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Australian Army History Series
Our Corner of the Somme: Australia at Villers-Bretonneux
By the time of the Armstice, Villers-Bretonneux - once a lively and flourishing French town - had been largely destroyed, and half its population had fled or died. From March to August 1918, Villers-Bretonneux formed part of an active front line, at which Australian troops were heavily involved. As a result, it holds a significant place in Australian history. Villers-Bretonneux has since become an open-air memorial to Australia's participation in the First World War. Successive Australian governments have valourised the Australian engagement, contributing to an evolving Anzac narrative that has become entrenched in Australia's national identity. Our Corner of the Somme provides an eye-opening analysis of the memorialisation of Australia's role on the Western Front and the Anzac mythology that so heavily contributes to Australians' understanding of themselves. In this rigorous and richly detailed study, Romain Fathi challenges accepted historiography by examining the assembly, projection and performance of Australia's national identity in northern France.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published May 31, 2019
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May 10, 2022
Villers-Bretonneux, a small French town, was at the centre of Australia’s post-First World War negotiations to fund and build memorials recognising the sacrifices of Australian ANZACS on the Western Front, and more significantly in this town.
This book captures the political, cultural and territorial machinations associated with the town’s rebuilding and what memorials could/should be considered.
Some of us have been taught about this in history classes or through documentaries. Efforts were made to educate Australians on how to correctly pronounce Villers-Bretonneux. The author states the town and its WWI fate became more familiar to Australians than the French:
“…the vast majority of French people have never heard of it. Thousands of kilometres away in Australia, however, it is considered sacred ground.”
In this text, we are confronted with some stark research that blurs some of the post-war stories we have come to know and hold in high regard. The Australian ANZACS played a key role in liberating Villers-Bretonneux, that is not in dispute, but they were not alone; an omission made by some historians.
As to how the negotiations between the Australians and French took place, the title of Chapter 3 is telling: A SCHOOL OR NOTHING.
Australia believed a memorial school was a means to maintain generational respect for the losses of Australian troops, whereas the French major at that time advocated for more pragmatic options – among other structures, an abattoir. The unfortunate association with ‘slaughter’ could not be ignored and it caused some discourse in Australia, nor could the logic of rebuilding industry in the area, but it was the will of the Australians that prevailed.
A subsequent large-scale project, the Australian National Memorial (ANM), was officially opened near Villers-Bretonneux in 1938. Interest in this facility waxed and waned over the ensuing years with a renewed appeal in the last few decades due to genealogy research and Australians wishing to pay tribute to their family members who fought in WWI.
Again, this memorial has not avoided a degree of scepticism. Some see it, with its often pomp and ceremony, visits by dignitaries and tourist opportunities (mainly for Australians) as ‘carnivalesque’ in character. In my opinion, an unfair claim. Having spoken to a visitor to the ANM, the significance and atmosphere of the site is said to be profound.
Romain Fathi, a French-born senior lecturer in Australian history, is well qualified in giving us a detailed analysis of what did transpire and, in doing so, often strips away sentimentality. This can be confronting, but necessary.
His current research on what happened to human remains during and after WWI promises to be equally confronting and, no doubt, compelling.
There was an absence of a narrative arc in ‘Our Corner of the Somme’, and so should there be given it is non-fiction, but I did hope to be more engaged by it.
This book captures the political, cultural and territorial machinations associated with the town’s rebuilding and what memorials could/should be considered.
Some of us have been taught about this in history classes or through documentaries. Efforts were made to educate Australians on how to correctly pronounce Villers-Bretonneux. The author states the town and its WWI fate became more familiar to Australians than the French:
“…the vast majority of French people have never heard of it. Thousands of kilometres away in Australia, however, it is considered sacred ground.”
In this text, we are confronted with some stark research that blurs some of the post-war stories we have come to know and hold in high regard. The Australian ANZACS played a key role in liberating Villers-Bretonneux, that is not in dispute, but they were not alone; an omission made by some historians.
As to how the negotiations between the Australians and French took place, the title of Chapter 3 is telling: A SCHOOL OR NOTHING.
Australia believed a memorial school was a means to maintain generational respect for the losses of Australian troops, whereas the French major at that time advocated for more pragmatic options – among other structures, an abattoir. The unfortunate association with ‘slaughter’ could not be ignored and it caused some discourse in Australia, nor could the logic of rebuilding industry in the area, but it was the will of the Australians that prevailed.
A subsequent large-scale project, the Australian National Memorial (ANM), was officially opened near Villers-Bretonneux in 1938. Interest in this facility waxed and waned over the ensuing years with a renewed appeal in the last few decades due to genealogy research and Australians wishing to pay tribute to their family members who fought in WWI.
Again, this memorial has not avoided a degree of scepticism. Some see it, with its often pomp and ceremony, visits by dignitaries and tourist opportunities (mainly for Australians) as ‘carnivalesque’ in character. In my opinion, an unfair claim. Having spoken to a visitor to the ANM, the significance and atmosphere of the site is said to be profound.
Romain Fathi, a French-born senior lecturer in Australian history, is well qualified in giving us a detailed analysis of what did transpire and, in doing so, often strips away sentimentality. This can be confronting, but necessary.
His current research on what happened to human remains during and after WWI promises to be equally confronting and, no doubt, compelling.
There was an absence of a narrative arc in ‘Our Corner of the Somme’, and so should there be given it is non-fiction, but I did hope to be more engaged by it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review