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Back to NewsroomA Bailey Bridge and a Memorial Garden in Amiens
On 24 April 2024, to coincide with Anzac Day, the city of Amiens inaugurated a Bailey bridge designed to share the memory of the Australian soldiers of the Australian Imperial Force which prevented the capture of the city during the German offensives of 1918.
On 8 August 1918, the Battle of Amiens marked the beginning of a major offensive for the Allies. High morale, the excellent coordination and efficiency of the armoured vehicles (inspired in particular by the success of General Sir John Monash at Le Hamel) and a disinformation strategy to mislead German troops, quickly prevailed. This enabled the Allies to recapture almost 13km of territory under German control.
The success of the Battle of Amiens marked the start of the Allied Hundred Days Offensive, which led to the signing of the Armistice three months later. Amiens has never forgotten the sacrifice of the Commonwealth troops, including the Australians, to whom a plaque has been dedicated in the heart of Amiens Cathedral, alongside plaques to other foreign nations engaged in the war.
More than a century later, in tribute to the contribution and sacrifice of the Royal Australian Engineers during the 1916 Battle of the Somme, the Royal Australian Engineers Association’s 1st Field Squadron Group donated a Bailey bridge to the town of Amiens. This prefabricated and quick-to-install footbridge was designed by military engineers during the Second World War to allow troops to cross obstacles.
“The bridge is intended to serve as both a monument and a memorial to every Australian Army Engineer unit during the First World War and also to provide a useful infrastructure for the citizens and visitors of Amiens.”
There is no other memorial anywhere in the world commemorating the Australian Engineers of the First World War. It is fitting that their memorial should be located where their actions took place. The memorial walkway is conveniently located near the Amiens School of Engineering and provides access to the Amiens Botanical Gardens.
The inauguration of the footbridge had been scheduled for 8 August 2020, the 102nd anniversary of the Battle of Amiens, but was postponed due to the worldwide health crisis. The first phase of work began on 12 February 2024, ensuring that the bridge would be inaugurated on the eve of Anzac Day, a date that holds so much significance for the Australian people.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by the Honourable Matt Keogh MP, Australian Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Minister for Defence, Her Excellency Mrs Gillian Bird, Australian Ambassador to France, Mr Alain Gest, President of Amiens Métropole, and Mr Rollon Mouchel-Blaisot, Prefect of the Somme. The inauguration was also attended by many other participants, both local and Australian, all bearing witness to the Franco-Australian friendship.
This is not the only tribute to the Franco-Australian friendship to be unveiled in Amiens. An Australian peace garden will be inaugurated at the entrance to the Citadelle of Amiens, now home to the Jules Verne University of Picardy.
The ‘Jardin des Songes’ (Garden of Dreams), developed as part of a programme run by the Art & Jardins Hauts-de-France and the Mission Centenaire, was designed by French and Australian landscapers and architects (Chartier Dalix and JMD Design), and echoes Australia in its choice of vegetation and layout with Wollemi pines, eucalyptus and red/ochre pathways, which resemble Australian soil.
The intention of the ‘Jardin des Songes’ is to be a place of peace, while at the same time echoing the violence of the First World War through its unstructured form, contrasting to the dreamlike tranquillity of the garden. It is a “dream landscape of those that will never see their land again”, to quote the agencies responsible for the project.
These installations show that more than a century later, Amiens still remembers the soldiers who came from the other side of the world to defend the town during the chaos of the First World War.