Beacon Cemetry, France

Anzac Day always makes me feel a bit down remembering all the thousands of young men and women who didn't survive the many wars. I'm very grateful that my Dad who served in the RAAF in WW2 and A.'s dad who served in the Australian Army in New Guineau in WW2 survived but I also think of Patrick, A.'s fathers brother, who was killed in France in WW1.
This is a shot of Beacon Cemetery, Sailly-Laurette, Somme, France where Patrick is buried. It is a bleak countryside around the area where they fought the Germans and they wouldn't have had anywhere to escape to. He was killed in the battle of Dernancourt, a small village north of Albert, along with 8 officers and 168 other ranks on 5.4.1918. Apparently 2000 Australians held their line against 10,000 Germans and were told the night before that they were to die where they stood as there would be no retreat. At 1000hrs they ran out of ammunition and fought with bayonets and bare hands. I am sure there would have been other Allies fighting there as well as the Australians.
Another version by Aussie war correspondent C. Bean has desvribed the Dernancourt battle as pivitol to the German defeat in WW1 as it stopped the German breakthrough.
Maybe he didn't die in vain.
LEST WE FORGET.