Greek Australian historian and former Melbourne teacher Lambis Englezos has been honoured in Fromelles, France, with a street named after him – recognising his pivotal role in the discovery of 250 missing Australian soldiers killed during the Battle of Fromelles in the First World War.
The unveiling took place earlier this week, with Fromelles Mayor Jean-Gabriel Masson paying tribute to Englezos’ tireless work.
“Why the ‘Lambis Englezos’ alley? Since 2002, I can testify as the honourable mayor (during this time), you have campaigned to bring out of the shadows the Australian soldiers who disappeared after the Battle of Fromelles,” Masson said.
The honour comes 17 years after Englezos and his team located the mass graves at Pheasant Wood, not far from the 1916 battlefield, following a meticulous six-year investigation.
The soldiers had been buried by German forces in five large pits – a fact confirmed through aerial photos and a critical document found in the Munich archives, detailing orders issued just two days after the battle.
Of the 250 soldiers discovered in 2008, 180 have now been identified, but Englezos says his mission is far from complete.
“It’s been a journey,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “You want to maximise every possible chance to identify a soldier. Had we left them like that, it would have sent a really bad message.”
Englezos began his mission in 2002 after spotting a brief mention of a possible burial site in Don’t Forget Me, Cobber.
This clue led him to uncover vital evidence that prompted a government-backed archaeological dig, which recovered over 700 war-related items and confirmed the burial of ANZAC soldiers at Pheasant Wood.
Today, students in Fromelles honour the fallen by adopting their graves, while Englezos continues his search for other missing Diggers in France and Turkey.
Source: The Daily Telegraph
