The Somme

I cannot express all that we have seen, heard and felt today. So much blood, so many lives, so many grave yards one after another. Graveyards in villages, in farmers fields, huge and small, mile after mile. Fathers, sons, brothers, lovers, friends ... Gone. How can you get your head around the fact that in one cemetery over 1200 Aussies are buried, who lost their lives ... In one day! And that is just the Aussies.

And just down the road and over the ridge is another with 10000 graves, so many with no name.
"Known only Unto God". And the brother of the great great uncle I visited yesterday was killed in action. In some ways a worse fate than dieing of wounds, because in many cases your body was then blown up, trampled, and even  if buried and a grave recorded, that area could then be come the next place a huge mortar would land.  This is the case for my ancestor.  A few numbers on his record were enough for our guide to take me to within a half a square mile of where he died today and it is there I left my momento's for him. There is "No Known Grave" for Robert. And the museums and villages that show respect for the Aussies is incredible in this area. We visited Victoria School where there is a huge banner of lettering painted on their school building that simply says "Always Remember Australia". This is located in the village of Viller Bretonneaux.

Our day ended towards sunset on the rolling hill that is the Australian Memorial within sight of the village. Gazing on Robert's name carved into stone with 30000 other names, surrounded by birdsong and a peaceful rural landscape made me think that this is exactly what these men had fought for, the ability for the local people in particular, but all of us, to live our lives with the freedoms and dignity that we all have the right to as human beings. In the words of one grave inscription ...

"To live in the hearts of those left behind is not to die"