BRIEFING ROOM
Soldiers of 4th Australian Division at Garter Point, during the Battle of Polygon Wood, 27 September 1917. They wear Small Box Respirators. This image was taken by Australian official photographer, Frank Hurley. (CROWN COPYRIGHT)
BRITAIN AT WAR is delighted to report that the remains of a previously unknown Australian soldier displayed by an American museum will be returned to Australian authorities for honourable burial, writes Lauren Cantillon.
The skull was featured in an online exhibition by the Mütter Museum at the College of Physicians, Philadelphia, to which the skull was donated in 1917. However, independent researchers on a British forum were able to establish the remains to be those of Private Thomas Hurdis, 59th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, who died on 3 October 1917. This identification has been confirmed by Australian authorities.
