ANZAC Day 2012 Commemorations in France

Official party at the New Zealand Memorial, Longueval, site of the First Battle of the Somme, 1916: (right to left) Brigadier Antony (Lofty) Hayward, NZ Defence Attaché to France; M. Jany Fournier, Maire de Longueval; M. Jean-Marc Bassaget, Sous-Préfet; NZ Ambassador Rosemary Banks; and Mr Keith Lacey, representing the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

New Zealanders and their Gallic friends gathered in wet and windy weather in Northern France on Sunday 29 April for the observance of ANZAC Day, starting with a parade through the fortified town of Le Quesnoy, and ending with an intimate wreath-laying at the New Zealand memorial in Longueval in the afternoon. Numbers were unsurprisingly down on last year, when New Zealand Prime Minister John Key paid his respects at these two destinations in the context of an official visit. But the sense of whanau among the New Zealand attendees was nonetheless strong, with many Kiwis having  travelled across national borders for the occasion, and others establishing themselves as seasoned ANZAC Day participants. Ambassador Rosemary Banks was impressed to learn that this was the eighth year of attendance for some devoted New Zealand expatriates.

View more photos of ANZAC Day (photos courtesy of Brian Lockstone).