Robinvale has a very strong ‘French Connection’ as is evidenced by the name of our town square, i.e.’Caix Square’, and by our sister city relationship with the town of Villers-Bretonneux. The official twinning ceremony took place in 1984, with respective celebrations held in both towns. Just as Robinvale has ‘Caix Square’, the Villers-Bretonneux village centre has been named ‘Robinvale Square’.
(image: Villers-Bretonneux 1918, source: “N’oublions jamais l’Australie” – “never forget Australia”)
So, how, in a nutshell, does this all fit together?
Both Caix and Villers-Bretonneux are two towns east of Amiens and the French coast, and about 5k apart in air miles, with Caix being further east.
On April 24 at 10pm, 1918 a terrible battle commenced in Villers-Brettoneux as the German Army advanced upon Amiens. This battle was critical because if the antagonists had driven onto the French coast, splitting the British and French armies, the Allied cause might have been lost. Later on the morning of 25 April, three years to the day after the Anzac landing at Gallipoli, French and Australian flags were raised over Villers-Bretonneux to signal the halt of the German advance. [Source]
We remember Caix, as it was near here that the wreckage of Robin Cuttle’s DH9 aircraft was eventually found after he was reported missing in May 1918, and it was not until after the war that his mother and one of his sisters was able to visit the place. Robin’s body was never recovered.
On the ground, we remember the battle at Villers-Bretonneux for some of the most savage fighting of the war; it is recorded as one of the most bloody episodes in Australian history, and is known by the Germans as “the black day”.
If you are interested to read more go here:
https://sjmc.gov.au/villers-bretonneux-france-and-australia-together-forever/
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/E84343