http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/...d-War-dead.html

It would be remarkable if such a result were to be achieved.

NigelS

Sorry but link did not work.

Sorry folks URL got truncated - now corrected in original post

NigelS

Hmmm ..... Does anyone else detect an element of self-publicity on the part of the firm that has the DNA contract?

That may, however, be an unduly cynical view - perhaps a soldier has been found who is perfectly conserved by dessication, complete with a cup in hand and a batch of dirty postcards from the Pas de Calais that he forgot to post before he went into battle.

Mel

We move from "So testing for DNA on the back of a stamp a soldier licked ... would certainly be worth a try if the card was stored in a dry place like the back of a desk." to 'A stamp licked by a British soldier now lying in a mass grave in northern France could be enough to identify his remains 90 years after he fell in battle.' That Daily Telegraph subeditor is an idiot!

Are the British going down the line of using DNA to identify bodies - I thought it was only going to be the Australians who would use DNA evidence

Steve

Harsh but true ... and after all that good work on the expenses!

Mel

Steve

The Brits are following suit. All the information is on the CWGC Fromelles site here:

http://www.cwgc.org/fromelles/

Mel

Yes Steve, DNA testing is going to be conducted on 'all' the remains. I think it was a case of all or none quite simply because no one could be certain that nationality of remains could be established in every case.

There are some interesting comments in the article but I think it's a little misleading. As a crime scene officer, I might be a little picky here, but for a chain of evidence from a licked stamp, we'd need proof that the stamp was licked by the man in question. For example, isn't it quite feasible that he gave the card to a mate to post for him and it was the mate that affixed the stamp? Now, if both he and his mate are amongst the missing at Pheasant Wood, any identified DNA may then wrongly be attributed to the man and not his mate and thus result in the remains being given the wrong identification. The whole concept is called "beyong reasonable doubt".

It may be physically possible to do but I think verifying the identity using it will be next to impossible. Descendant DNA comparison is the only true way of being certain.

Finally, has anyone noticed the stuff up in the third last paragraph?
"The British and Australian governments have already published the names of soldiers they believe may be buried at the site on a dedicated website: fromelles.net"

The website linked is not the British and Australian Govt's site at all but rather my private research site!! Not that I mind the free advertising though

Cheers,
Tim L.

Thanks Mel and Tim,

Surely the British will now have to consider DNA on all bodies found in the Battlefields.

Steve

Canada is going the same route: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1710433

Personally I think it is a mistake not to extend it to buried unknowns. There's a 1 in 6 chance that my wife's great uncle is buried in an unknown 102nd grave in Dury Mill Cemetery, and two of his nieces are still alive. That's much better odds than you're usually going to get.

Problem is Michael, how many of the 'Known Unto God's' do we need to exhume in a cemetery to identify just one? Seems a bit unfair to disturb all the others.

At least this way, there is no murky grey areas for people to argue about - it's cut and dried. Discovered in a field is fine but not if already in a CWGC.

(although I can sympathise with your thoughts)

Cheers,
Tim L.

Of course, if the stamp was licked by the chap, chapess working in the "post office" then its all a bit moot.

What next, the D.N.A. testing of all the gummed flaps of envelopes sent home?


Connaught Stranger

They would be better off using the technique to try and identify the bloke who sent in the 'Ripper' tape that misled the police in the Yorkshire Ripper enquiry.

Edwin

Edwin

You're a bit behind the times.

The hoaxer was caught and sentenced precisely because his DNA was extracted from the gum of the letters that he sent:

http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/WEAR-JA...LEAP.1391767.jp

Regards

Mel

Ps He was sentenced to eight years for perverting the course of justice.

Delighted to hear it. Eight years a light sentence.

Edwin