V. C. CORNER AUSTRALIAN CEMETERY AND MEMORIAL
Fromelles
Nord
France
GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 50.61939, Longitude: 2.83352
Location Information
Fromelles is a village 16 kilometres west of Lille and V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery is 2 kilometres north-west of Fromelles on the road to Sailly.
Historical Information
On the morning of 19 July 1916, after a preliminary bombardment, the 5th Australian and 61st (South Midland) Divisions undertook what is officially known as the Attack at Fromelles. The 61st Division attack failed in the end, with the loss of over 1,500 officers and men out of 3,400 who took part in it. The Australian left and centre reached the German trenches and held their second line during the day and night, but the right was held off by a fierce machine-gun barrage and only reached the front line in isolated groups. The action was broken off on the morning of 20 July, after the 5th Australian Division had lost over 5,500 officers and men. It was the first serious engagement of the Australian forces in France, and the only one to achieve no success.
V.C. Corner Cemetery was made after the Armistice. It contains the graves of 410 Australian soldiers who died in the Attack at Fromelles and whose bodies were found on the battlefield, but not a single body could be identified. It was therefore decided not to mark the individual graves, but to record on a memorial the names of all the Australian soldiers who were killed in the engagement and whose graves were not known.
The memorial, designed by Sir Herbert Baker, was built to commemorate nearly 1,300 Australian casualties, however since then many have subsequently had graves identified for them (in particular as a result of the excavation of the Pheasant Wood mass grave site in 2009), so today, it is the point of commemoration for 1,171 Australian casualties.
Commemorated on Memorial: Australia 1,171.
The memorial was designed by Sir Herbert Baker and William Harrison Cowlishaw
Dedication
4821 Private Albert Geal, 59th Bn. Australian Infantry, A. I. F., died 19th July 1916, aged 28. Panel 16. Son of Albert and Alice Geal, of Spring Vale Road, Tunstall, Victoria.
Albert had five brothers and four sisters and was born in Redhill, Surrey, England. His brother George was also killed and is buried in Etretat Churchyard Extension on France.
Dedication provided by Cynthia Egan
3273A Private
James David Cairns
53rd Bn. Australian Infantry, A. I. F.
19th July 1916, aged 22.
Grave Ref. 7.
Grandson of James Gorman, V. C.
Picture courtesy of Marjorie Willey, niece of James Cairns and Great Granddaughter of James Gorman V. C.
James David Cairns
53rd Bn. Australian Infantry, A. I. F.
19th July 1916, aged 22.
Grave Ref. 7.
Grandson of James Gorman, V. C.
Picture courtesy of Marjorie Willey, niece of James Cairns and Great Granddaughter of James Gorman V. C.
258 Private
John Morley
31st Bn. Australian Infantry, A. I. F.
20th July 1916.
Memorial Reference - 3
Private John Morley was my Great, great Uncle. His real name was William John Howard. He was born in Yambuk, Victoria, in 1869. He was the seventh child and second son of John and Sarah Howard. Little is known of his early life. He never married and had no children. His family had not had contact with him for many years when my Grandfather received this postcard from him just before he left for France. The card read; "Oct. 31st. Dear Lewis, with luck from your Uncle. Jack Morley, A coy. 31st. Batt. No. 258." He enlisted in Brisbane as he had lived at Sth. Woodburn, Richmond River. New South Wales for some time. It is and will always be a mystery why he changed his name. He arrived in Marseilles on the 23rd. June 1916 and he was killed at the Battle of Fromelles on the 20th. July 1916. I believe him to be one of the missing Diggers of Fromelles.
Picture courtesy of Anne Betts, great, great, niece of this soldier
Images in gallery below © Geerhard Joos
Images in gallery below © Werner Van Caneghem
Australian Memorial Park at Fromelles
Location Information
The memorial park is located approximately 200 metres (660 ft) from the V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial, on the same road in the direction of the village of Fromelles. It lies at the point where the German lines crossed the road, and has several surviving battlefield fortifications. In comparison, the V.C. Corner cemetery and memorial is approximately at the point where the Allied lines crossed the road.
Information
The Memorial Park was opened on 5 July 1998 by Bruce Scott, the Australian Minister for Veterans' Affairs, in the presence of Ian McLachlan, the Australian Minister for Defence. The opening of this memorial park was part of a series of events that commemorated the 80th anniversary of the end of World War I. A guard of honour was provided by the French 43rd Infantry Regiment, and the Australian 10th/27th Battalion, and the opening of the memorial park was attended by hundreds from Australia and France.
The memorial park is located approximately 200 metres (660 ft) from the V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial, on the same road in the direction of the village of Fromelles. It lies at the point where the German lines crossed the road, and has several surviving battlefield fortifications. In comparison, the V.C. Corner cemetery and memorial is approximately at the point where the Allied lines crossed the road.
Information
The Memorial Park was opened on 5 July 1998 by Bruce Scott, the Australian Minister for Veterans' Affairs, in the presence of Ian McLachlan, the Australian Minister for Defence. The opening of this memorial park was part of a series of events that commemorated the 80th anniversary of the end of World War I. A guard of honour was provided by the French 43rd Infantry Regiment, and the Australian 10th/27th Battalion, and the opening of the memorial park was attended by hundreds from Australia and France.