The new Australian War Memorial, Hyde Park Corner London.

Some photos by Richard G Crompton and Judith Lappin. Blue borders indicate thumbnails.

This banner photo and several others used with permission as a courtesy of http://dolly.typepad.com/photos/australian_war_memorial/

On Remembrance Day 2003 (85 years after it was first suggested) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Prime Minister of Australia, the Right Honourable John Howard, opened the memorial in Hyde Park London that commemorates the service of Australian service personnel of 2 World Wars.

There is, of course, a large Great War influence.

This wreath, in honour of Private John Henry CROMPTON (KIA) and my father, 805 Sergeant Charles Frederick William HARRIS MM , both of the 42nd Battalion AIF, was laid by Richard Crompton.
Crompton had enlisted from Caboolture, Harris from Charters Towers. see photo right


		Hyde Park Corner also contains the Wellington Arch (left) and the Wellington Statue (above). As well the "Boy David" (below) commemorates the service of the Machine Gun Corps.

above. The Wreath & card laid by HM QEII below. The Wreath laid by PM Howard


Crafted from 200 tonnes of green Western Australian granite, at a cost of A$9 million, it gently rises up from the ground in a sweeping curve, no higher than four meters. There are 24,000 place names on this stunning memorial, a living record of where all Australians who served had enlisted from. Although mostly Australian towns they also include names from Britain and other countries around the world.

As well as the towns of enlistment the names of 47 of the Battle Honours won by the RAN, AIF, ACMF and RAAF are carved into the granite.

The Australian National Anthem was sung on the day by this lady, Australian born soprano, Yvonne Kenny.

The Band of the Coldstream Guards and some Chelsea Pensioners were in attendance.

View of the memorial from above

for a personal view and MORE pictures

Battle Names on the Memorial - Alphabetical List
Amiens	Crete	Lone Pine	Polygon Wood
Atlantic	Damascus	Markham-Ramu	Pozieres
Bardia	Darwin	Mediterranean	Rabaul
Beersheba	El Alamein	Megiddo	Ruhr
Berlin	Fromelles	Mesopotamia	Savo Island
Bismarck Sea	Gallipoli	Messines	Singapore
Borneo	Gaza	Milne Bay	Sunda Strait
Bougainville	Imphal	Mont St Quentin	Tobruk
Brallos Pass	Indian Ocean	Normandy	Villers-Bretonneux
Bullecourt	Kokoda	North Sea	Wewak
Cocos Keeling	Krithia	Okinawa	Ypres
Coral Sea	Lingayen Gulf	Passchendaele

Queen, Howard, Blair dedicate Memorial in London (ABC Report)

Prime Minister John Howard says there is inspiration and a warning embedded in the new Australian War Memorial in London. Mr. Howard joined the Queen, the British Prime Minister Tony Blair and other dignitaries at the Memorial's dedication ceremony at London's Hyde Park Corner.

The ceremony started at the local time of the Remembrance Day observance - the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Also present were Opposition leader Simon Crean, the Chief of the Defence Forces Major General Cosgrove, 27 Australian World War 2 veterans and hundreds of Australian onlookers.

The Queen and Mr. Howard unveiled the Australian-designed and built memorial, a tribute to the 1.5 million Australians who served in the two World Wars. 102,000 lost their lives in battle.

Mr. Howard told the Hyde Park Corner crowd that those Australian soldiers who gave their lives in war will not be forgotten. "With personal courage, compassion and bound by an unshakeable belief in each other they won for our nation the respect of the world and from their nation a debt of gratitude which those who have followed them can never repay," Mr. Howard said.

He says the memorial is a reminder of thousands of young lives lost and a nation changed forever by war. "We reaffirm the enduring hope of a world set free from hate," Mr. Howard said.

"In mourning our fallen, in numbers still difficult to comprehend, we also acknowledge the terrible power of those forces that would conspire against such a dream."

Queen Elizabeth also joined in paying tribute to the Australian soldiers who fought and gave their lives.

"A full record of their service and sacrifice is inscribed on this memorial," she said. "It will stand as permanent tribute to the partnership and sacrifice in a common cause. "All who pass by will be reminded of the immense contribution made by Australians to final victory."