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ANZAC Day 2008

28 April 2008
Dawn Service at Villers-Bretonneux

20 Years after the war, King George VI addressed a crowd assembled for the opening of the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux, on the 22nd of July 1938.

On the walls of the memorial are engraved the names of 10,771 Australian Soldiers who went 'missing in action' on the Western Front in France and have no known grave. Listed are men from all 60 battalions of the Australian Imperial Forces and the units which supported them, drawn from every city, town and rural district in Australia.

ANZAC Day on April 25th 2008 commemorates the 90th Anniversary of the Battle that liberated the small French provincial town of Villers-Bretonneux.

The sacrifices made by those Australian diggers are honoured on this day by a contingent of the Australia's Federation Guard in a display of ceremonial drill. The Dawn Service included the Australian Army Band vocalist accompanied by the St George's Cathedral Choir from Perth singing the national anthems of both countries.

Those in attendance included The Honourable Alan Griffin MP, Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Lieutenant General David Hurley AO DSC, Chief of Joint Operations representing the Australian Defence Force, and thousands who came to pay their respects.

The ceremony will be remembered the sombre sounds of the bugler's 'Last Post' drifting across the Somme... "Lest We Forget".

This year, an Australian Defence Force contingent from AustraliaÌs Federation Guard (AFG) supported by members from the Australian Army Band will provide ceremonial guards for services commemorating the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Villers-Bretonneux.

Villers-Bretonneux was the most important of a series of battles fought by Australians that resisted German attacks on the Somme in the first half of 1918.
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A lone Digger stands guard in a ceremonial representation at the Dawn Service at Villers-Bretonneux.

(Date taken: 25 April 2008)
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The Australian and the French flag fly proudly in the foreground of the Villers-Bretonneux during the Dawn Service on ANZAC Day.

(Date taken: 25 April 2008)
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The Honourable Alan Griffin MP, Minister for Veterans' Affairs delivers a Commemorative Address to a crowd of over 5000 at the first ANZAC Day Dawn Service ever held at the Villers-Bretonneux memorial in France.

(Date taken: 25 April 2008)
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The Honourable Alan Griffin MP, Minister for Veterans' Affairs delivers a Commemorative Address to a crowd of over 5000 at the first ANZAC Day Dawn Service ever held at the Villers-Bretonneux memorial in France.

(Date taken: 25 April 2008)
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The Australian Ambassador to France, His Excellency David Ritchie, addresses the crowd of over 5000 who came to pay their respects at the first ever ANZAC Day Dawn Dervice held at the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.

(Date taken: 25 April 2008)
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The Honourable Alan Griffin MP, Minister for Veterans' Affairs, delivers the Commemorative Address to a crowd of over 5000 who came to pay their respects at the first ever ANZAC Day Dawn Dervice held at the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial in France.

(Date taken: 25 April 2008)
Low-Res | Hi-Res

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Australian Army Band Vocalist Corporal Simone Dew sings the Australian National Anthem before a crowd of 5000 gathered at the first Dawn Service at Villers-Bretonneux.

(Date taken: 25 April 2008)
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