The decision to take part in a small group guided tour of the WW1 battlefields turned out to be a very good one. We were part of a group of 8 Australians in a Mercedes mini van under the expert guidance of an English speaking French guide who was very knowledgable. The day was fascinating and very powerful, particularly when we visited the Victoria school.
Built in 1923-1927, the school is a gift from the children of the state of Victoria, Australia, to the children of Villers-Bretonneux as proof of their love and good-will towards France. The town of Villers-Bretonneux was destroyed during the war. The Australians wanted to do something to help the French recover and so the school was rebuilt. Twelve hundred Australian gave their lives for the heroic recapture of the town on April 24th and 25th, 1918.
The war graves, Villers-Bretonneux.
The land surrounding the monument area is farming land and it was much the same back in 1916.
A visit to the Victoria school is an amazing
experience. The children at this primary school are taught about Australia and its people, including the aboriginals. In every classroom flies an Australian flag and the sign above the playground shelter says it all. This motto is written in French and English in the school. What I didn't expect was an overwhelming emotional reaction when walking around the empty school. Luckily we visited on a Saturday.
A classroom area. It could have been a
hallway or part of the library next door, which had a window display full of Australian literature and stuffed Australian toy animals. The school hall was lined with large posters of Victoria, including the Melbourne symphony orchestra, the Yarra river running through Melbourne, a stockman from the high country, the Great Ocean Road and moss covered gum trees from the Dandenong ranges. There were wood carvings of Australian animals all around the cornices of the hall. It was a jaw dropping, unexpected vision.
A German war graveyard. Many German
soldiers were repatriated. The German graveyards look very different from the Commonwealth sites. The have black crosses, instead of white stone crosses, and no flowers and are placed on quiet back roads instead of the main roads where the Commonwealth cemeteries are. Trees are planted amongst the crosses because the German people traditionally were buried in forests, rather than the graveyards of the French or English.
This mural on the building depicts the bombing of the cathedral in Albert (please pronounce it the French way 'Albair'). The rebuilt cathedral is in the background.
A beautiful window inside the cathedral.
Albert cathedral.
This crater is huge! Named Le Grande Mine in French, this crater was left after the allies bombed the German tunnels from underground. There were 17 of these craters created during the assault on the German front line.
We are now at Pozieres, a very small French town that saw a lot of action and more casualties than at Gallipoli. Both of our grandfathers fought in Pozieres and both were injured and were removed to England for treatment. This picture shows the remains of a French cellar which was converted into a German command post. The Germans added concrete to reinforce the cellar (below).
The memorial at Pozieres.
The 'new' town hall in Pozieres. Red brick buildings in France generally indicate post war buildings and most are dated around 1920.
A war memorial in the town of Pozieres. Only 200 people live here; it is much smaller than I imagined.
Driving through the area you come across many Commonwealth war cemeteries. The stand out amongst the potato and corn fields because they are surrounded by neat brick walls and have manicured lawns around and within them. This memorial is the largest in the Somme. It is the British memorial, dedicated to the 20 something thousand unknown and missing soldiers. Their names are written around every square, white pylon.
This is the Newfoundland memorial. Newfoundland is now part of Canada, but during WW1 it was a separate country. 800 Newfoundland soldiers stornmed the German lines here and only 68 survived. The caribou is the National symbol of Newfoundland.
Because this site was so significant to Newfoundland, the land was purchased from the farmers and the trenches were left up disturbed. They are not as deep as they once were, due to erosion and a boardwalk has been created along one trench, but nothing else has been disturbed. Protruding from the ground are the curly metal stakes which once held up the barbed wire.
This dead tree has been placed at the site of the 'danger tree', a dead tree in the middle of the battlefield between the Allied and German fronts. Due to its exposure between the fronts, it was a very dangerous place to be. The whole site is really a cemetery, as the fallen were left where they fell for the whole 5 months of the conflict.
The cemetery in the background is the site of the German front line.
The twisted metal stakes which once held up barbed wire.
This is a pilgrimage that I'm very glad we made. Lest we forget.
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