04/04/2023
105 years ago, this simple wooden cross was erected on a battlefield to mark the grave of an unknown Australian soldier of the 48th Battalion, who fell at the second battle of Dernancourt.
The cross was made by German troops after the fighting withdrawal of the Australians and is inscribed with the words “Hier Liegt Ein Tapferer Englischer Krieger” or “Here lies a brave English warrior.”
War correspondent and Official Historian of the First World War, Charles Bean, thought the cross to be one of the most important relics in the Memorial, “a monument to a magnificent fight, and the tribute comes from the most important source, the men against whom the Australians were fighting.”
Today's Last Post Ceremony will commemorate the 105th Anniversary of the Second Battle of Dernancourt.
Watch live at 4:45pm: https://fal.cn/3x8As
Image: Cross found on the battlefield of Dernancourt, 1918. RELAWM00734
