World War I soldiers laid to rest at Fromelles

The last of 250 soldiers discovered in First World War communal graves has been reburied in a ceremony marking the completion of a new cemetery in memory of thousands who died at the battle of Fromelles.

The Prince of Wales was among dignitaries walking behind the coffin as it was drawn through the French village just over two years after the mass graves were discovered and work began on giving each serviceman an individual burial at a new site.

Not all the 250 British and Australian soldiers found in the grave were identified, and those without names bear headstones marked Known Unto God, while efforts continue to match them with descendants using increasingly-sophisticated DNA science.

More than 5,000 Australians and 1,500 Britons were killed or captured by the Germans in a battle in which a young Adolf Hitler is believed to have taken part.

The dead included soldiers from regiments in Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire and hundreds of UK families submitted DNA samples in a bid to establish whether their relatives were among the 250 bodies unearthed in an archaeological dig which began in May 2008.