ANZAC Day 2008

This year was special, falling on the 90th Anniversary of the liberation of the town. On the 25th we had a spectacular dawn service which tended to be an Australian affair whilst the following day on the Saturday the townspeople of Villers Bretonneux held their own ceremony as they have been for years. The weather turned out to be dry and sunny which makes a pleasant change from some of the recent years.

The dawn ceremony had seen five thousand Australians make the pilgrimage to the Western Front and it was good to see that so many stayed on for the community ceremony. Normally the crowd can be measured in the hundreds but this year the two thousand seats that had been left from the day before were filled once again.

The ANZAC Commemoration takes place here in the morning (before a ceremony at Bullecourt in the afternoon) on the Saturday nearest to 25 April.

Following the arrival of the official party, HE Mr David Ritchie, Australian Ambassador to France gave the opening introduction before the catafalque party took up their position either side of the tower entrance.

Two further speeches were delivered, one by the Minister for Veterans' Affairs: The Hon. Alan Griffin MP and the reply for the French people by M Henri-Michel Comet Prèfet for both the Region of Picardie and the Département of the Somme.

The question was raised as to why Villers Bretonneux was more important than perhaps Pozières or Fromelles. The answer perhaps lies in the fact that this victory was achieved as an Australian Corps under an Australian command. As such it compares with Vimy for the Canadians in 1917.

Other battles were yet to be fought and won but Villers Bretonneux had marked its place in history and was thus chosen as the site for the Australian Memorial, on ground where in the years previous her soldiers had ground their way forward against the German advance.

For their part the French villagers vowed to keep the memory of their liberators alive and they have done so with unquestionable faith.

Music was provided by the choirs and bands of two schools from South Australia: The Wilderness Girls' School and St Peter's Boys' College.

Click on the thumbnail, it may take a moment for the photo to load

The Dawn Service 2008
The ceremony in 2006
The Australian War Memorial
Bullecourt
Villers Bretonneux