France - Fromelles

This morning we were fortunate to have tickets to the dedication of the new Pheasant Wood Cemetery and burial of the final unknown soldier of the 250 Allied soldiers buried in mass graves by the Germans shortly after The Battle of Fromelles. Of the 250 soldiers which were found in 2007, 203 were identified to be Australian. It was decided by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission that they should be buried in individual graves with full military honours, hence the new cemetery.

The ceremony was not until 12.00 but because of the logistics of getting there with all of the road closures etc we arrived around 9.30. This unfortunately meant for a long morning sitting in the surprisingly hot sun but it was well worth it!

Firstly in the ceremony was the arrival of the dignitaries being Prince Charles, and our Governor General Quentin Bryce. The soldier was then buried with full Military Honours including a 3 rifle volley salute. This was a beautiful service and worthy of such a courageous young man. The dedication and opening of the cemetery followed with speeches from both of the dignitaries, with Prince Charles officially opening the cemetery which so aptly carries the slogan “A new cemetery for a new century”.

After the service we decided to leave the exploration of Fromelles until after the crowds had gone, so we headed south to ‘The Somme’.

On arrival in The Somme, we found a campsite in Amiens and briefly explored the local city centre. The main attraction in Amiens is its cathedral. This UNESCO World Heritage listed site was built between 1220 and 1269 but was not fully completed until 1519. It is a beautiful gothic style cathedral decorated internally with some absolutely amazing carvings.

We also witnessed first hand the welcoming nature of the French in this region when an elderly gentleman asked us where we were from and when we answered Australia, he replied, with a friendly tap on the chest of Jack, “Your Grandfather has died here and you have come to visit, Australians are always welcome!”. Jacks Grandfather wasn’t in Europe during the war but the sentiment was appreciated.