Battle recalled

By Kath Gannaway
A GERMAN helmet was among souvenirs brought back from the battlefields of Europe when Private Christopher Parslow returned home to Yellingbo after World War I.
The helmet is part of a display by Badger Creek military historian Rod Wilson at Healesville Library in the lead-up to Anzac Day.
The display, which commemorates the 90th anniversary of the second battle of Villers-Bretonneux, also contains articles, including German uniform buttons and a map, brought back by Private James Baddely, a member of the 58th Infantry Battalion who lived in Warburton for many years. Pte Parslow fought with the 4th Machine Gun Battalion.
The inclusion of local memorabilia puts a human face to a compelling collection of interesting military artefacts.
The story of the liberation of the French town of Villers-Bretonneux, written up by Mr Wilson as part of the display, evokes the pride and the pain which go hand in hand for a growing number of Australians on Anzac Day.
“The Germans made a massive assault on the British lines in March and April 1918.
“They had decided they would punch a whole in the British lines and go for the Channel ports,” Mr Wilson said.
The first action at Villers-Bretonneux took place in early April.
The town, overlooking the Somme and within artillery range of Amiens, was a principal objective when the Germans renewed their March offensive. They were repulsed by British units of the 5th Australian Division.
The second battle of Villers-Bretonneux, described by one British General as “perhaps the greatest individual feat of the war” took place overnight on 24 and 25 April.
The Germans had captured the town that had been the centre of fighting just three weeks previously.
Mr Wilson tells of how the Australian 13th and 15th Brigades launched a daring night time attack and by dawn on the third anniversary of Gallipoli landing had pushed the German army out of Villers-Bretonneux, saving the town.
The Australian flag is still flown at Villers-Bretonneux and the main road through the town is called Rue de Melbourne.
Written above the blackboards at Victoria College, a school built from the donations of Victorian school children in the 1920s, are the words “Never forget Australia”.
One thousand, two hundred Australians died saving the village.
The Villers-Bretonneux display is at Healesville Library throughout April.
The next edition of the Mail will provide details of Anzac Day commemorations across the Yarra Valley.