My Vision…………………….. The paintings, drawings and photographs in this exhibition are the result of almost six weeks living and working in France and Belgium in the areas where Australians served and shed their blood during the Great War of 1914-18.
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In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below We are the Dead. Short days ago We
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le Hamel , overlooking the southern bank of the Somme. This town was made famous by Major General Sir John Monash. He was the first Australian to command the AIF on the Western Front. On July 4th 1918 he executed,
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The Menen Gate, Ieper, Belgium. (Ypres) This memorial was dedicated in 1928. It was designed and built to carry the names of all those soldiers of the Commonwealth who died in Flanders Fields but who have no known grave. There
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The Old Digger…. Mount St.Quentin, France This figure stands solidly atop a plinth put in place as a memorial to the Australian 2nd Division in recognition of their achievement in taking what was considered an impregnable ‘fortress’ from the Germans
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Memorial of the British 58th Division, the London Division. This is the only memorial to the horse on the continent. It sits opposite the Church in Chipilly, in France on the Somme River. While motorized vehicles were used more
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The Mourning Parents – sculpture by Kathe Kollwitz This sculpture stands a silent vigil over the grave of Musketier Peter Kollwitz, KIA 23/10/1914, 18 years. Kathe Kollwitz deeply distressed by the death of her son exhibits in this work a
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Death Cells in Poperinge, Belgium. At the rear of the Town Hall, on the main square, there are two small cells where those servicemen convicted of murder or desertion were held until they were executed by firing squad. The executions
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The River Somme The 50 km stretch of the river from Amiens eastward to Péronne was the main axis of attackfor the British forces during the final months of the War. The environs of the river have been thoroughly used
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The Lone Pine and the Australian Memorial, Gallipoli This drawing is a view looking from the Turkish Museum at Kabatepe across the rugged ridges and gullies above ANZAC cove. The lack of rain and availability of water make the task
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Pool of Peace, Spanbroekmolen, Belgium Almost unknown is the fact that while British and German troops faced each other over “no man’s land” there were soldiers of both armies who dug tunnels to establish “mines” – caverns full of explosives
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The “Cobbers” memorial at Fromelles, Flemish France. This sculpture by Australian artist, Peter Corlett, depicts the efforts of Sgt. Simon Fraser of the 57th Battalion. Fraser, a 40 year old farmer, was one of many who risked their lives rescuing
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The Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux This Memorial dominates the landscape near Villers-Bretonneux and can be seen from many kilometres particularly to the west towards Amiens. The Memorial overlooks the graves of 2141 Commonwealth soldiers. From the car park the
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Talbot House , Poperinge Poperinge was one of the few towns in Flanders unoccupied by the Germans during The Great War. It was about 15 km directly behind the turmoil of the Ypres salient and was the focus of supplies
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Concert Hall, Talbot House, Poperinge This was originally a hops store and a part of the leased complex which ‘Tubby” Clayton turned into a concert hall. The older ones of us know how play-acting, skits and singing played a
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The Chapel in the Loft, Talbot House “Tubby Clayton” said of the house that the “foundations are in the Loft”. The Queen’s Westminster Rifles, who were billeted next door, transformed the loft into a Chapel. The unique atmosphere of Talbot
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Langemark German Cemetery, Belgium These sculptured soldiers stand mute over the remains of thousands of German Soldiers in multiple burials. The figures show subtle differences in the way they pay their respects to their comrades. I felt the need to
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The Hills of ANZAC Cove, Gallipoli The Light Horse Regiments and 1st Division Australian Infantry Forces (AIF) were landed further north than was planned and instead of facing low hills and gradually rising gullies towards the high ground they found
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A Belgian Farmhouse, just east of Poperinge. The Australians fought at the front in terrible conditions created by artillery and weather but they were withdrawn to rest areas at intervals where they saw the beauty and colour of the countryside
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The Young Digger……. Bullecourt, France This figure, cast in bronze by sculptor Peter Corlett, was unveiled in 1993 as a memorial to the Battles of Bullecourt. The cocky slouch hat contrasts with his serious demeanour as he looks over
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Bray-sur-Somme Eglise (church) Bray is another lovely town resting peacefully among the rolling farmlands on the northern side of the Somme River. Most of the town survived the fighting intact and after being taken by the 3rd Division in August
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Lijssenthoek British Cemetery, near Poperinge, Belgium. Hospitals were established near here because the area was just out of extreme artillery range and on a railway line. The dead were buried in an adjacent Hopfield which became the second largest Commonwealth
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Mouquet Farm, near Pozieres, France, 1916 ‘Moo Cow Farm’, as the Diggers called it, is right in the middle of the Pozieres – Thiepval Ridge where the German Army had chosen to make its stand and had used the eighteen
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