Our past exhibitions

When the whistle blows! Rugby and the Great War, a common history

(2023-2024)

In 1919, the Times talked about the Great War and the rugbymen who took part in it as “the game they had been prepared for for so many years.” Rugby paid a heavy price in the first world war when many players from all countries joined. Discover the reasons for the strong commitment of rugbymen, some of whom fought in Fromelles, the consequences of the First World War on the practice of rugby or the stories of these athletes.

This exhibition tells the unknown links between the Great War and rugby. Among them: the propaganda aimed at athletes that leads entire teams to enlist, a change of practice of the sport after the war or the commemoration of rugbymen during the matches played today.

Graphic design : Atelier Telescopique

Printing : Reprocolor

Fake News / Real Battle(s)

(2023) 

In times of conflict, fake news are used as a weapon.

The First World War industrialized Fake News, and the codes put in place at that time in history are still used today on the battlefields.

By comparing fake news from the First World War with that from current conflicts, the mechanics of fake news are revealed before our very eyes.

In 2023, the Musée de la Bataille de Fromelles has joined forces with the Condition Publique in Roubaix, the Fondation EDF and the media libraries of the Métropole Européenne de Lille for the Fake News cultural season.

The Missing of Pheasant Wood. Identifying soldiers of the Great War through science

(2022-2023)

The Musée de la Bataille de Fromelles and the Archaeology and Heritage Department of the Département du Nord have joined forces to produce an exhibition that looks at the Great War through the prism of science.

This exhibition shows how soldiers who went missing during the Battle of Fromelles on 19 and 20 July 1916 were found 93 years later and identified. This identification work, which resembles a police investigation, means that these missing soldiers can be given a name again, and with each new identity, the story of a soldier resurfaces and the duty of remembrance continues.

An exhibition produced by the Archaeology and Heritage Department of the Département du Nord and the Battle of Fromelles Museum of the Metropole Européenne de Lille.

Pheasant Wood, 10 years after 

(2020-2021)

Ten years after the construction of Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery, this retrospective exhibition, featuring testimonies from those involved at the time, archive photographs, plans and artefacts, provides an insight into the history of Pheasant Wood Cemetery, ten years after its inauguration.

This exhibition bears witness to the expertise of the CWGC and the work carried out by the Musée de la Bataille de Fromelles to recall the history of the Battle of Fromelles and honour the memory of the British and Australian soldiers who died during this confrontation on 19 and 20 July 1916.

The exhibition was produced and presented by the CWGC and the MEL Battle of Fromelles Museum team.

Videos : CWGC et Hikari Productions

Photos : CWGC, Australian Defense Forces, MEL/MBF et Dominique Bascour

Graphic design : Servane Rotsaert

Printing : Reprocolor

Through their eyes

(2016-2020)

"Through Their Eyes" exhibition is a tribute to the soldiers who fought in the Battle of Fromelles, of all nationalities.

From 2016 to 2020, visitors to the Musée de la Bataille de Fromelles were able to see striking photographs of men who fought, fell or survived this terrible confrontation. Australians, British and Germans are all represented in proportion to the number of troops involved in the battle.

As you wander through the exhibition, you come across the eyes of these soldiers. Behind each portrait, a short text translated into three languages (French, English and German) describes the life of each of these men.