The adoption of the poppy of the symbol of remembrance by the Commonwealth nations came about as the result of the Canadian John McCrae’s poem ‘In Flanders Fields’. It’s also a flower that helps assuage grief by aiding sleep and forgetfulness. It’s now available in a range of local products including biscuits, sweets, syrups and beers that are sold in Péronne and Albert tourist offices and in the shop in the Historial de Péronne.
Northern France _ Villers-Bretonneux _ Sir John Monash Centre © Crt Hauts De France Nicolas Bryant
From Pozières to Thiepval, via La Boisselle or Le Hamel, every village in the Albert-Péronne-Bapaume triangle has links with the British and Commonwealth allies and their famous attack. One of the bloodiest battles in history, it saw the mobilisation of nations from around the world: Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, all of whom experienced key moments in their nations’ history here.
Northern France_Villers-Bretonneux _ Sir John Monash Centre © CRTC Hauts-de-France - AS Flament
Northern France _ Villers-Bretonneux _ Anzac Day © Crt Hauts De France Nicolas BryantDID YOU KNOW?
ANZAC means Australian & New Zealand Army Corps. ANZAC Day is celebrated each 25 April.
Every 25 April several thousand young Australians and New Zealanders come to Villers-Bretonneux to celebrate peace in a moving homage to the soldiers who fought there in 1918. A memorial to them was built on a small hill overlooking the countryside. From the top of the tower, the views over the now peaceful countryside reach as far as Amiens Cathedral on clear days. The Centre Sir John Monash combines cutting-edge technology with interactive multimedia including more than 450 screen. The images are all the more affecting for being immersive: go witht children and listen to how strongly affected they are. The daily life of Australian soldiers is movingly conveyed through their words (letters and diaries) and through photographs.
Thiepval is home to an impressive memorial to British soldiers, built from 10 million bricks with a gigantic 45m arch with pillars inscribed witht he names of the 73,000 soldiers whose remains were never found. Right next door, in the highly educational Centre d’Interprétation – a brick and glass building part-sunken into the ground to blend into the surroundings – there’s a child-friendly permanent exhibition (in English, German and French) and a shop/bookshop. Kids particularly like the 60m fresco of the Battle of the Somme by cartoonist Joe Sacco.
