British accuse Australia of banning them from WWI Battle of Fromelles centenary commemoration

Hmm... During the Gallipoli campaign the British suffered 74,000 casualties, the Australians â€˜onlyâ€™ suffered 21,000. By this logic, the Australians should have been excluded from the Gallipoli commemorations because of the relatively few casualties they suffered.

If we were talking about entire Battles (in this case the Battle of the Somme, rather than the smaller Battle of Fromelle which was part of that overall campaiign), yes. But we're not - we're talking about specific locations in those battles of particular significance to particular nations. Australian commemorations at Gallipolli centre around ANZAC Cove, they do not incorporate the entire area of Battle - and they settle around ANZAC Cove and Lone Pine because that is the area where Australian and New Zealand troops were the dominant presence and the dominant casualties.

British commemorations at Gallipoli generally take place at the Helles Memorial. Britain regards it as a relatively minor campaign in its own history, so their commemorations tend to be much smaller than those of Australia or New Zealand where it is considered one of the most significant events in our history.

Likewise, to the United Kingdom, the Battle of Fromelles is a minor footnote in its overall history. To Australia, it is our bloodiest single day in war - sometimes referred to as the worst day in Australian history.

Divisions by area like this across the larger battle sites to allocate particular areas to particular nations in terms of memorials are commonplace and have been throughout the twentieth century.

Exceptions do get made in special cases - if the child of a British soldier killed at Fromelles, came forward and asked for a ticket, for example, it would be allocated immediately - but such a child would be at least 99 years old at this point. The scope for such exceptions to be made is greatly reduced. Understand the Battle of Fromelle is regarded as the worst day in Australia's history. It is the bloodiest day, Australia ever faced in war. We lost more that day, and more were wounded, than on any other single day in our history. No other country can make that claim about this battle and this place. I do not believe it is unreasonable to claim its place in Australian history is different than its place in anybody elses.

For Britain, the equivalent day is generally held to be 'The First Day on the Somme' which took place nearly three weeks earlier - the site of that battle is where the Thiepval memorial is located.

Thanks everyone for educating me on this battle. I’ve never heard of it. My grandfather was in the US Navy in WW I and served on a battleship overseas. He suffered some kind of smoke damage in his lungs that bothered him for the rest of his life. He died in his sixties which was a bit young for his generation and my relatives blame his scarred lings.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.