Discovering where our fallen are buried

At 19 years old Private Laurice John Inglis lost his life when killed in action at Broodseinde Ridge in Belgium.

Born in Port Pirie, South Australia on March 2, 1898, he enlisted on November 1, 1916 and left Adelaide a month and a half later. He was the only son of Henry and Lucy Inglis.

Private Laurice John Inglis. Photograph from the State Records of South Australia. SRSA ref: GRG26/5/4/2775.

Sadly when Laurice fell, he would have been buried but with no known grave for him.

This would be the case for many Australian soldiers who gave their lives for their country.

This may be about to change with a $2.2 million contract between the Queensland University of Technology and Federal Government which will see the development of forensic technology capable of identifying the remains of Australian service members who died on the battlefield during the First and Second World Wars as well as the Korean War.

Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price said the project, funded through the Defence Innovation Hub, was an important investment for Defence.

“This leading-edge technology is invaluable in identifying the remains of Australian soldiers recovered from historical battlefields," said Minister Price.

“Our soldiers, sailors and airmen deserve to be identified and finally laid to rest by their family and loved ones.”

The project will combine traditional forensic methods with next-generation DNA sequencing technologies to identify recovered remains from recent wars.

“This investment in QUT’s forensic technology capabilities will rightly benefit the families of the missing and is an important national responsibility,” said Trevor Evans MP, Member for Brisbane.

QUT’s world leading DNA identification technology will enhance sovereign forensic capability and support Defence’s Unrecovered War Casualties teams’ identifications.

Maybe in the near future, the descendants of Private Laurice John Inglis will have a place to visit and honour their ancestor for his sacrifice.

Reference

• 'Private Laurice John Ingliss', Peter Barnes on Facebook, accessed on 2nd October, 2021.