This moving service will take place at the Australian National Memorial, France at 5.30am on Thursday 25th April 2024. This year’s ceremony marks the 106th Anniversary of the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux, when Australian Troops finally captured the town after fierce fighting. This action represents the high-water mark of the German Spring Offensive in 1918 and it is in this area that the Battle of Amiens took place later in August 1918, from which the Allied advances of the last 100 days of the Great War began. The Memorial honours 10,719 Australian casualties who died in France and who have no known grave and provides spectacular views of the surrounding area. The ceremony will also commemorate the 109th Anniversary of the ANZAC landings at Gallipoli.
All visitors will be required to Register Here to obtain an attendance pass - without this, and a form of photographic ID, entry will not be permitted.
Please note that access to the Memorial will be quite specific and full details of how to get there and back on the day, the rules for the event and what will be provided on site are available through the link on the Australian Government's Department of Veterans' Affairs website - Department of Veterans' Affairs ANZAC Day Villers-Bretonneux
Attendees will be required to go through 'airport style' security screening on arrival (including no liquids), so complimentary bottled water will be provided.
The site will open at 2.30am and a pre-service programme will start at 4am with the main service starting at 5.30am.
The Sir John Monash Centre can still be visited, but from Sunday 21st April and including the day of the event, bookings must be made beforehand at Sir John Monash Centre Bookings and the central tower will be closed to the public.
All Photographs courtesy of the Sir John Monash Centre (@SJMC)