Mont Saint-Quentin Australian war memorial, located in
Mont Saint-Quentin
Mont Saint-Quentin overlooks the Somme River in the region of Picardie approximately 1.5 km north of the town of Péronne, Somme, France. The hill is about 100 metres high but as it is situated in a bend of the river it dominates the whole ...
region of
Picardy
Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France.
Hi ...
, is an Australian
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
memorial.
The
Australian Second Division has a war memorial on the road from Bapaume to Péronne. It is the only one of the five Australian division memorials initiated by members of the division. The base was erected in 1925. It has bronze bas-reliefs by
May Butler-George
May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the third of seven months to have a length of 31 days.
May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, M ...
of men hauling and pushing a gun and of men advancing with bayoneted rifles and hand-grenades. It had on its top an Australian soldier thrusting his bayonet through a German eagle. The sculptor was
Charles Web Gilbert
Charles Marsh Webb (Nash) Gilbert (18 March 1867 – 3 October 1925), known professionally as C. Web Gilbert, was a self-taught Australian sculptor renowned both within Australia and abroad.
Gilbert was born at Cockatoo in Victoria, between Talb ...
.
However, in 1940, German soldiers smashed the memorial. A replacement statue by Australian sculptor Stanley James Hammond (1913 - 2000) of a thoughtful Australian soldier looking down was erected in 1971.
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See also
* List of Australian military memorials
Most Australian towns and cities have a World War I or ANZAC, and/or World War II memorial or Cenotaph.
Listing and photographs are by state and territory:
Australian Capital Territory
New South Wales
Memorials for people
Northern Ter ...
* V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial
The V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission World War I cemetery and memorial. The site is located in the ''commune'' of Fromelles, in the Nord ''departement'' of France, about northwest of the vill ...
* Villers–Bretonneux Australian National Memorial
The Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux is the main memorial to Australian military personnel killed on the Western Front during World War I. It is located on the Route Villiers-Bretonneux (D 23), between the towns of Fouillo ...
* Military Memorials of National Significance in Australia
Military Memorials of National Significance meet a set of ten criteria laid down in the ''Military Memorials of National Significance Act of 2008'' which received assent in the Australian Government on 12 Jul 2008. All such memorials are on public ...
References
External links
History of the memorial
(Australians on the Western Front) - includes a photograph of the current memorial
{{Australian war memorials
Australian military memorials
World War I memorials in France
Monuments and memorials in Somme (department)
Australian diaspora in Europe
Buildings and structures completed in 1925