Government House

                                               CANBERRA  ACT  2600

                                                                                             23 July 2016

The Governor-General is pleased to announce the following honorary award within the General Division of the Order of Australia:

ORDER OF AUSTRALIA

Honorary Medal (OAM) in the General Division

Mr Bernard DELATTRE, Maire de Pozières, 436, Route de Bapaume, 80300 Pozières

For service to Australian-French relations.

By His Excellency’s Command

Mark Fraser LVO OAM

Official Secretary to the Governor-General

AWARDED AN HONORARY MEDAL (OAM)

IN THE GENERAL DIVISION OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA

Mr Bernard DELATTRE, Maire de Pozières, 436, Route de Bapaume, 80300 Pozières

For service to Australian-French relations.

Mr Bernard Delattre, as Mayor of Pozières, France, has provided invaluable assistance and friendship to Australia with his ongoing commitment to the commemoration of thousands of Australians who died in 1916 in and around Pozières in World War 1.

Mr Delattre has played an important role in strengthening the relationship between Australia and France.  As Mayor, since 2001, he has shown a passionate dedication to supporting and facilitating a range of remembrance activities.  He has hosted Australian dignitaries and worked closely with the Australian Government on the creation of the Australian Remembrance Trail in Pozières, through the former battlefield that was the village of Pozières, and a number of other commemorative activities.

Between 23 July and 7 August 1916, more than 23,000 Australians were wounded or killed at Pozières.  Mr Charles Bean, the Official Historian of Australia in World War 1, described the small rise above the village as “a ridge more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth.”

The award, in the context of the Anzac Centenary, is also an affirmation of the importance of Pozières to the people of Australia.