GOOD NEWS

The French Government has advised that they
have shelved their plans for an International Airport which
would have forced the relocation of Allied and German War Dead
Based on an article in The Courier Mail (Brisbane) dated 30 July 2002

My "Australia @ War" home pages are normally devoted to events that happened in Australia during WW2, but I got so angry this morning when I read the article in the Brisbane Courier Mail about the French Ambassador Pierre Viaux in Canberra  dismissing the efforts to save the graves of 61 Australian Diggers in France as a "stupid, absurd little campaign", that I decided to register my unhappiness about the possible demise of these war graves by starting this web page.

Pierre Viaux

The graves of the 61 Australia soldiers lie in the path of a proposed airport at Chaulnes on the banks of the Somme in France. The Australian Prime Minister Mr. John Howard has indicated that he supports the campaign to save the last resting place of these brave Australians.  Mr. Howard said that the views of the French Ambassador did not reflect those of the French people.

As many as eight Commonwealth cemeteries may be affected. Three of these eight cemeteries contain the remains of the 61 Australian Diggers. They are:-

- The Fouquescourt British Cemetery
- The Bouchoir New British Cemetery
- The World War II Meharicourt Communal Cemetery

"Australia @ War" WWII Research Products

This page first produced 13 April  2002

This page last updated 21 February 2020