Day 23 Friday 11th June:
Rained over night and another misty morning. Walked Hill 60 again – very thought provoking.
After breakfast we left for Meteren just over the border in France – my grandfather’s, William Samuel Sayer, final resting place. TomTom took us over Mont Noir, a resort with chair lifts etc. Parked in the central square/market place and walked to the Commonwealth War Cemetery. Mixed feelings as we approached. Found the WW1 graves in the lower part of the town’s cemetery. Took a while to locate William Samuel Sayer’s grave, situated on the right-hand-side half-way down. This is where the grandfather I never knew was finally laid to rest – killed in combat on 23rd April 1918 – a world away from his home in Wynyard Tasmania.
Most buried here were aged between 20-26 but W.S.S was 40 – why would you go off to another war (he previously served in South Africa – twice) with a small family and at the age of 40? All so sad!
Left for Fromelles and travelled through incredible farming districts – everything imaginable growing, beans, peas, potatoes, barley, cabbages, lettuce etc – very lush growth in a very flat terrain. Fromelles sits a little higher in the landscape thus its supposed importance from a
military point of view. The battle was of no consequence in the bigger picture but 5500 Australian soldiers lost their lives in just one evening. Today the interest is in the first new Commonwealth War Cemetery in fifty years being prepared at Fromelle after the discovery of a mass burial in Pheasant Wood. DNA has been able to identify the bodies of soldiers killed in 1917, and they are now being buried in separate graves.
Time for coffee! On to Bullecourt for lunch, stopped at the Australian memorial with the “Bullecourt Digger” statue overlooking the site. Another 10,000 young Australian lost their lives here. The memorial is on the exact spot the Germans held when attacked by the Australians on the 11th April 1917 in the snow!
Peronne next on the itinerary! The battle of Mont St Quentin is dedicated at the town boundary for a very significant victory by the Australian forces . This victory made the British High Command take notice of General John Monash’s tactic where he used artillery, tanks and infantry in new battle sequences which were later adopted as standard practice. Spent time checkin out the chateau in the centre of town and the surrounds.
Moved on to Villiers Bretenoux . A very impressive memorial sitting on high ground overlooking the rich farmland surrounding. Visited the town with the view of finding a resting place for the night. Found a quiet location a little out of town on the road to Paris.
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