After 15 years’ searching for the history of her great-grandfather, Thomas Rutherford, who fell in battle during WW1, Piangil genealogist Leeta Rutherford has successfully located his burial site in France.
Mr Rutherford and 73 of his comrades fell in a 1916 battalion just outside of Gueudecourt, France, and were never moved from that location.
Ms Rutherford said the search started with a torn piece of paper she received while visiting relatives in New Zealand.
“My great-grandfather and around 450 Australian soldiers were classed as having no grave, so they didn’t have a burial,” Ms Rutherford said.
“However, with my grandfather and the men from his battalion, I have actually found their graves.
“When I was visiting New Zealand to visit relatives, it started with a little torn off piece of paper with my great-grandfather’s name (Thomas Rutherford) on it, and his service number.
“I started with my great-grandfather’s personal file and his red-cross file, and actually there was one page in his red cross file that had coordinates of his burial at war.”
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