Anzacs honoured at Villers-Bretonneux

The annual Anzac Day service at Villers-Bretonneux in France has remembered those lost in World War I and the generations who continue the tradition of service.

New generations of Australians serving in the military are continuing to uphold the Anzac legacy, a commemorative ceremony in France has heard.

Defence Minister Christopher Pyne said the story of the landing at Gallipoli in 1915 was etched in Australia's military history, but was not the only story.

"Generation after generation of Australian service personnel have put their lives on hold and placed themselves in harm's way in the service of our nation," Mr Pyne told the Anzac Day service at Villers-Bretonneux.

"While much has changed, the character of our service people has not.

"Like their forebears, they have earned Australia's respect and always upheld the Anzac legacy."

France's Armed Services Minister Florence Parly said the mateship between French and Australian soldiers forged an enduring bond between the two nations.

"Together we must fight threats, overcome challenges and always protect our values," she said in French.

"Today, to the Australian soldiers who sailed across the oceans, who fought and died so that we could live freely, we pay tribute.

"France does not forget. France will forever be grateful."

Australia's Navy chief Vice Admiral Michael Noonan paid tribute to the soldiers who survived World War I but still died far too young.

"Today, we remember not only the fallen. We remember men who are not counted among the dead of the Great War but whose remaining years were lived in its shadow.

"The men and women who serve in our militaries today honour those who have gone before us and we pay our respects to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, both in the war and in the years that followed."

The dawn service was held at the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux, where Australian troops helped recapture the French village from the Germans on April 25, 1918.


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Source: AAP



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