Prime Minister Rt Hon WM Hughes visits Western Front

Running time
1 min 39 sec
Date made
Place made
France: Picardie, Somme, Camon, Western Front
Copyright
Australian War Memorial
The Right Honorable William Morris Hughes, Sir Joseph Cook (Australian High Commissioner to Great Britain) and General Sir [William] W R Birdwood visiting the 5th Divisional Headquarters at St Gratien on 2 July 1918 and later with the 2nd Division troops near Camon on 3 July 1918 during a tour of the Australian front. Sir Joseph Cook addressed the men of the 2nd Division AIF. Lieutenant General John Monash is seen with Prime Minister Hughes, shaking General Birdwood's hand, and saluting at 5th Division Headquarters and also with General Birdwood at 2nd Division Headquarters.

Text description

[Billy Hughes, a stocky man with a wizened face, steps from a car to the front steps of a building. He shakes hands with an officer. Hughes and officers stand talking on the steps, then head inside. A car stops at the stately front stairs of a building. Officers line the stairs. As he walks down the stairs, Hughes shakes hands with them. He enters the car. Soldiers salute as the car drives off.

Standing on a pile of crates, a bearded man in a suit and hat addresses the large group of soldiers sitting on the ground facing him. Billy Hughes lies on his stomach behind the box, reading and smoking. As the bearded man walks away, soldiers clap and Hughes gets up. A wider shot shows the bearded man addressing the soldiers standing and sitting in a large circle before him. Trees line the edge of the field.

The Rising Sun badge appears in white on a black screen. A semicircle of sword and bayonet blades arches over a crown. Below, two curved scrolls read "Australian Commonwealth Military Forces".]

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