Here in Belgium there are several communities that commemorate Anzac Day. Over time they have separated out the events so they are not all on 25 April. Today on Anzac Day eve we attended a lovely ceremony at Toronto Avenue cemetery. This is located in the french speaking part of Belgium in the commune of Comines Warneton. This is just down from the town of Messines. In June 2017, Australian soldiers took part in the battle of Messines. Below the ridge is the Ploegsteert forest and in a little corner is the Toronto Avenue cemetery. Here lie 78 soldiers of the Australian 9th brigade. It is the only all Australian cemetery in Belgium. Four of these soldiers were teenagers, two have no name and one comes from Port Augusta in SA. Australia and New Zealand won the ridge but at a very high human cost.

The local association led by passionate President Francois organised the ceremony. I worked closely with him on the Ploegsteert interpretive centre which is just nearby.