Another Fromelles story

In recent months I have been contacted by Colin Stalgis who is a relative of 2898 CPL Gregory Francis Stalgis. Gregory was another of the AIF soldiers killed at Fromelles on 20 July 1916 and buried in a mass grave. Just like David Irvin, Gregory's remains have been identified and he is now buried in a marked grave. Colin attended the reburial and has provided me with photos of the head stone, meeting with the Duchess of Cornwall and of Gregory taken a year before he was killed in action.
Colin is searching for Gregory's WWI medals and I've added the details to my research notes. Maybe this post with help uncover them.

David George Irvin

This is a complicated story so hopefully I can do it justice.
4807 David George Irvin  was a member of the 54th Battalion AIF. The AWM entry says the following about the action this battalion was involved in on 19-20 July 1916:

Moving to France in June 1916, the 54th fought its first major battle on the Western Front at Fromelles, on 19 July. It was a disaster. The 54th was part of the initial assault and suffered casualties equivalent to 65 per cent of its fighting strength. Casualty rates among the rest of the 5th Division were similarly high, but despite these losses it continued to man the front in the Fromelles sector for a further two months.

This battalion has probably become better know today after the discover of a mass unmarked grave at Fromelles. This website provides more details. The Australian Army has gone to great lengths to identify the soldiers buried in the grave and re-inter the remains of these soldiers in a proper war graves cemetery. My friends Tim L and Sandra P are also heavily involved in this project, this is their website.
Irvin is one of the soldiers whose remains have been identified through DNA testing. This link provides the details of the soldiers who have been identified. This link is to the ABC story about the identification of Irvin and this link has a picture and more details about Irvin.
So how did Lost Medals Australia get involved?
The memorial plaque presented to the family of Irvin after WWI recently came up for sale on ebay. A very vigilant Canberra local and now Lost Medals Australia researcher, Tim D, realised who Irvin was and the significance of the plaque. He won the auction and has asked Lost Medals Australia to coordinate the return to Irvin's family who we have also been in touch with.
It is early days yet but I'm hopeful we can arrange for this plaque to be represented to the Irvin family at the upcoming Chief of Army's History Conference.   
Well done to Tim for his wonderful gesture to an Australian soldier.
These pictures are of David Irvin and the plaque.

The returned tally is now 968.

KIA Fromelles

914 Albert James Roberts was a member of 24th Bn AIF who fought at the Battle of Fromelles in August 1916. He was initially reported as missing and then KIA following a court of inquiry. He has no know grave and is listed on this website.

The Battle of Fromelles has received considerable attention recently with the discovery of an unmarked burial site at Pheasant Wood near Fromelles containing 250 Australian soldiers. The ADF is currently managing a project to re-inter the remains of these soldiers in a proper war graves cemetery. My friends Tim L and Sandra P are also heavily involved in this project, this is their website.

This return is not a medal but the memorial plaque that was presented to families who lost during WWI.

The medal returned tally is now 575.