And Still They Find the Fallen ; Robert Hardman Reports On the Extraordinary and Inspiring Operation to Identify and Honour Hundreds of Tommies Just Discovered in a Mass Grave Near the Somme How I See It [Scot Region]

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THE graves lie ready. All have been dug to identical dimensions, all laid out in perfect rows so that the headstones will face south to catch the sun, while the visitor looks north across the battlefield.

A few yards away, the bodies lie in a temporary mortuary. Next door, huts are stacked high with pristine, shrink-wrapped coffins. It will be this country's largest funeral operation in 29 years. Since every fallen hero will be granted an individual ceremony and full military honours, the burials will take an entire month. The only remaining task is to track down the next of kin.

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And Still They Find the Fallen ; Robert Hardman Reports On the Extraordinary and Inspiring Operation to Identify and Honour Hundreds of Tommies Just Discovered in a Mass Grave Near the Somme How I See It [Scot Region]

In a week when Britain has lost another lionthe heart of bomb disposal and six first-class troops in Afghanistan, tomorrow's Remembrance services up and down the land will have even greater poignancy. With 93 deaths in Afghanistan and one in Iraq, 2009 is now the bloodiest year for the British Forces since the 1982 Falklands War -- and we still have another nine weeks to go.

But if those grieving families can draw one tiny shred of comfort as the nation falls silent this weekend, it is the fact that their loved ones will never be forgotten.

And i...

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