BATTLEFIELD MEMORIALS.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17812, 11 July 1923, Page 9

BATTLEFIELD MEMORIALS.

PANTHEON ON THE SOMME. A LONDON CONTRIBUTION. (BY CABLE—PRESS ASSOCIATION—COi TWOHT.) (AUSTItA-UAX AND >:. i. CniiLZ ASdOUA'l'lua.; LONDON, July 9. As the result of a great concert in the Royal Albert llail in memory of the French and liiiash dead, £oOUO will go to the Somme battlefield mem on el , commemorating every regiment of France, lie.gium, au2 overseas Dominions whicli fought on the somme. "The victories of the Marne and of Verdun are W-utiaiiy i-reach; til© battles ana tne victory of the are tnose of tiie Ames." ihis is t i opening sentence of an announcement made by tho organisers of a great » lieci memorial ulnch is to be elected just outside Amiens on the road to Aluert at the cross-roads, where tne Germans' rush of 1918 was stemmed. The decision to erect such a memorial was taken by the Council-General or the Soinme and tne Municipal Council of Amiens, and the monument is to bo dedicated to the memory of l'rencli, American, and British troops, including Australians, Canadians, New Z.ealanders, South Africans, and Indians. The monument has been designed by au Amiens architect, M. Louis Duthoit. and will be of imposing size and gracetiu lines. A slightly curved wall is supported by statues of Allied soldiers. In the midst of the wall rises a templo surmounted by a dome, which will dominate Amiens and the surrounding country. A broad flight of steps leads up to the three arched doorways. In tho interior are recesses_ dedicated to the different nations which took part in the defence oi: Amiens, and in which ar-3 to be preserved as precious relics golden books containing the Jiarnes of tho soldiers of Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, India, and the United States whj gave their lives to save France and humanity. In the centre a monumental group will represent—the undying soul of France. The Committee of the Pantheon Interallic de la Somme is under _ the patronage of M. President of the French Republic, King George V., the King of the Bcleians, the King of Italy, and Mr Harding, President of the United States. Marshals Joffre, Foch, Petain, Field Marshal Earl Haig, and General Pershing hn.ve also expressed their sympathy with the scheme. Marshal Foch, in expressing his interest the proiect, wrote: "Too many memories are linked ■np with the Departments of the Somme. without speaking of mv anxiety with regard to the fate of Amiens in 1918, foj- me not to reply immediately to your appeal." CANADIANS AT YPRES. LONDON, July 9. The Duke of Connaught, formerly Governor-General of Canada, unveiled a monument to the Canadians who fought in the second hattle of Ypres.