Every year around Anzac Day, a provincial golf club 90 minutes north of Paris commemorates the loss of Australian and New Zealand lives in World War I with a memorial golf day.

Their commitment is very real. Golf d’Amiens, a century-old club situated at the provincial city of Amiens, is close to one of the flashpoints of the war and also near to the village of Villers-Bretonneux, site of a great ANZAC-British triumph in 1918.

The club started its golf day in 2018 to pay homage to the Commonwealth soldiers who fought for European freedom a century ago.

The link with Australia and New Zealand is firmly ensconced in local culture. In 2014, the centenary of the start of WWI, Amiens members took an acorn from the famous War Memorial Oak in Adelaide and planted it on the 16th hole at their club. That tree still flourishes as a further reminder of the unbreakable connection between the countries.

And while the golf day is a popular addition to the calendar at Amiens and some Australians made the trip in the early years, this has dropped off post-Covid, and the club is anxious to see more antipodeans in town when the event occurs this April.

Joke Bougon, one of the two club members who started the Memorial Golf Day at Amiens, says the idea came to her one day on the drive through the myriad war cemeteries and memorials that are dotted around The Somme river area. She took her children to visit them and nowadays her grandchildren also have paid homage.

“We stop now and then and visit the war graves and we see huge numbers of young men buried with all different stories. No stone is the same as another. Our kids have grown up with that and touched by that. My son brought his son here and he did the same. When you live in the middle of this history, then you can’t not be touched by the whole affair.”

Ms Bougon is president of the organising committee and helps organise the exhibition that is held as part of the golf day each year. Cooperating with local museums and associations, Ambiens is decorated with war memorabilia for the day. Once, they had the Red Baron’s aeroplane on site.

It is not a commercial exercise; Amiens merely seeks to pay tribute to deeds of the past and enhance the relationship between the countries involved.

“We wanted to do something,” said Ms Bougon. “It was the centenary of the peace (in 2018) and many things were organised in the region. Many people came from all these Commonwealth countries. We decided to join that movement and the best thing for us was to have a golf competition.

“All the people of all those countries travelling here, we wanted them to know that we are also very touched by the memory of their soldiers and the sacrifice that their ancestors made to have peace in Europe.

“That was the main feeling. It was natural for us to organise a golf event because that is our passion. We hoped that the people driving around to the war graves would come to join us in golf. The sport is always a bridge to brotherhood if you know what I mean.”

The golf day is held on the Friday closest to Anzac Day each year; this year on the actual day, as it happens.

Ms Bougon said the organisers were well aware that thousands of Australians and New Zealanders would be in the area around that time to visit war cemeteries and museums and the Sir John Monash Centre, which can be seen from the 16th tee at Amiens.

“We know there are a lot of Australians coming and among them, there must be golf players,” she said. “It would be great to see them.”

NOTE: Amiens can help with finding local accommodation and with golf equipment and any other information. Anyone interested can email: contact@golfamiens.fr

Read more about the Memorial Golf Day on April 25

ABOUT VILLERS-BRETONNAUX

German forces launched a Spring Offensive in March-April, 2018, in an attempt to end the stalemate in World War I. Their goal was to break through British positions along the Somme river. If successful, the Germans could split the Allied lines and possibly knock the British out of the war permanently.

Cities such as Amiens became important for the overall control of supplies and communications, and the surrounding villages became battlegrounds, including little Villers-Bretonnaux.

Ultimately the British troops held the line with support of the ANZACS who were sent to help. More than 2400 Australians died in the battles that were held, but the German casualties were heavier, and the war turned the Allies’ way.

The Villers-Bretonnaux Military Cemetery includes the graves of many Commonwealth soldiers. The Sir John Monash Centre, an educational facility and memorial named after the Australian General who led the forces at the Western Front in 2018, is within the grounds.