The Australian War Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux in the Somme departement in France contains the names of 10,773 men who died but who have no known grave.
Rod Martin tells the story of one of those men. Arthur Lane enlisted in Sydney, but his family lived in Wonalta Terrace, Mt Alexander Rd, Flemington. Arthur's younger brother James Lane was also killed in action in October 1917.
Arthur served with the 54 Infantry Battalion, a Sydney battalion. He probably arrived in France in time to have Christmas Dinner with other reinforcements, and was taken on strength of his battalion on 1 January 1917, then located at Buire in Picardie, just south of the Belgian border.
Arthur was killed in action just 5 months later. Read Rod Martin's account of Arthur's part in the war.