". Of 7,080 BEF casualties, 5,533 were suffered by the 5th Australian Division, while the Germans suffered between 1,600 and 2,000 casualties and lost 150 prisoners. Enemy losses were difficult to calculate as they retained control of the land on which the battle was fought and were responsible for dealing with the aftermath.

Weir entered the battle on 19 July and was never seen again. He was reported as missing on 19/20 July 1916, and a later inquiry established there were no eyewitness accounts to give any insight into how or exactly when he died.

The International Red Cross was informed that he appeared on a German Death List on 4 November 1916, and this was confirmed when his identification disc was received from Germany in March 1917 with hand written note stating that the soldier is deceased and buried in the vicinity of Fleurbaix, France.

Originally listed as having No Known Grave, he is commemorated at the V.C. Corner, Australian Cemetery, Fromelles.

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Arthur Weir’s name still appears on the wall at VC Corner Cemetery

Following the discovery of the mass grave and the identification of 75 Australian soldiers whose remains were recovered, Arthur Joseph Weir now has a grave and headstone in new the Pheasant Wood Fromelles Military Cemetery.

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Arthur Weir’s new gravestone in the Pheasant Wood Fromelles Military Cemetery
In Memoriam

WEIR - ln loving memory of our dear
son and brother, Private, Arthur
Joseph Weir, who gave his life for
The Empire in France, July 19th,
1916, aged 27 years.

He gave his life for his country,
For honor, faith and right;

With us his memory ever lives,
He fought a noble fight.

‘Midst the roaring of the battle,
And the rain of shot and shell,
Fighting for home and country,
He like a hero fell.

- Inserted by his loving parents, brothers and sisters, Winiam

- Nhill Free Press - 20-7-1917
His brother, Private Frederick William Weir, who served in the 38th Battalion, was also killed in action near Passchendaele on 13 October 1917, aged 29.