Australian National Memorial. The panels on the wing
walls list the names of the 10,982 Australians who died in France and have no known
grave. These names are in addition to those mentioned at Menin Gate. The section
below identifies casulties from the 44th Infantry Battalion including
McGrath and
Monaghan both of whom are mentioned in my grandfathers diary.
The plaques (one in French and one in English) on the Victoria
School state "This school building is the gift of the school children
of Victoria, Australia to the children of Villers-Bretonneux as a proof
of their love and good-will
towards France. Twelve hundred Australian soldiers, the fathers and brothers
of these children gave their lives in the heroic recapture of this town
from the invader on 24th
April 1918 and are buried near this spot. May the memory of the great sacrifices
in a common cause keep france and Australia together forever in bonds of
friendship and mutual
esteem."