Liberation of Le Quesnoy National Commemorative Service

New Zealand marked the 100th anniversary of the liberation of Le Quesnoy in France on 4 November 2018. The 11.00am National Commemorative Service was conducted the New Zealand Memorial which is set into the ramparts of Le Quesnoy. The Regimental Colour of the 7th Wellington (City of Wellington’s Own) and Hawke’s Bay Battalion which bears the battle honour of Sambre (Le Quesnoy) was paraded on the ramparts. The Official Party included the Governor-General of New Zealand Her Excellency The Right Honourable Dame Patsy Reddy and Sir David Gascoigne, Secretary of State attached to the French Minister for the Armed Forces Mme Geneviève Darrieussecq, New Zealand Ambassador to France Her Excellency Jane Coombs, Mayor of Le Quesnoy Mme Marie-Sophie Lesne, Vice Chief of Defence Force Air Vice-Marshal Tony Davies and other French dignitaries. The service also included the rededication of the New Zealand Memorial by Chaplain Class 4 David Julian with the New Zealand Defence Force Contingent Commander Lieutenant Colonel Mel Childs and her children, Hunter and Lily. The National Commemorative Service was followed by a Last Post Ceremony at the New Zealand Memorial at 5.00pm. In one of the last major actions of the First World War in France, the New Zealand Division liberated the small fortified town of Le Quesnoy whose people had been under occupation since 1914. As a result of the liberation and the continued connection between the town and New Zealand over the past century, a warm relationship has developed and is celebrated today. This video is captioned in English during French speeches.