Day 25 - 21 April 2019 Sunday - Amiens
A bit of battlefield stuff today but first a visit to Heilly Station military cemetery. Some of you may recall that this is the cemetery where 27 young men of the 40th battalion AIF are buried, all of whom died on 28 March 1918. The 40th Btn was the wholly Tasmanian battalion (the only one in the AIF) that my grandfather, private Alan Sutton, was a member of. These men died on the same day that my grandfather was wounded.
This is an interesting cemetery, there are a lot of graves with two bodies and quite a few with three bodies. Given this cemetery was next to a casualty clearing station there are very few unknown internments. To my surprise I came across a grave for Brigadier General Duncan Glasford, commander of the 12th Brigade AIF. My trusty Anzacs on the Western Front tells me that Glasford was the most senior Australian officer to die in France. Lieutenant-Colonel Owen Howell-Price of the 3rd battalion is also buried here, he was one of three officer brothers to die on the western front.
After spending a little time at Heilly I drove to the 3rd Division memorial located on the ridge line between the Ancre river and the Somme.
I then wanted to have a look at a bit of the Battle of Amiens, the battle that took place on the 8th of August 1918, and declared 'the black day of the German Army' by the German military supremo, General Ludendorf. This battle guaranteed the safety of the allied transport hub at Amiens and kicked off the 'hundred days' that led to the end of the war. The Australians and Canadians played a major part in these battles with all five Australian divisions fighting as the Australian Corps under the command of Lieutenant General Sir John Monash.
The start line for some of the Australians on 8th August was where the Australian Corps memorial is now located. This position was a German strong point that was taken by the Australians on 4th July 1918 and the remains of the trenches used by both sides are still visible.
Monash overcame a number of obstacles to achieve command at this level, firstly his parents came to Australia from Prussia (Germany), Monash was Jewish (a bit of anti semitism around in those days), he was a part time soldier (engineer by trade) and possible worst of all he was a colonial. Rupert Murdoch's father, Keith Murdoch, who was very influential at the time actively opposed Monash's appointment and tried to use all of his influence to prevent it. The official AIF historian, Charles Bean, also opposed Monash's appointment, but despite their best efforts Monash got the job and showed them that he was the best man for the job. Bean later apologised to Monash, Murdoch never did.
Dinner tonight was rotisserie chicken with a butter sauce at a restaurant on the bank of the Somme with a pitcher (smallish) of Bordeaux and finishing with some delicious ice cream. Warmish evening and lots of people around.
This is an interesting cemetery, there are a lot of graves with two bodies and quite a few with three bodies. Given this cemetery was next to a casualty clearing station there are very few unknown internments. To my surprise I came across a grave for Brigadier General Duncan Glasford, commander of the 12th Brigade AIF. My trusty Anzacs on the Western Front tells me that Glasford was the most senior Australian officer to die in France. Lieutenant-Colonel Owen Howell-Price of the 3rd battalion is also buried here, he was one of three officer brothers to die on the western front.
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| Heilly Station Cemetery |
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| Most senior AIF officer to die on western front |
After spending a little time at Heilly I drove to the 3rd Division memorial located on the ridge line between the Ancre river and the Somme.
I then wanted to have a look at a bit of the Battle of Amiens, the battle that took place on the 8th of August 1918, and declared 'the black day of the German Army' by the German military supremo, General Ludendorf. This battle guaranteed the safety of the allied transport hub at Amiens and kicked off the 'hundred days' that led to the end of the war. The Australians and Canadians played a major part in these battles with all five Australian divisions fighting as the Australian Corps under the command of Lieutenant General Sir John Monash.
The start line for some of the Australians on 8th August was where the Australian Corps memorial is now located. This position was a German strong point that was taken by the Australians on 4th July 1918 and the remains of the trenches used by both sides are still visible.
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| Aust Corps Memorial and remains of trenches |
Monash overcame a number of obstacles to achieve command at this level, firstly his parents came to Australia from Prussia (Germany), Monash was Jewish (a bit of anti semitism around in those days), he was a part time soldier (engineer by trade) and possible worst of all he was a colonial. Rupert Murdoch's father, Keith Murdoch, who was very influential at the time actively opposed Monash's appointment and tried to use all of his influence to prevent it. The official AIF historian, Charles Bean, also opposed Monash's appointment, but despite their best efforts Monash got the job and showed them that he was the best man for the job. Bean later apologised to Monash, Murdoch never did.
Dinner tonight was rotisserie chicken with a butter sauce at a restaurant on the bank of the Somme with a pitcher (smallish) of Bordeaux and finishing with some delicious ice cream. Warmish evening and lots of people around.
Fun Fact: 50cl of Stella E5.90 ($9.30 approx AUD)
Step Count: 8,385
Observation: ADF Federation Guard are still in town.
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