This morning we got up at 1.50 am to be on the bust at 2.20 am for our two hour drive to Villers-Bretonneux. We arrived at the Australian National Memorial at 4.30 am and found some good seats toward the front. The service commenced at 5.30 am with Major General Paul Stevens AO (Rtd) as the Master of Ceremonies. The Sydney Boys High School provided the music and the Australian Federation Guard provided the Catafalque Party (sans Arms). The Hon Stephen Smith MP and the Chief of Army were also in attendance. An approximate impressive 3,500 people were in attendance despite the recent European airspace closure woes.
Wow! The service was incredibly moving and I felt the greatest privilege to be honouring the memory of our fallen servicemen in such a significant location. The service was beautiful and a very fitting way to remember them all. Amazing Grace was sung during the service and it sung in the most beautiful way I’ve ever heard it sung. The significant and tragic loss was emphasised by the names of 11,000 Australian Soldiers, Airmen and Nurses who have no known grave surrounding us on this great Memorial. This very fitting memorial sits on a ridge which gazes out over the wide fields of the Somme where their lives were so suddenly cut short.
The service concluded at 6.30 am by which time the sun has risen, the birds tweeted and light now fell on the memorial. We had time to view the wreaths laid during the ceremony and visit the graves. I was also able to say hello to about half a dozen Navy people at the ceremony who I know - small world! I also had the opportunity to have my photo taken with a very handsome French Policeman in his ceremonial uniform! Ooh la la!
We departed at 7.30 am for our next stop – Adelaide Cemetery 1918 - which is also at Villers-Bretonneux. Here lies the head stone which reads “The remains of an unknown Australian Soldier lay in this grave for 75 years. On 2nd November 1993 they were exhumed and now rest in the tomb of the unknown Australian Soldier at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra”. Wow! To know understand where the remains of the Unknown Soldier exactly came from is pretty special and I also have an increased appreciation.
We then went into the town of Villers-Bretonneux and visited Victoria School which has the sign “Do Not Forget Australia” above a covered out-door classroom. Above the school is the ANZAC Museum – Musée Franco - Australian. It’s a great little museum and definitely worth a visit. Most of the shop windows within Villers-Bretonneux contain various Australian signs and symbols – my favourite being a pharmacy with the yellow road sign ‘Kangaroos next 10 KM’ in their window – Very funny!
Our next stop was a visit to an Australian Memorial at the location where the Battle of Amiens took place which near Le Hamel and looks down to Corbie and the River Somme. It is also a place where two Victoria Crosses were awarded to two soldiers within 10 minutes between 3.20 – 2.30 am.
We made a brief stop to a New Zealand Memorial then made our way to the Thiepval France-British Cemetery which is the largest Commonwealth Memorial in the world (as opposed to the largest Commonwealth Cemetery at Tyne Cot) and contains the names of 73,000 English, Canadian and French soldiers. It is a huge and awe inspiring Memorial. It was a very impressive way to end what has been an incredible and extremely educational three days. Our tour guide Vic was incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about telling the stories of these men and women which made our trip even more so memorable. Our bus driver Hamed was fantastic and lots of fun and exerted the right amount of road aggression when those pesky purple coaches tried to take our bus parks in tight little county back roads. They seemed to always be getting in our way and added a little fun to the trip. Vic had some fun with them and would make jokes about them on the PA as we regularly encountered them during our journey.
After we left the tour in Lille Asha and I sat down for a lunch and I tried a local beer which was meant to taste like something else I like – It was called CH’TI – and quite frankly to me that is what it tasted like – shitty!! But I drank it anyway, which was a good thing because despite being at the train station early to catch our 4 pm train back to Paris, we missed it!! Evidently the method we used to pre-book our tickets was not recognised in France and the SNCF had no record of our booking. So being a little tipsy helped lower my care factor and so did being up since 1.50 am I think!! Eventually the ticket guy took pity on us and gave us tickets for the next train at 5 pm. So I voted that we go have another beer while we waited for the next train. This time I had a 1664, which was much more pleasant – this is a big step for me – not being a beer drinker!! I’d be drinking bubbly whilst out if it didn’t cost between $12 - $18 a glass! So I save my bubbly drinking for home where you can buy a great bottle for the same price!
Once we’d arrived back at Paris at 6 pm it was time to shower and collapse! But my shower woke me up so I ventured out at 7.30 to go see Damien play Jazz at the International Bar. Damien is a budding musician who had served us our tea and pastries at Musée Jacquemart-Andre and had invited us to come and see him play. Unfortunately it turned out to be a fizzer. The International Bar was run down and had only a few sad looking patrons in side. Evidently Damien was across the road at a restaurant. Being alone in a dodgy part of Paris and a little tired didn’t bode well so I went back home to bed! But at least I tried!!
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