The Australians in Fovant
Ever since the first Australian troops first arrived in Fovant, in 1916 the village has had a close relationship with Australia. The first Australians to arrive occupied Hurdcott Camp and in 1917 more troops arrived and occupied large parts of Fovant Camp.
The Australians made quite an impression on Fovant villagers and a number of local girls married Australian soldiers and returned to Australia with their husbands. Equally some of the Australian’s chose to settle in Britain.
In WW1 Fovant had a large hospital built to house those troops returning from France wounded. Not all recovered from their wounds and in 1918 the Influenza outbreak killed millions of people around the world and sadly troops stationed at Fovant and recovering in the hospital were not immune from this epidemic. A significant number of Australian troops succumbed and were buried in St George’s churchyard in Fovant. Australian relatives are regular visitors to Fovant to view their badge and to visit the graves.
If you want to know more about the Australian badge please click here
If you want to know more about the Australian graves please click here
Also you can find more on the Fovant History Interest Group Website
The Map of Australia Badge has been fully restored and can be seen from the A30 on the hillside between Barford St Martin and Compton Chamberlayne. For more details go to the https://map-of-australia.com/ website.
