Saturday morning we woke up at 2.30am (!) and jumped onto the bus and headed to Villers Bretonneaux about an hour away from the hotel, where we took part in the Anzac Day Dawn Service. Australian forces did not join the European war until 1916 after finishing their eight month campaign at Gallipoli. From Gallipoli they were moved to the north of France and were deployed to various areas of France and Belgium where they encountered gruesome trench warfare in a desperate and costly bid to prevent German troops forcing their way towards the English Channel. Unfortunately, we were not dressed appropriately for the weather that greeted us at the service and with our teeth chattering we were still better off then those in the war.
After the service, with the sun now warming our skin and a free coffee in our hand we searched the long list of names at the Villers Bretonneaux wall to find Jarratt’s Mum’s Great Uncle, Private William Price who lost his life in December 1916. Afterwards we headed along the Somme to various battlefields and memorials scatted all over. That night back in Lille, we headed to The Australian Bar for a few games of two up. Whilst Bec was tossing the coins, Jarratt won a 100 (Australian) dollars of which 50 was hidden in his money belt. Merry and rich we dingle-berried our way home into bed.
Sunday we headed into Belgium to Frommelles, where we met with a very passionate forensic worker, who is currently involved in digging up the recently discovered mass graves containing roughly 400 bodies, most presumed Australian. We spent about 2 hours listening to him tell us about the process involved in trying to identify each lad. A very sombre time was spent here, we felt fortunate to hear his tale, and moreso as the following day the site was closed to the general public. Passing by VC corner the next stop was The Hindenburg Line, the strongest and last line of the German army's defence which consisted of three very well defended trench systems. We then pressed on to Tyne Cot Cemetery, the world's biggest Commonwealth cemetery with 11,908 graves and 34,927 names engraved on the rear wall of the cemetery. A sight that statistics do not give justice to, you may well hear and read the figure and feel moved but until you stand in this place and look around all the unknown grave sites do you truly appreciate how costly (and perhaps pointless?!) a war it was.
That night we made our way into Ypres, a beautiful township in southern Belgium that played a critical role in the Allies' defence of the Western Front. Surrounded by lush green fields and rich fertile farmland, the landscape is dotted with a variety of cemeteries and memorials that serve as a lasting and eerie reminder of the bloody battles that raged day in & day out during War. Today a majestic archway stands at the entrance to Ypres in monument to more than 54,000 soldiers with no known graves and whose names are etched over its pristine stone walls. As with each & every night for the past 90 odd years, the last-post is played at the Menin Gate at 8pm which we were fortunate to witness. It was a great way to rap up the last few days.
Monday morning we jumped back onto the Eurostar minus our tour leader (who slept in), and made it back in time for work.
Bec, Jarratt and Pipes at Dawn service
Jarratt with with W Price
At VB school where a banner hangs '"Dont forget Australia"
Anzac Memorial at Le Hamel
Come in spinner! 
No comments:
Post a Comment