Day two on the Somme and the weather gods were on our side today. The Somme was just glorious...brightly bathed in spring sunshine made a perfect backdrop for our emotional roller coaster.
Our first commemoration was in Adelaide cemetery at Villers Bretonneux where Sophie told the story of a young Findon man, Ralph Drummond. The impact of this experience on young ones like Sophie is always moving and today was no exception. No Australian visitor can visit this village without seeing that iconic sign at Ecole VICTORIA .....'Do not forget Australia '....symbolising the close bonds formed between France and Australia because of the war.
From there we made our way to the Australian national memorial that dominates that part of the landscape. Gordon Rigney, Francis Varcoe and George Grinter are just three of the 11,000 Australians whose names adorn the memorial to the missing. ...men with no known grave. ...'Known Unto God'. Our group were so fortunate today to have a friend of Mal Jurgs with us who played The Last Post to complete our ceremony. Despite the expectation that many tour groups will come to Villers Bretonneux, we had this spiritual place to ourselves. I don't think that will be the case in a week or so.
The final part of the day after lunch at Hamel, at Heath cemetery belonged to Kiera Walker a wonderful young student who proudly shared the stories of three indigenous men one her own direct relative Thomas Walker and two famous Military Medal winners Harry Thorpe and Reginald Rawlings. To all who did commemorations today...thank you for your dedicated tributes.
Our first commemoration was in Adelaide cemetery at Villers Bretonneux where Sophie told the story of a young Findon man, Ralph Drummond. The impact of this experience on young ones like Sophie is always moving and today was no exception. No Australian visitor can visit this village without seeing that iconic sign at Ecole VICTORIA .....'Do not forget Australia '....symbolising the close bonds formed between France and Australia because of the war.
From there we made our way to the Australian national memorial that dominates that part of the landscape. Gordon Rigney, Francis Varcoe and George Grinter are just three of the 11,000 Australians whose names adorn the memorial to the missing. ...men with no known grave. ...'Known Unto God'. Our group were so fortunate today to have a friend of Mal Jurgs with us who played The Last Post to complete our ceremony. Despite the expectation that many tour groups will come to Villers Bretonneux, we had this spiritual place to ourselves. I don't think that will be the case in a week or so.
The final part of the day after lunch at Hamel, at Heath cemetery belonged to Kiera Walker a wonderful young student who proudly shared the stories of three indigenous men one her own direct relative Thomas Walker and two famous Military Medal winners Harry Thorpe and Reginald Rawlings. To all who did commemorations today...thank you for your dedicated tributes.
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