Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux WWI France
Dublin Core
Description
Located on “Hill 104” the Australian National Memorial was designed by the CWGC architect Edwin Lutyens. This was the last of the great British and Commonwealth memorials to be built in France and Belgium. This area was again the site of combat in World War II and the memorial suffered extensive damage most of which was repaired after the war. On the panels on each side of the main tower are inscribed the names of more than 11,000 Australians who have no known grave. One can climb the stairs in the tower for a magnificent view of the surrounding countryside that saw so much horrific fighting during World War I. Also the tower provides an excellent view of the small cemetery that sits in front of the memorial. In 1993, an unknown Australian soldier was exhumed from the cemetery at Villers-Bretonneux and given into the protection of an Australian honor guard here at the National Memorial. The Australian Unknown Soldier lay in rest here before beginning his journey home to the Australian Tomb of the Unknown in Canberra. He represents the 11,000 unknown Australians who died in World War I and the more than 100,000 Australians who gave their lives in the two World Wars.
Coverage
Type
Creator
national
Relation
cemetery
Format
Date
1938
Source
Australian Government
Contributor
Rights
This work is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Citation
national, “Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux WWI France,” War Memorial HQ, accessed January 7, 2025, http://warmemorialhq.org/items/show/239.
Geolocation
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