MEMBERS of the local community have the chance of a lifetime to tour the Western Front in 2017.
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The Nowra RSL Sub-Branch is hosting the tour to France and Belgium, commemorating events of the Western Front.
The tour, in March next year, will visit Passchendaele, Villers-Bretonneux, Ypres, the Somme, Flanders, Bullecourt and Amiens. There will also be a visit to the special service at Menin Gates, which has been held every night, rain hail, shine or even snow, since 1928
Sub-Branch secretary Rick Meehan, who toured the same area in September/October last year will escort the tour.
“The tour will coincide with commemorative events for Anzac 2017,” he said.
A special information night on the tour will be held at the Nowra RSL Sub-Branch hall in Junction Street, Nowra on Tuesday, May 31 from 6pm. Light refreshments will also be available on the night.
“It is a chance for people to come along and see what is being offered on the tour,” Mr Meehan said.
“We need a minimum of 15 people for the tour to go ahead. And we will only have a maximum of 20 on the tour,” he said.
Mr Meehan said if interest was greater than 20, a second tour group could also be arranged.
“It is an incredible place to visit,” he said.
The 12-day tour will also take in Normandy - the site of the largest amphibious invasion in history by Allied forces, known as D-Day.
“We will visit all the D-Day beaches which is something special,” he said.
“The team at helloworld Nowra have put together a wonderful tour package for us.
“It will be a fantastic way to see some of the commemorative sites where the finest traditions of Anzac spirit were established.”
THE Nowra RSL Sub-Branch has its own connection with the Western Front.
A stunning photograph, which proudly hangs in the Nowra RSL hall, captures the moment when Australian troops made their way out of Casualty Corner, Pozières.
It features the father of RSL member Bob Brown.
Mr Brown’s father, Sergeant HR (Horace) Brown is clearly visible carrying a machine gun.
“It’s a great photo taken by a war photographer,” Mr Brown said.
The caption on the bottom of the photographs says July/August 1916, 2/19 Machine Gun Battalion.
“My dad was lucky, he went from Gallipoli to the Western Front and made it home,” Mr Brown said.
“His brother Gus wasn’t so lucky. He was killed in the same operation.
“Dad was wounded twice in battle but went back.”
Although not going on next year’s tour, Mr Brown does recommend it to anyone interested in seeing the battle sites.
“I went there and toured in 2011,” he said.
“I stood in that very spot at Casualty Corner where my dad was photographed.
“It was extremely moving.
“It was amazing how much it changed. It was beautiful and green compared to the muddy, bombed site back in 1916.
“It was unbelievable the change.”