Studio portrait of 2906 Private (Pte) George Pagan, 24th Battalion from Ardmona, Victoria. A 24 ...

Studio portrait of 2906 Private (Pte) George Pagan, 24th Battalion from Ardmona, Victoria. A 24 year old farmer prior to enlistment on 9 July 1915, he embarked for overseas with the 2nd Battalion from Sydney aboard HMAT Argyllshire (A8) on 30 September 1915. In February 1916 he transferred to the 54th Battalion where he was promoted to Lance Corporal on 1 May of that year. He was killed in action on 19 July 1916, at the Battle of Fromelles, France. After the war his grave could not be located and he was commemorated on the VC Corner Australian Cemetery Memorial, Fromelles. In 2008 a burial ground was located at Pheasant Wood, France containing the bodies of 250 British and Australian soldiers including Pte Pagan. All of the remains were reburied in the newly created Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery. At the time of the official dedication of the new cemetery on 19 July 2010, ninety-six of the Australians, including Pte Pagan, had been identified through a combination of anthropological, archaeological, historical and DNA information. Work is continuing on identifying the other remains relocated from the burial ground and buried in the new cemetery as unknown soldiers.