At the Centre
Back to NewsroomRemembrance week at the SJMC
To commemorate the Armistice and the end of hostilities on the Western Front in 1918, the Sir John Monash Centre is organising a week of remembrance with free activities.
When the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, at 11 a.m., the war was over. After years of fighting, the men and women of the Australian Imperial Force could return home. General Monash insisted that those who had served the longest should be the first to return home, but repatriation took time and throughout 1919 hundreds of ships brought the men and women of the AIF home.
To commemorate the Armistice, the Sir John Monash Centre is offering a number of activities to mark the end of the fighting on 11 November 1918 and to help you discover Australia’s history on the Western Front during the First World War:
- From November 7 to November 14 – throughout the week, Remembrance crosses, with personal messages from Australian school children will be available at the SJMC, for you to collect and place on a headstone of an Australian soldier that lays to rest in one of the local commonwealth cemeteries of your choice. Crosses will also be available at the tourist office in Corbie and the Franco-Australian museum in Villers-Bretonneux.
- Sunday 7 November – remembrance brooch workshop. Make your own remembrance brooch with local artist La fée Lulu (2:30 to 4:00 p.m., registration required)
- Thursday 11 November – guided tours of the Villers-Bretonneux military cemetery and the Australian National Memorial accompanied by a member of the Sir John Monash Centre team (duration 1 hour at 10:00, 11:00, 14:00 and 15:00)
- Sunday 14 November at 9:30 am (Paris) – online conference in English: Australian soldiers who died after the Armistice. Join battlefield historian Pete Smith and discover the moving stories of the Australian soldiers who were the last to fall, dying in the days after the guns fell silent on the Western Front. This event will take place online. To register click here.
All events are free with limited places available
Information and bookings: [email protected] | 03 60 62 01 40