DNA work identifies 11 World War I soldiers for Australian families

A collaborative forensic project led by specialists in Scotland has succeeded in confirming the identities of eleven Australian soldiers who were listed as missing in action during World War I. The identifications were announced in the lead‑up to the national Remembrance Day ceremony, allowing families to receive official confirmation of their ancestors’ fates after more than a century of uncertainty.

Among the newly identified servicemen is Lieutenant Andrew Anderson, a 19‑year‑old who enlisted in 1915 and fought at battles including Pozieres, Mouquet Farm and Bullecourt before being killed at the Battle of Menin Road near Ypres in 1917. Anderson is the great‑uncle of Defence Minister Richard Marles, who said he felt “enormously proud” of his relative’s service and grateful that the soldier could now be formally remembered.

The DNA and archival‑record matching process that produced the results is part of an ongoing international effort to resolve the status of missing Anzac troops. Approximately 30,000 Australian soldiers remain unaccounted for from the First World War, and each year a small number are identified through the painstaking comparison of genetic material with historical documentation.

The announcements come as Australians prepare for nationwide Remembrance Day services on 11 November, which will include a minute of silence at 11 a.m. to mark the 108th anniversary of the 1918 armistice. The day also prompts reflection among veterans, such as Brad Copelin, who described the occasion as bringing both positive and negative memories of his own 25‑year military career, which included deployments to Afghanistan and the Solomon Islands.