Julie Reece Tours

Some very special people make it possible for Australians to have closer connections to their ancestors who fought in World War One.

By Francesca Atkinson

Many Australians travel to the former western front battlefields in Europe to commemorate and remember those who served in the Australian Imperial Force during the World War I (WWI).

On each Connecting Spirits tour, the group often discovers people who are keeping the spirit of Australian soldiers alive and spend time together with them, learning more about the war. Pierre Seillier is a French historian from Fromelles, a town that was occupied by Australian forces during July of 1916, who spends his time sharing the stories of courage, sacrifice and mateship the Australian diggers were known for. Mr Seillier said each day Australian travellers visit the Pheasant Wood Cemetery, where 250 British and Australian soldiers were buried, after a mass grave was exhumed in 2009.

“Since the discovery of the mass grave and the building of the new cemetery, everyday at Fromelles, you can see a car, a van or a bus with Australian pilgrims.’ Mr Seillier said for the historians around Fromelles, it is important to acknowledge the sacrifice the soldiers made, while remembering how the Battle of Fromelles took so many lives.

“We have a great admiration for the Australian soldiers because they were all volunteers and mateship was very important in their army,” Mr Seillier explained.

Over the British Channel, in the small Wiltshire village of Sutton Veny, the 102 year old tradition of laying posies at the graves of Australian servicemen and women on Anzac Day each year, continues. Nicky Barnard is a Higher Level Teaching Assistant at Sutton Veny C of E Primary School and runs the Anzac Day service with the school children.

“Since 2002 I have been responsible for the school’s service, and it was at that 2002 service I realised it was an act in which the children were not really that involved,” Mrs Barnard said.

The village cemetery is the resting place of 168 WWI burials, including 141 Australian soldiers and two Australian nurses. After the war was over, those who were waiting to return home were sent to camps in the Wylye Valley and many caught the Spanish Flu, dying as a consequence.

The school holds significant connections to Connecting Spirits and RSL clubs in Australia. Its classrooms are named after cities or towns in Australia and New Zealand including Canberra, Darwin, Auckland, Geraldton, Nelson, Brisbane and the South Australian town of Elliston.

“We are in some way responsible to those families, travel is far easier now than it has ever been, but I do wonder how many families have been able to visit their ancestors final resting place,” she said.

“The children who attend this school are the future of Anzac Day here in Sutton Veny. The words "Lest We Forget" means to me exactly that: lest we share this information with the next generation, people will forget,” Mrs Barnard said.

Another overseas connection was established in 2018 when Julie Reece received an email from a volunteer at the Museum of Passchendaele. Gregory Verfaillie spotted the Connecting Spirits information cards at soldiers’ graves in Lijjsenthoek Cemetery and Buttes New British Cemetery, in Belgium. Gregory grew up in Passchendaele and now volunteers at the museum because he believes it is necessary to remember those who came from overseas to fight for the freedom the Belgian people have today.

“First of all, you Australians, New Zealanders, Canadians and so may others came from the other side of the world to fight for our freedom, many of them never to return back home,” Mr Verfaillie reflected.

Mr Verfaillie has been busy working with the Museum of Passchendaele to create an exhibition called ‘Reflection 1914-1918, where the photos of volunteers will be on show.

“With the museum, we are busy with a small exhibition about all the photographers of the museum, ‘Reflection 1914-1918’. This will be with a small part of our pictures; I have chosen the pictures of the first time that I met Julie at the grave of Private Neagle (Julie Reece’s great-uncle Private James Martin Clement Neagle),” Mr Verfaillie explained.

Individuals like Pierre, Nicky and Gregory who remember the Australian servicemen and women in the ways that they do, make it possible for Australians on tours such as Connecting Spirits to commemorate their relatives in unique and special ways. We will always be grateful for their dedication and selfless contributions to keeping the memories alive of those who never came home from the Great War.

LEST WE FORGET…

Pierre Seillier at the 'Cobbers' memorial in Fromelles

'Cobbers' memorial, Fromelles

Our 'Froggy' mate Pierre.

Pierre is a passionate historian and gives his time and skills freely to so many people. His commemorative work on 'his' soldiers is epic!

Gregory Verfaillie in Buttes New British cemetery, Belgium

Greg and his friend Frank Mahieu, are dedicated to helping those with relatives who died in WW1.

Another wonderful young man from Ypres, Gil, a friend of Frank Mahieu's, plays the bagpipes at for many commemorative occasions in the Ypres region. He is playing 'Waltzing Matilda' here at the oak sapling in the Polygon Wood of Peace that remembers Martin Neagle.