The following story was posted on the Amiens History Association site and tells the story far better than I could...
Who would have thought so many people would attend the centenary of the 1918 Armistice and the opening of the Amiens Legacy Centre at Amiens last Sunday? Thank you so much for your support and enthusiasm. It makes all the hard work over the last two years so special. Every part of the event went so well and weren’t the Amiens State School children a treasure? The weather gods smiled on us as if to say, well done! One of the highlights was the porcelain pedestal we had for donations to build a permanent toilet block; little children were thrilled to hear their coins ‘ting’ on the bottom of the bowl. Some big ‘kids’ tried it as well. Thank you for your generosity.
The ceremony was very moving and respectful. It was fine tuned to include as many aspects of the original signing as we could manage. I loved that the children even did the accents. They were so good. The inside of the carriage is magnificent; from a 1909 wreck it was remade into the Prince’s carriage and our memorabilia facility with many hours of back breaking work by the dedicated volunteers without whom, nothing would ever get done. We hope you enjoyed the day so much that you will tell your friends and acquaintances about the Amiens Legacy Centre and what we hope to achieve; a complete history of the Pikedale Soldier Settlement, the lives, loves and losses of those early settlers who pioneered the Granite Belt. Their stories resonate at the site of every soldier settlement in Australia but the Pikedale Soldier Settlement was the only one where the townships were named after some of the bitterest battles in which the Aussie diggers played a pivotal role. This makes us beloved of the French and Belgian people and unique in the world.
The ceremony was very moving and respectful. It was fine tuned to include as many aspects of the original signing as we could manage. I loved that the children even did the accents. They were so good. The inside of the carriage is magnificent; from a 1909 wreck it was remade into the Prince’s carriage and our memorabilia facility with many hours of back breaking work by the dedicated volunteers without whom, nothing would ever get done. We hope you enjoyed the day so much that you will tell your friends and acquaintances about the Amiens Legacy Centre and what we hope to achieve; a complete history of the Pikedale Soldier Settlement, the lives, loves and losses of those early settlers who pioneered the Granite Belt. Their stories resonate at the site of every soldier settlement in Australia but the Pikedale Soldier Settlement was the only one where the townships were named after some of the bitterest battles in which the Aussie diggers played a pivotal role. This makes us beloved of the French and Belgian people and unique in the world.
