Local Events
The
following dates are worth noting with regard to services and Bank Holidays that
serve to honour those who suffered in two World Wars.
EASTER
SUNDAY each year sees
La Bourse aux Armes in Albert take
place. This is a market sale of weaponry and military memorabilia. You will be
amazed at what you can pick up here.
25th
April is ANZAC
Day. This is Remembrance Day for Australians and New Zealanders.
Contact the Mairie (Town Hall) or museum at Villers-Bretonneux for
details.
The last
Sunday of April is La Journée des Déportés.
Those who were rounded up by the occupying German forces and the Vichy
government and sent to concentration camps in Germany and Poland during WW2 are
remembered at this time. Contact the local town hall for details.
8th
May is V.E.
Day, marking the end of The Second World War, and is a Bank Holiday in
France.
1st
July is a highly
significant day in the Somme as it marks the anniversary
of the start of the Battle of The Somme when the Front line troops went over
the top to attack the German positions. Events begin at 7.30 am with a very
moving ceremony at the Lochnagar Crater
in La Boisselle. The service is attended by people representing French,
German and British authorities.
The
ceremony at Thiepval is normally at
10 or 10.30am. Check with the Office de Tourisme in Albert for details.
The
ceremony at the Ulster Tower is
normally in the afternoon. Again, contact the Office de Tourisme in Albert for
details.
There is
also a ceremony at the Canadian Memorial Park in Beaumont-Hamel. Contact the museum there for details.
People tend
to go to two or more of these ceremonies on the one day. Dignitaries, such as
the British Ambassador, attend too.