Govt urged to negotiate return of VC hero from Russian morgue

The Returned & Services League of Australia (RSLA) has called on the Government to work with Russian authorities to enable the return of the remains of Australian Victoria Cross war hero, Sergeant Samuel Pearse VC MM.

Sergeant Pearse was killed in action in North Russia in 1919. The remains of this Australian war hero are currently stored in a plastic bag, in a plastic box, in a remote Russian morgue, awaiting DNA identification before authorities will consider a dignified burial with military honours.

RSL National President Greg Melick has written to Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles urging him to negotiate with Russian authorities to have the remains returned to Australia. 

Greg Melick said after surviving the horrors of Gallipoli and the Western Front, Sergeant Pearse volunteered for service in North Russia with the British relief force in operations against the Bolsheviks. 

“On 29 August 1919, Sergeant Pearse cut his way through the enemy’s barbed wire while under heavy machine gun and rifle fire. He then single-handedly attacked a blockhouse with hand grenades and put it out of action. Moments later, he was shot down by another Russian machine gun. For his bravery, he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

“Sergeant’s Pearse’s body was buried at a British camp south of Arkhangelsk (Archangel) in northern Russia, but through the fog of war and revolution, the location was forgotten. Old war maps and photos allowed historians to locate a grave belonging to a soldier with one toe missing. Sam’s military records show he lost a toe before arriving in Russia.”

Greg Melick said some six years after the remains were discovered on the century-old battlefield and the Australian and British embassies were notified, it appears there has been no progress towards a resolution.

“The RSL supports the petition instituted by Sergeant Pearse’s family to encourage the Australian Government to ensure that his remains are formally identified and returned home and afforded the deserved honourable burial and I have written to the Deputy Prime Minister calling for action,” he said.

“After more than 100 years the time to resolve this indignity is long past. 

“I have urged the Government to take the necessary action and commence negotiations with the Russian authorities to have the remains formally identified and for Sergeant Samuel Pearse VC MM to be returned to Australia to be interred with suitable honours,” Greg Melick said.

.

.


.


.