The Somme

Several weeks ago we were traveling along the Normandy coast and had a lesson about the 2nd World War, now we are in one of the main battlefields of the 1st, the Somme. It was a very windy day as we cycled from Amiens out along the canal and towards Villers-Bretonneux, where the Australians won a battle and liberated the town. The children of Victoria and their relatives bought the town a school after the war and it is still there today with a museum on the 1st floor. It is full of Australian memorabilia and has a library as well, with books about Australian history, geography, poetry etc. The businesses in town have used Australian themes like Kanga Cafe and the Australian flags are everywhere, including on the town hall. We headed north to the Newfoundland memorial, as this country purchased part of the battlefield in 1922 and preserved all the trenches and bomb craters. This was the best site we have visited and gives a really good impression of the layout of the battlefield. It looks very benign, now that the trenches have rounded off and the grass has grown, but you can use your imagination to get some idea of the conditions the troops faced after seeing some of the other exhibits in the centre nearby. It was staffed by Canadian students who were really friendly and informative. It was a long day and we just managed to visit the British cemetery before it closed. This area has a very large monument with over 70,000 names inscribed into the columns at its base. As we travelled around to these main sites we passed small cemeteries on most roads, as the dead were buried where they fought, and it is incredible how many young men died in this conflict.

Traveling out of Amiens by the water gardens.





Wartime photo of the Australians in the Victoria school



Australian Memorial on the Somme




British from line




British Memorial at Thiepval


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Location:Au Bois le Comté,Albert,France