News-Info-Alerts

To: ALL

From: Andi Wolos & Bob Necci

(POW-MIA InterNetwork)

Re: WW I MIAs Found In France

Date: June 22, 2001

"LILLE, France (AP) - Archaeologists said Monday they have unearthed the remains of 24 British World War I soldiers at the construction site of a BMW car factory in France.

The skeletons were found three weeks ago on the site between the towns of Saint-Laurent-Blangy and Athies, said Alain Jacques, head of the archaeological service of the nearby city of Arras.

Officials kept the discovery quiet until Monday to avoid crowds.

Twenty of the corpses were found in a mass grave, Jacques said. They are believed to have belonged to a regiment based in northern Britain that fought in the Battle of Arras during April and May 1917, Jacques said.

The remains of three others were found buried in a hole with munitions. Another soldier who is believed to have fought with the Royal Naval Division was discovered apart from the others, Jacques said.

The bodies have been turned over to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for identification. The British group marks and maintains the graves of soldiers who fought during both world wars.

A military ceremony is likely to be organized in July in a British cemetery near Arras, officials said. "