ANZAC Day

25th April - Thursday

The seats are cold and wet, but we're okay!

Sunrose behind the Australian Memorial on the Somme

 Gendarme traffic control

 Familiar local in Villers-Brettaneux

 Just who is that pretending to be part of the march?

 Memorial at Villers-Brettaneux

Some Frank McDonald Award winners

 It's a BIG hole!

 Brisith Memorial

 Ulster Memorial

 Not good play things!

 Newfoundland Memorial

 Trenches

 The front line and no man's land

Amien Cathedral

The Weeping Angel

ANZAC Day – Reveille was at 0255 hours! Breakfast of croissants, bread, cornflakes and milo cereal at 0330 and on the bus by 0350 for the trip to the Australian War Memorial near Villers-Brettoneux for the Dawn Service. We were lucky in that our coach was able to take us virtually to the site and didn’t have to walk in the dark. The weather was very kind to us, cold (but not extremely bitterly cod), no rain but some fog did develop as the sun rose and the temperature plummeted.

What can I say about the atmosphere of a Dawn Service on the Somme? It was such a moving experience, with quite a few ex-servicemen wearing their medals – and young service men and women as well. The Australian Ambassador to France and Bob Carr were the keynote speakers but didn’t speak for too long. At the end of the service, members of the public were given the opportunity to lay wreaths or floral tributes and relations of men killed on the Somme were the first to be called. We had bought some flowers the previous day and were very proud to walk up the centre aisle in honour of Oswald Connell.

As the sun rose over the horizon the temperature dropped dramatically for our walk back to the bus boarding area – along with the other 8,000 people. We then had to stand and wait until the official guests, military, singers, bands, etc etc had some coffee and croissants before leaving and our buses could start arriving. Only three buses at a time were allowed into the area and guess where our bus was in the line? Right! About second last!!! We had to wait for over an hour and a half to board our coach for the three minute ride to Villers-Brettoneux (we could have walked there!). However, we were in time for the village ceremony and a ring-in digger was spotted training along behind the official party as it made its way to the village memorial. Following the short ceremony, we were fortunate to meet the Frank McDonald winners and spent some time talking to Dean Mainwaring from Ulverstone and a young lady from Penguin. (We know Dean’s grandparents from our time in Ulverstone.)

Back on the bus to visit more war cemeteries and memorials – we stopped at the British Memorial, which was massive, and had a light lunch at the Ulster Memorial, which looked like a little Irish castle. We continued on to the Newfoundland Memorial, which is situated on the actual front line with the trenches still remaining. The majority of the trench area has been roped off (with electric fencing) as the ground has still not been cleared of unexploded devices. We also had a stop at a huge crater, caused by a mine/s explosion – it was just enormous!

We finally returned to the hotel for a quick pit stop before setting out on foot for a quick look at Amiens Cathedral, which is only a very short distance away. Once again, there are very strong Australian links with the Australian flag on display in a small chapel and a large plaque honouring Australia’s contribution to the area. We were also shown the “Weeping Angel,” which was a very popular postcard theme for servicemen to send home to family and loved ones – often the last communication families received.

A very long and moving day.