ANZAC 2016 Virtual Tour

Monday, 15 August 2016

ANZAC Memorial Scholarship 2016 Virtual Tour

Welcome to the ANZAC Memorial Scholarship 2016 Virtual Tour. The intention of this blog is to show the places we travelled to and give historical information and personal remarks.

The tour is easy to follow; each post is a day of our trip, with a map for that day. It has, numbered in chronological order, the places we visited. Click on the marker to get information on the site and a selection of images. Click the return button to return to the map.

Hope you enjoy, James Jackson

Day One

Day Two

Les Invalides

The Les Invalides was the first stop on our second day in Europe. Our main reason for going was the World War I gallery, however before that we were able to visited the tomb of Napoleon.

Originally designed by Libéral Bruant and ordered by Louis XIV, it was designed to be a hospital and residence for aged and unwell soldiers. In 1840, Louis Philippe I ordered the remains of Napoleon to be reburied in the Chapelle Saint-Jérôme, in Les Invalides. Today, the hospital also serves as a war museum and is open to the public.

Napoleon's tomb was designed like a cathedral; it was large, with a high ceiling with sculptures and domes. The hundreds of tourists around chatting and excited changed the original intention of the place; it didn't feel like a place of solace. Which makes me think about our tombs and graves for our soldiers of World War I, will tourists in another one hundred years act at our places of remembrance like this? I hope our war graves and memorials will still be treated with respect.

I was curious about whether the French museum would be accommodating to non-French speakers but it was, which in hindsight I should of known. With English and French descriptions and with the help of our tour historian the museum was educational and helped me understand the changes which occurred during the war. The museum showed the early uniforms and later contrasted them with the uniforms of the later conflict, it showed the artillery pieces and weapons the war was fought with and in this respect allowed us to better understand Brad (the tour historian) when we reached the battlefields.

Palace of Versailles

The Palace of Versailles was a short drive from Paris, I remember it being a hot day, not what I was expecting of European climate. Walking up to the Palace I saw thousands of people something that we left behind once we left Paris. The palace can be considered into two parts; the palace itself, and the gardens.

Once the centre of the French kings, the Palace started out as a hunting lodge for King Louis XIII. This was expanded massively by Louis XIV, who was able to make it the centre of government in 1682. The hall of mirrors was the largest room in the palace; in 1919 the hall was where the treaty of Versailles was signed, officially ending World War I.

The palace itself was massive in scale; the outside featured golden fences which looked impressive. We were assigned a tour guide who guided us through the palace, educating us on each room and its historical significance. I didn't find it as beautiful as I have heard people describe it as; yes, it was impressive but also ostentatious, and to my viewpoint tastelessly so. What I saw of the garden was nice, the fountains were huge and it was all well managed.

Notre Dame de Paris and closing time at the artist's markets

Before we went to dinner we were given about an hour to explore, and I had two options; to wait in line to enter the Notre Dame or to explore the artists markets on the opposite bank; I chose the latter. The markets were varied; posters, hand painted and hand drawn works and trinkets of all sorts. It was near closing time and there wasn't many buyers around, this was the Paris I was expecting, and it was beautiful.

Day Three

Second Division Memorial - Mount St Quetin

Division Memorials were chosen by the Divisions, usually in a place of great significance. The Second Division chose Mont St Quentin as the site for their memorial due to the victory of Second Division troops in the battle of Mont St Quentin in 1918. From the 31st of August to the 3rd of September the Second Division fought across the Somme River to capture the 100m tall mountain. After a counter attack by the Germans the Australian forces were able to retake and hold the position.

The memorial is unorthodox; most Australian division memorials are obelisks; the Second Division Memorial is a statue. Rebuilt in 1971, today it shows an Australian solider in full kit.

When I was there I found it hard to imagine the fighting that must of taken place there. In the summer sun the area was beautiful. The Memorial was the first place we visited on that day.

Grande Guerre - Museum of the Great War in Peronne

Based in Château de Péronne, the museum is built within the castle. The town of Peronne was occupied by the Germans for most of World War I.

The museum is unique, instead of a linear story it simply displays replica and genuine objects from around World War I. these includes weapon and uniforms, but also propaganda and food packaging, the museum was modern, and we had lunch by the Somme river.

Flanders Fields Museum

The Flanders Fields is a very modern Museum in Ypres. It boasts interactive displays, including details of individuals involved in the War. It was a very emotional museum, it invoked the sadness and terror that the war brought to those who were involved in it.

While there we wore our official suits, as we were to participate in the Menin Gate Ceremony afterwards. This caused some amusing situations. Many of us scholars were mistaken for curators and I myself was asked a couple of time questions in French and Flemish from tourists. When we wore our suits in other places we were usually mistaken for a school group, often we would clarify, I was pleasantly surprised how many Australian tourist we saw everywhere we went, and some of my best memories from the trip come from talking to people and learning their families involvement in the war.

Menin Gate

The Menin gate in Ypres stands at entrance to the city Australian and Commonwealth troops used during World War I. Today, the gate is engraved with the name of every unknown solider who fought in the Ypres salient. Since the 2nd of July, 1928, the Last Post ceremony has been performed every night (excluding the period where the town was occupied during World War II).

We were there for one of the ceremonies. The gate was full of people, tourist, children, the elderly and locals all there to commemorate. The two museums we went to previously put me in a mindset of reflection. I found that throughout the trip I was able to empathise more and more with the soldiers who fought. Its a different feeling from reading about a battalion that was wiped out, another to see the battlefield they died on, to see the point where the last man fell.

Day Four

Day Five

Day Six

Passchendaele war experience

Our day started with a trip to the Passchendaele war museum and experience museum. The museum was located near a lake in a beautiful part of Belgium. We went to a lot of museums during the trip, but I believe I learnt more by listening to our tour historian then I did from all the museums combined. This isn't to say that the museums we visited were bad or not engaging, but they covered a lot of the same ground, still, the Passchendaele museum did have unique features, such a small trench system which we were able to walk through.

After our tour of the museum we started the reenactment. First, we dressed up in our uniforms, complete with webbing and a helmet. It was a hot day but the experience was worth the small discomfort. It really does give you a better idea, walking in their boots for a kilometre, it allows you to better empathise and understand the point of view of the soldiers who fought.

Island of Ireland Peace Park

A war memorial to Irish soldiers in World War One, the park features a 34 m high tower of the Irish round tower design.

It was unique among the memorials near the western front. There are so many grave yards and memorials in the east of France, its something I've never seen before as in Australia I've never been to a Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery, i'm not sure if there are any.

The park was built in 1998, the tower allows the sun to light the interior only on the 11/11 at 11 am, the anniversary of the armistice.