Workshops and Presentations

 

Located north of Amiens, the villages of Naours and Vignacourt were a safe distance from the front line during the war. Today, the sites offer a unique perspective on the history of Allied soldiers who spent some of their free time in these bucolic Picardy villages.

The Underground City of Naours is recognised as one of the most distinctive and complete underground refuges to visit in northern France, and contains the greatest concentration of First World War graffiti discovered to date. The Silent Soldiers of Naours interpretive centre brings to life the stories of the men who left inscriptions on the gallery walls and invites visitors to discover the activities of soldiers on leave while behind the lines, revealing a less bloody and little-known facet of the war.

Vignacourt was an important Allied base close to the front line and popular village for Allied soldiers during the First World War. It was in this village that Louis and Antoinette Thuillier, a farming couple with a passion for photography, took photos of many soldiers and itinerant civilians. The Vignacourt 14-18 Interpretation Centre tells the story of these 4,000 photographic plates, which disappeared for almost a century before reappearing in the 21st century, revealing the faces of many soldiers.