Australian Memorial Park, Military cemetery in Fromelles, France.
Australian Memorial Park is a World War I memorial near Fromelles, designed by Herbert Baker, standing where the German lines crossed the road. Its centrepiece is Cobbers, Peter Corlett's 1998 bronze of Sergeant Simon Fraser lifting a wounded comrade over a low stone wall, set on a circle of reddish gravel with a plaque and wreath before it. Two flagpoles flank the sculpture on flat grass, and surviving battlefield fortifications remain on the site.
This site marks where Australian troops experienced their first major battle on the Western Front in 1916, the Battle of Fromelles. That single day of fighting resulted in heavy casualties that deeply affected the soldiers and their families back home.
The sculpture is titled Cobbers, after a word in a letter Sergeant Simon Fraser of Byaduk, Victoria, wrote days after the battle, describing a wounded man calling out "Don't forget me, cobber." The 1998 bronze by Peter Corlett shows Fraser lifting a comrade; a replica stands at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne. Services are held here, such as the 2009 commemorations of the Battle of Fromelles and the Battle of Aubers Ridge.
The grounds are easy to navigate with clear pathways and information markers throughout the site. Plan to spend time reading and reflecting, especially if you want to visit individual grave sites and memorial areas.
The bronze sculpture Cobbers, by Peter Corlett, depicts Sergeant Simon Fraser of the 57th Battalion carrying a wounded man; its title comes from his letter home, where a soldier cried "Don't forget me, cobber." A replica stands at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne.
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