The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
Australian soldiers (left) form a guard of honour during a church service in the Amiens Cathedral possibly to give thanks for the approaching end of the war. Note the 49th Battalion colour patch worn on the right shoulder of the Lance Corporal (left). At rear, thick sloping walls of sandbags protect the interior of the church from artillery fire. Standing on a plinth (centre) is a statue of the Miraculous Virgin Mary of Albert from the Basilica of Notre Dame de Brebieres. There were two statues, one (the one in the photo) was centuries old and had miracles ascribed to it. It became a centre of worship and pilgrimage [it survived the Spanish invasion in the 17th century and was hidden during the French Revolution]. A chapel was built to house it and later, between 1883-1887, the basilica was built for it. The other 'golden virgin' statue which was on top of the basilica was made by the sculptor M. Delaplanche and was blessed by the Bishop of Amiens in 1887 to go on the steeple of the basilica. It was destroyed in 1918, but replaced by a replica after the war.
Australian soldiers (left) form a guard of honour during a church service in the Amiens Cathedral, possibly to give thanks for the approaching end of the war. Note the 49th Battalion colour patch wor
Albert, France. c. 1916. The war damaged Basilica of Notre Dame de Brebieres at Albert with the statue of the Madonna at a precarious angle on top of the steeple. (Donor British Official Photograph C9
The Basilica of Notre Dame de Brebieres showing the leaning statue of the Virgin, later destroyed by shellfire. The peasants in this area held the superstition that war would end when the Madonna fell
The Basilica of Notre Dame de Brebieres, showing the leaning statue of the Virgin, later destroyed by shellfire. The peasants in this area held the superstition that war would end when the Madonna fel
The ruins of the Basilica of Notre Dame de Brebieres at Albert. The scene of the leaning Virgin, which was supposed by the French to foretell the end of the war if it fell. It collapsed during opera
The tomb of the Virgin Mary at the foot of the Mount of Olives. The present church was built by the Crusaders over the ruins of a Byzantine basilica.
