Wedding portrait of 324 Private (Pte) Herbert George Pollard, 29th Battalion from Betley near ...

Wedding portrait of 324 Private (Pte) Herbert George Pollard, 29th Battalion from Betley near Dunnolly, Victoria and his wife Hilda. A 24 year old farmer prior to enlistment on 7 July 1915, he embarked for overseas with A Company from Melbourne on 10 November 1915 aboard HMAT Ascanius. He was killed in action at Fromelles, France on 19 July 1916. 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 Pollard. 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 Pollard, 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. Although the image shows Pte Pollard wearing Corporal stripes, his service records contain no details of a promotion to that rank.