GOVERNOR-GENERAL TO REMEMBER AUSTRALIA’S WWI SACRIFICE ON FRENCH BATTLE FIELDS

29 October 2008

The Governor-General, Ms Quentin Bryce AC and Mr Michael Bryce will commemorate Australia’s fallen servicemen and women when they visit three historic World War One battle fields in France in November, to mark the 90th anniversary of the Armistice.

The Governor-General has been invited to participate in an international ceremony in Verdun on November the 11th. The ceremony will be presided over by President Sarkozy of France.

Ms Bryce will also visit the Australian National Monument and the Victoria Primary School in Villers-Bretonneux, re-dedicate the Australian Corps memorial in Le Hamel, and take part in a ceremony at Fromelles at the mass grave of over 400 soldiers who died in the Battle of Fromelles in July 1916.

The official program for the Governor-General and Mr Bryce will begin on Saturday, November the 8th, with the visit to the Monument and Museum at Villers-Bretonneux and a community reception in Le Hamel. The visit to Fromelles will take place on Sunday, November the 9th.

The visits commemorate the 46,000 Australians who died during the two and a half years of battle on the Western Front.

The Governor-General and Mr Bryce will leave France on November the 13th for the first State Visit of an Australian Governor-General to Malta. The Governor-General's party will then travel to Singapore for a State Visit hosted by President SR Nathan between November 17th and 18th.

A more detailed itinerary and background information will be released prior to the Governor-General’s departure next week.

Media Contact:
Niree Creed
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02 6283 3519
Government House
Canberra