Our 2008 adventure started with Air Malaysia to Charles de Gaule airport , Paris. An 18 hour trip via Kuala Lumpur. The airlines have devised ways to keep passengers busy on long flights by serving snacks, sweets and drinks in plastic sealed packages which take a lot of energy and a sharp instrument( which we cant take on board) to open. The movies were good and the service excellent.
ANZAC SERVICE - VILLERS BRETTONNEAUX
Arriving at the Europcar desk we organised the car pick up and drove away in a brand new VW with only 6k on the clock. This year is the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. The Australian soldiers were instrumental in liberating Villers Bretonneaux near Amien and turning the tide of the war. The battle was on 25th April 1918. The Australian Government had organised a dawn Anzac service at the Australian War Memorial at Villers Bretonneaux . We drove to Amien finding our way using Samantha alias Tom –Tom the GPS. What a lot of marriages these must save. Up north here it is still cool and the street flowers which are mainly tulips and pansies are magnificent. The streets of Amien had more tulips and daffodils than we see in the whole of Araluen.
We met Oliver at the motel and went off the have a drink and a meal. Once again we find it is a small world, at dinner we met Ken Keesing, a Rottnest Volunteer Guide who was with a tour group of Australians here for the Anzac ceremony. Soon it was time for bed with the alarm set for 3.15am in time to catch one of the buses provided to get people out to the memorial. How moving it was to travel through the dark out to the memorial, which was bathed in bright light at the top of the hill.
We had read Birdsong, Far from Home and parts of the Great War before coming over this year and seeing the terrain and the mud brought back the horror we experienced as we read the books. Many of the passengers on board had on the medals of their great grandfathers or grandfathers or great uncles and were looking forward to finding their cross or their name on the wall of the memorial which commemorates the 11000 Australian soldiers who fought in France or Flanders and have no known grave.
Fortunately the bus dropped us off at the gate and returned to the end of a long line of about 50 buses. At the memorial gates we were given a programme and badge in the shape of Australia with the French and Australian flag on it and made our way by torchlight through the paths beside the white crosses.
There were about 5000 people at the service and when the last post was played by the trumpeter high up in the tower of the memorial it echoed in the dawn air and the birds began to sing just as the sun came up. What a moving time it was.
After the ceremony the wall was thronged in people searching for names and attaching a poppy when one was recognised.
We met Ken again
and spoke to a lady from Lesmurdie who was wearing her grandfathers medals. She had with her a photo of her grandmother which her grandfather had carried with him during the 4 years he was at the Front. On the back he wrote each battle he was in including Villers Bretonneaux. Remarkably he survived to return to Australia where apparently he never spoke of the war but worked tirelessly for the RSL.
On the way out we wandered among the crosses. Some had the names of a soldier inscribed on the cross others with no name and the inscription ‘Known only to God’.
Some had an Australian flag planted at the base or a photograph put there by relatives.
The next day we attended the French Australian ceremony at the memorial at 11am. This is held each year by the people of Villers Bretonneaux to thank the Australian Soldiers. About 4000 were at this ceremony. Villers Bretonneaux has a very good museum commemorating Australians and New Zealanders. We also went on a bus tour around the area of Hamel.
After lunch at the Cafe Kangaroo and a drive past the Villers Brettonneaux Maire (Town Hall) complete with kangaroos on the lawn we left for Pont a Bar.
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