ANZAC on the Western Front: Dawn Service (Southbound) 2024

After meeting the group in Lille, we’ll kick off our incredible journey with a welcome dinner.

The first day of our tour will take us from Lille to Villers-Bretonneux: home of the National War Memorial and a central location to Australian WWI commemoration and memory. We’ll visit the Franco-Australian Museum, a site paying tribute to the brave Australian soldiers who helped to save the town from German advances. After, we’ll pay a visit to the Sir John Monash Centre before shifting our focus to the last year of the war – with a visit to Le Hamel, the site of the successful 4 July attack. Then, it’s onwards to Amiens – our home for the next three nights.

The Somme still captivates the soul – and it’s here that the ANZACs first saw major action in 1916. Today we’ll visit Pozières and Mouquet Farm – sites that were especially important for Australian soldiers, as well as Longueval and Flers which were similarly significant to the Kiwis. Before returning to Amiens, we’ll take some time to remember the colossal loss experienced by Great Britain – with a visit to the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme. This evening will be ours to spend exploring Amiens or relaxing back at the hotel.

We’ve an early start this morning as we make our way to the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at the Australian War Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux. The memorial commemorates the battle of 24-25 April 1918, during which Australian and Commonwealth Soldiers liberated the town. Buried here are more than 2,100 servicemen of the First World War – including over 770 Australians. Here we’ll join locals and meet fellow Australians and New Zealanders who have journeyed here to pay tribute to the brave ANZAC soldiers. The rest of the day will be yours to spend at your leisure.

Today’s first stop? The Wellington Quarries – a network of underground tunnels the New Zealand Tunnelling Company built as part of the preparations for the Battle of Arras. Later, we’ll remember Australia’s role in this battle at Bullecourt with a stop at the Digger Memorial later this afternoon. Then, we’ll move on to Fromelles, the site of the disastrous attack of 19 July 1916. Here, take the time to pay your respects with a poignant visit to Pheasant Wood Cemetery and the incredible exhibition nearby. Tonight, we’ll enjoy dinner together and reflect on the day’s events.

After breakfast, we’ll continue to delve into the moving stories of the West Flanders Front with an included visit to the In Flanders Fields Museum – a unique institution that commemorates the four-year trench war and conveys a contemporary message of peace. This afternoon, you’ll have some free time to spend as you please in Ypres. A site that was completely destroyed during WWI and rebuilt anew – take the time to visit the town’s magnificent cathedral or treat your taste buds to a sampling of Belgian chocolate. This evening we’ll reconvene to attend the playing of the Last Post at the iconic Menin Gate. Whilst renovation to the Gate is ongoing, we’ll still be able to experience the ceremony that has been performed here daily for almost 100 years.

For our final morning together, we’ll visit the shell-scarred Hill 60 and fascinating Hooge Crater Museum before walking in the footsteps of WWI soldiers at the Passchendaele battlefields – where allied forces fought to break the German line in 1917. Before returning to Lille, we’ll have the opportunity to pay our respects at Polygon Wood and Tyne Cot Military Cemetery – the site where 11,900 Commonwealth servicemen of WWI are commemorated.