Villers-Bretonneux

We were a bit confused in the morning as I thought I had got up nice and early at 7.30am and I felt well slept and it was nice and bright. However an hour later Glenn asked me why the time on Gus was an hour later. We then realised found that the clocks had gone back overnight and actually I had got up late at 8.30am.

So we got our act together realizing we had 1 hour less daylight at the end of today.

The tour today was Villers Bretonneux Australian Memorial and the attached Sir John Monash Centre - an interactive museum set up in 2018.

There are 2,100 commonwealth soldiers, mostly Australian, buried at the site with the names of 11,000 missing soldiers on the walls of the memorial.

The memorial was finalised in 1938 20 years after the end of the Great War and visited by King George VI and his wife, later known as the queen mother.

Unfortunately the Second World War began the year after and damaged some of the walls. Bullet holes can still be seen.

The memorial itself is huge with space for the 11,000 names and a big tower.

We continued round the back of the memorial down what looks like a trench with noises of battle and Australianised street signs.

This is the entry to the Sir John Monash Centre. Inside the centre we were met by the greeter who told us we needed earphones to listen to the audio guide on our phones or on the device - very cheap from the cafe/shop. While there we decided to have a coffee in what looked like a bright Aussie cafe - or our living room. It felt luxurious - and it very reasonable too!

After caffeination we got plugged in and started the centre tour. There are huge audio screens and you select the number of that screen - only available when you are close to it. It takes you through the story of Australians fighting in the First World War and about Sir John Monash.

There were also display cases with letters that you select on your device.

One of the cases showed the campaigning when Australia had 2 referendums on whether to change from volunteering to conscription for the army - that were both turned down. But many young men were persuaded into going as it was being talked about in the press as being a European holiday, and going with all their mates for a big adventure.

There is a large ‘immersion room’ where it feels like you are in a war with flashes, bangs and gas. There were lots of school kids from England and France and they all enjoyed that.

After about 2 hours we went to the cafe for a very good Aussie lunch - I had a halloumi salad and Glenn had ham quiche. We then went back to finish it all off to find out about the aftermaths of the war including dealing with the terrible injuries that many of the men suffered and commemoration of the dead.

The big timber screen at the front in several places was designed and made in Australia using epaulets as the main shape and a different wood from each state and territory.

We really enjoyed the centre - as have others we have met along the way. It’s well worth to go to if you are near by.

Outside the garden areas had benches named after each division of the armed forces.

We went up the large tower to see the views over the town of Villers-Brettoneux. The Australians captured and held this village under extreme pressure from the Germans. This was called the Battle of Amiens as the capture of the village was key to preventing the Germans from taking over the communication hub of Amiens.

We then walked down the other side of the graves to check out the names and nationalities and we found some Canadians.

We eventually got back to Gus and when back on the road saw a hot air balloon in the air - a nice sunny evening for it.

We went to the Aire de Camping Car d’Amiens a short distance away north of Amiens. It’s an automated aire - 11 euro to enter and an additional 5 euro for electricity which we didn’t bother with. The adjoining campsite is now closed for the winter. We checked out the nature park next door which was not well looked after - with a security car coming out of it. Thankfully we are all gated off.

We realised today that it’s less than a week until we get the ferry and we are running out of days. We then put together a plan so we get everything done that we want to do. Now we are all ready to carry it out!!