Australia bans UK families from First World War memorial
THEY fought – and died – side by side in a doomed assault on impregnable German lines.
But, a century on, the comradeship and shared sacrifice of British and Australian soldiers at the Battle of Fromelles is being ignored.
The Australian organisers of the centenary commemorations this summer are allowing only Australian and French citizens to attend.
They will be allocated one of 3,000 tickets for a seating area at the Pheasant Wood First World War cemetery on the battlefield near Lille. British visitors will have to watch the ceremony on TV screens in the nearby town.
Michael Bemrose, whose grandfather – Gunner Fred Bemrose – was killed in the 1916 battle, said: ‘My family, and I suspect many other British families, feel totally insulted by the attitude of the Australian authorities.
‘It was a British-run battle with the Australians. Men from both countries fought together and died together but now the Australians want to airbrush the British out of the battle.’
Mr Bemrose, 57, an electrical engi-
‘We feel totally insulted’
neer, added: ‘Every year there is a ceremony at Pheasant Wood and I have been to a couple of them. The first year the cemetery opened we had to apply for a pass and parking permit but that wasn’t a problem.
‘Being the centenary year of my grandfather’s death we intended to go and pay our respects but the Australians have taken complete control of it. They have made a unilateral decision to bar the British by restricting access to Australian passport holders.’
One of the 250 men whose remains were found at Pheasant Wood in 2009 was Private Harry Dibben. His great-nephew Richard Dibben, 61, from Buckland Newton, Dorset, who had also hoped to go the ceremony, said the ticketing arrangements were ‘grossly unfair’.
The Australian Department of Veterans’ Affairs yesterday confirmed that the Fromelles service will be for Australian and French citizens only. It pointed out that the UK government was organising numerous events at the Thiepval Memorial to mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.
Jennifer Stephenson, of the DVA, said: ‘Most governments have chosen to commemorate the centenary of the Somme offensive with a single ceremony with managed attendance providing a priority for their citizens.
‘ Due to the small site at Fromelles the number of visitors in the seated area has to be limited. The ceremonial focus will be on the Australian role in the battle and on the Australian soldiers lost.
‘A decision has been made by the Australian government to prioritise Australians and French in the seated area.
‘This is not to diminish the role of other nations but simply a recognition of the Australian focus of the event we are organising.
‘People from all nations are welcome to come to the town and view the ceremony from large screens in the location adjacent to the seated area.’
Wartime, the official magazine of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, described the Battle of Fromelles as ‘the worst 24 hours in Australian history … not the worst in Australian military history, the worst 24 hours in Australia’s entire history’.