Mayor speech in memory of the Australians and of the battle (click to enlarge).

On July 4th of 2002, as in 1999 and 2000, Hamel municipality organised a simple commemoration of the 4 July 1918 battle. Few locals assisted to it and there was no Australian delegation. We can regret it but it was on the middle of the week.

Anyway that little ceremony was a real success. The village of Hamel payed a good quality hommage to Australia on its own. It was big vacation time and chilfren from the leisure played a major role in the commemoration. Helped by their monitresses, they have made big paper poppies that they layed at the memorial stone. Ceremony ended on the Memorial Park picnic area with a snack offered to children.

The mayor - Mr Chevin - speech was especially dedicated to the young. Civic and pedagogical, it underlined, with a couple of simple sentences, the importance of the memory duty.