The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
Rectangular wooden board, bevelled edges, with two vertical wooden supports nailed to the reverse. The board has split horizontally about half way down. The face is painted in a pale grey-green colour, with the word 'Aufnahme' in black, above a painted Red Cross within a red circle. The entire painted surface is crazed and cracked.
Feuilleres, on the south bank of the Somme River, just to the north of Herbecourt, was overrun early on the morning of 29 August 1918 after 18 Battalion AIF cleared Mereaucourt Wood. German troops withdrew to the north bank of the Somme, blowing up the bridge at Feuilleres as they went. The Australian advance was at this time closing on the towns of Peronne and Mont St Quentin and a secure crossing of the Somme was considered vital to conducting a two-pronged attack against these towns, strongly defended by the Germans. Work was quickly undertaken to repair the bridge by 5 Field Company, who completed it on the morning of 30 August. See Arthur Streeton's pencil sketch of the blown bridge at ART0352.
Closely following the advance, 5 Field Ambulance established an Advanced Dressing Stations (ADS) at Herbecourt on 30 August and a second at Feuilleres on 31 August, as well as a car post (for quick movement of the wounded, in this case, in four Damlier motor vehicles). The Feuilleres ADS was set up 'in a wooden shed' by Major Appleyard and 'C' Section in anticipation of the impending attack on Peronne and Mt St Quentin. Appleyard was 5 Field Ambulance's Liaison Officer with nearby 6 Field Ambulance. On 31 August Herbecourt started receiving shellfire: the Unit War Diary notes for 1 September 'Unit move by route march to locality of new ADS Feuilleres. Two buildings were rapidly converted into dressing rooms and at 10:30 am casualties were deflected [here] and station at Herbecourt closed. Through the day cases from 2nd, 3rd & 5th Aust Divisions came in steadily. At 5 pm Walking Wounded Station was opened at some site.' The site was heavily employed during 7 Brigade's attack the following day on Mont St Quentin and Peronne. It would appear that the Germans also had a small field hospital or station established at Feuilleres prior to its capture; this has been identified as 73 Field Hospital. This sign was removed by 5 Field Ambulance and handed to the Australian War Records Section.
Discoloured white triangle of cotton tied by the fly end to a roughly hewn stick. The edges of the fabric are not hemmed and there are a number of holes and tears. This improvised flag was used by a
Improvised wooden sign for 'DIGGER RD'. This sign was Eerected to replace German street signs in the French town of Peronne after it was liberated by the Australians in September 1918. Peronne wa
Depicts Australian soldiers taking a German trench at Mont St Quentin with two dead German soldiers. In the centre front a soldier is about to throw a grenade into the entrance of the trench. Mont St
This German observation post, made of concrete with slit opening, was on Mont St Quentin. Mont St Quentin stood out in the surrounding country, making it a perfect observation point and a vital strate
Improvised Australian street sign 'Dinkum Alley'. Two pieces of wood have been joined to form the signboard, which features two metal hooks at the top for hanging. 'DINKUM ALLEY' has been painted on t
Heavily rusted, jagged and irregular shaped fragment of shrapnel. Has small handwritten note attached ‘large fragment found at Villers-Bretonneux’. Shrapnel was found at Mont St Quentin in February 19
