Ocean Grove singer-songwriter Vin Healy has returned from France with a renewed sense of purpose after performing on Anzac Day in a town that survives thanks to the sacrifice of Australian servicemen.
Mr Healy has a catalogue of songs telling the stories of heroic Australian men and women during wartime, including an ode to the Unknown Soldier and a ballad telling the story of Australian nurse Sister Ella Tucker in Gallipoli.
Each year French township Villers-Bretonneux holds its own Anzac Day services to remember the thousands of Australians who gave their lives defending the town from German forces in World War I.
After his songs were used on documentary Never Forget Australia, Mr Healy was invited to Villers-Bretonneux to perform on and around Anzac Day this April.
He performed at the town’s Sir John Monash Centre on April 23, during the French Anzac Day service, in the township later on Anzac Day and at a school rebuilt after the war ended thanks to Australian charity.
He said the trip had been “a great experience” and “really touching”.
“When I wrote the songs, I did so from afar, based on what I’d read and seen online,” Mr Healy said.
“To actually go and see the beautiful countryside that was turned into this horror added a whole new lens to the way I see the songs now. It just adds a whole other layer of meaning.”
Mr Healy said he wanted to be able to share his songs further, planning to head to Papua New Guinea later this year and hoping to form collaborations with other Australian artists.
Matt Hewson
