Ambassade d'Australie
France
Coordonnées de l'Ambassade: 4, rue Jean Rey 75724 Paris Cedex 15 - Téléphone : 01 40 59 33 00 - Fax : 01 40 59 33 10

ANZAC DAY 2007 – FRANCE

Please note that as details are confirmed, this information will be brought up-to-date on a regular basis:

A range of ANZAC Day services and activities will be held in France at the end of April 2007. The main commemorations will take place in Northern France on Saturday 21 April 2007, and on ANZAC Day itself, 25 April 2007 in Paris: an outline of the program follows:

Saturday, 21 April 2007
Villers-Bretonneux (Somme)

10.00am The ANZAC Day program in Villers-Bretonneux will start with a ceremony at the Australian National Memorial with accompanying music provided by a visiting school choir, band or orchestra from Australia, which this year will be the CANBERRA GRAMMAR CHAMBER CHOIR. (The choir will also perform at other ceremonies and concerts in Paris, Villers-Bretonneux and Dernancourt – see information which follows below)

Numerous Australian and regional officials as well as government representatives and groups visiting from Australia, plus members of the public, will participate in the day’s program. On arrival you will be given an official printed program so that you can join in on all the day’s services and activities.

11.00am This ceremony will be followed by a wreath laying service at the French Monument in the town centre, next to the town hall.

11.30am The successful candidate of the Sadlier-Stokes Scholarship for 2007 will be announced at Victoria Hall located in the local primary school, rue Victoria, followed by refreshments in the school courtyard.

Bullecourt (Pas-de-Calais)

3.00pm A fresque commemorating the ‘90th Anniversary of the Battles of Bullecourt’ will be opened by a senior Australian official. Details will follow later on this website. Attendance by the public is optional.

3.30pm An ANZAC Day ceremony, also commemorating the 90th Anniversary of the Battles of Bullecourt, will be held at the Commonwealth and French Monuments in the Bullecourt village centre in front of the church.

4.30pm A wreath-laying service will complete the day’s ceremonial program at the Australian 'Digger' Memorial on the village outskirts. Music at these ceremonies will be provided by the same choir which performed in the morning. Refreshments will be provided afterwards in the local hall.

Wednesday 25 April 2006
Paris

6.15am An ANZAC Day Dawn Service will be held at the Australian Embassy in Paris involving Australian and New Zealand participants. Refreshments will be provided after the service.

For access and catering purposes, RSVP by email before 18 April 2007 to:
defence.paris@dfat.gov.au

ANZAC Day ceremonies, concerts and activities arranged in chronological order for the period 16 to 25 April 2007 are as follows:

 (NB There are no entry charges to any of these events, although on a few occasions you may be asked to meet some modest catering costs or advise organisers of your attendance. You should arrive at least 15 minutes before the start of each event)

Monday, 16 April: Villers-Bretonneux

8.30pm Concert by the Hunter Singers from NSW: Victoria Hall (located in the local primary school, rue Victoria). Program will include a specially-commissioned work (10 minutes), "Known Unto God", dedicated to the Australians who fought in Villers-Bretonneux, plus an extensive repertoire of music, both accompanied and unaccompanied, sacred and secular, light and serious, Australian, African and European

Tuesday, 17 April: Paris

3.30pm Concert by the Canberra Grammar Chamber Choir: Madeleine Church (Métro Station: Madeleine). Details of the program will be posted later on this website

6.30pm Evening Service of the Rekindling of the Flame: Arc-de-Triomphe. Canberra Grammar Chamber Choir will participate in the ceremony. Ambassador to France, Penny Wensley, AO and Defence Attaché, Colonel Skowronski will represent the Australian Government

Thursday, 19 April: Dernancourt (near Albert), Somme

8.30pm Concert by the Canberra Grammar Chamber Choir: Dernancourt local church. Details of the program will be posted later on this website

Friday, 20 April: Villers-Bretonneux (near Amiens), Somme

8.30pm Concert by the Canberra Grammar Chamber Choir: Local community hall, known as the ‘Marché Couvert’. The concert will open ‘Australia Week’. Details of the program will be posted later on this website

Saturday, 21 April: Villers-Bretonneux (near Amiens), Somme

10.00am Australian National Memorial Official Commemorative Ceremony for ANZAC Day. Please refer to the outline of the day’s programme above
NB For those who arrive early, refreshments will be provided by the Conseil-Général of the Somme in a tent, to the left-hand side of the grass square directly in front to the monument

11.15am Wreath-laying ceremony at the French Monument in the main town square

11.30am Brief ceremony in the Victoria School located in the local primary school in rue Victoria, for the successful candidate of the Sadlier-Stokes Scholarship for 2007, followed by refreshments in the school courtyard

12.30am Lunch break - all participants leave for Bullecourt where the afternoon program continues

NB Optional lunch is provided for all participants in the local hall at Hendecourt, close to Bullecourt. The lunch will consist of 3 different sorts of salads, a main course with meat followed by dessert; bread and drinks will be included. Cost is €12 per person. Please reserve your lunch by sending an email to the organisers, Claude and Colette Durand before 12 April and pay on the day: ccdurand@free.fr (If you have any special dietary requirements, please mention in your request)

Or you may prefer to reserve a lunch in a restaurant in the region eg at Bapaume which the largest town nearest to Bullecourt, or bring your own picnic

Bullecourt (Pas-de-Calais)

3.00pm A fresque commemorating the ‘90th Anniversary of the Battles of Bullecourt’ will be opened by a senior Australian official. Details will follow later on this website. Attendance by the public is optional.

3.30pm An ANZAC Day ceremony, also commemorating the 90th Anniversary of the Battles of Bullecourt, will be held at the Commonwealth and French Monuments in the Bullecourt village centre in front of the church.

4.30pm A wreath-laying service will complete the day’s ceremonial program at the Australian 'Digger' Memorial on the village outskirts. Music at these ceremonies will be provided by the same choir which performed in the morning. Refreshments will be provided afterwards in the local hall.

Other activities linked to the ANZAC Day commemorations: Australia Week in Villers-Bretonneux: “RENCONTRES AUSTRALIENNES – Share the Australian Spirit”.

Villers-Bretonneux will hold a series of varied events from Monday 16 to Saturday 28 April, which will include:

• a concert on Friday 20 April in the evening by the Canberra Grammar Chamber Choir and another with the Orchestra of Picardy on Saturday 28 April in the local church. Details of the week’s program will be posted later on this website - activities will include film screenings, and aerial visits of the local battlefields.

• Visitors, local and regional inhabitants are welcome to attend the events and activities listed above.

Tourist information:

• For visitors from Australia or elsewhere, you might like to consider spending more than a day attending the commemorations in Paris or in the Somme or in the Pas-de-Calais regions. You can take the opportunity to visit a series of Australian monuments or cemeteries, scattered over the northern area of France, and become immersed in the history of the Australian role in World War One [and perhaps also in World War Two if you are thinking of visiting the Normandy beaches] or follow in the footsteps of one of your family members who fought in France. At the same time you can explore these regions which offer a wealth of sites for the curious tourist. For more information - both practical and historical - you should consult: www.somme-battlefields.com and www.amiens.com/tourisme

Transport:

• For those attending the program on Saturday 21 April, you may decide to travel by train from Gare du Nord to Amiens and then change to a local train for Villers-Bretonneux - the Australian National Memorial is approximately 1½ kms walk from the town centre. (There is no public transport from Villers-Bretonneux to Bullecourt)

• Alternatively, visitors may prefer to travel by car and spend the weekend or several days in the region. (Those travelling from Australia, should make enquiries with their travel agent or airline co which may have promotional offers for rented cars in France).

• Also, as the Embassy is providing a coach for official participants, any spare seats will be offered to visitors. On Saturday 21 April, the bus will leave the Embassy at 7.15 sharp and return at about 8.30pm. If you would like make a provisional reservation please send your details by email to:
rodney.muir@dfat.gov.au (If you are travelling on the bus, don’t forget to bring a picnic lunch or to order your lunch at Hendecourt near Bullecourt - see details above)

Floral Tributes:

• Embassy staff can undertake to order official wreaths but are not able take care of floral tributes offered by members of the public. However, we would like to offer the following advice. Apart from formal wreaths, the French present a variety of floral tributes at commemorative services; for example, a simple posy or bouquet of flowers or a flowering pot plant. Or you might like to consider the following:

- order a wreath in Australia made from local dried wild flowers or obtain a poppy wreath from the Australian-French WWI Museum in Villers-Bretonneux: email address: museeaustralien@aol.com or tel / fax 33 [0] 3 22 96 80 79

- purchase a floral tribute from a local florist in France, and in the case of Villers-Bretonneux, contact the local florist; ‘Floriste - IBANEZ’, 10 rue d’Amiens; tel / fax 33 [03] 1 22 48 05 91

- attach a personal message to the floral tribute

• During the various ceremonies, members of the public will be instructed when it is appropriate to lay wreaths

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