Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France

The Australian National Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux is the main memorial to Australian military personnel killed on the Western Front during World War I. It is located on the Route Villiers-Bretonneux (D 23), between the towns of Fouilloy and Villers-Bretonneux. The memorial lists 10,773 names of soldiers of the Australian Imperial Force with no known grave who were killed between 1916, when Australian forces arrived in France and Belgium, and the end of the war. The location was chosen to commemorate the role played by Australian soldiers in the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux (24–27 April 1918).

Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the memorial consists of a tower within the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, which also includes a Cross of Sacrifice. The tower is surrounded by walls and panels on which the names of the missing dead are listed. The main inscription is in both French and English, on either side of the entrance to the tower. The memorial and cemetery are maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Thomas Maggs (2 years ago)
A Commonwealth military cemetary and important memorial especially to Australian forces. It includes the Sir John Monash centre which has interactive and informative displays on the battles and sacrifices around the region.

Tom Newman (2 years ago)
Loved it! Make sure you bring headphones and download the app on arrival and follow the audio guide. It takes some getting used to, as the guide starts automatically when you approach each exhibit. But the content is fantastic. Highly recommend for all Australians.

Andrew Porteous (2 years ago)
Every Australian who visits the north of France shoild add the memorial to their itinerary. Beautiful. The new Sir John Monash Centre, SJMC, is a must. If you don't shed a tear in there you are not a proud Australian. You can see the bullet holes in rhe main tower. 1000 soldiers buried here.

Melanie Gabbie (2 years ago)
Fabulous place to visit if you’re an Australian. Amazing structure in rural France helps you appreciate the journey the young soldiers took to fight for our freedom we have today. Put in the middle of vast fields which now grow crops but back then were just muddy paddocks. Such a fabulous tribute to all those who lost their lives and it’s such a wonderful place to reflect on their sacrifice

Frank Scheldeman (2 years ago)
What an absolute magic place is this. The location on the Hill and the view is stunning. A must visit. So clean. These soldiers that died for us deserve this..

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Dan Wiklund

Historic Site of the week

Carlsten

Carlsten is a stone fortress built on the orders of King Carl X of Sweden following the Treaty of Roskilde, 1658 to protect the newly acquired province of Bohuslän from hostile attacks. The site of Marstrand was chosen because of its location and its access to an ice free port. Initially a square stone tower was constructed, but by 1680 it was reconstructed and replaced by a round shaped tower. Successive additions to the fortress were carried out, by the inmates sentenced to hard labour, until 1860 when it was reported finished. The fortress was decommissioned as a permanent defense installation in 1882, but remained in military use until the early 1990s.

The fortress was attacked and sieged twice falling into enemy hands. In 1677 it was conquered by Ulrik Frederick Gyldenløve, the Danish military commander in Norway and in 1719 by the Norwegian Vice-Admiral Tordenskjold. At both occasions the fortress was returned to Swedish control through negotiations and treaties.

Australian National Memorial

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Carlsten