‘De l’ombre à la lumière’ – Remembering Fromelles through a Century of Private Grief and Public Politics

Author: LEAH RICHES
The French Australian Review No 59 (Australian Summer 2015 (Special World War I Issue)): 7-29
https://doi.org/10.62586/MPHJ1845

This article examines the way the memory of the battle of Fromelles has been sustained in private and public spheres. It identifies three distinct phases from 1916 to the present. First, remembrance was predominantly private and localised, driven by returned servicemen and families. Second, a resurgence of interest in war memory saw Fromelles enter a public commemoration phase from the 1980s. Finally, with the recovery of the Fromelles soldiers, there has emerged a major reconnection between Fromelles and Anzac in public discourse.

Keywords: Fromelles, RSL, renaissance of war memory, personal memory, politics of commemoration, Lambis Englezos