Studio portrait of 187 Private (Pte) Joseph Raymond Stead, 32nd Battalion. A farmer from ...

Studio portrait of 187 Private (Pte) Joseph Raymond Stead, 32nd Battalion. A farmer from Tintinara, South Australia, prior to enlistment, he embarked from Adelaide aboard HMAT Geelong on 18 November 1915 for Suez. His battalion relocated to the Western Front, France, during June 1916. Pte Stead was reported missing in action on 20 July 1916 after the Battle of Fromelles. Subsequently, his identity disc was returned from Germany and he was determined to have been killed in action on that date. He was aged 21 years. Initially he had no known grave but, in 2008 a burial ground containing the bodies of 250 British and Australian soldiers was located at Pheasant Wood, France. The soldiers died during the Battle of Fromelles on the night of 19-20 July 1916 and were buried by German troops. In 2010 all of the remains were reburied in the newly created Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery. At the time of the official dedication of the cemetery on 19 July 2010, ninety-six Australians had been identified through a combination of anthropological, archaeological, historical and DNA information. Since then other Australians, including Pte Stead, have been identified.