Honouring Courage: Lindisfarne’s Connection to Le Quesnoy

With Anzac Day this week, we reflect on the service and sacrifice of New Zealanders who have served overseas. Here at Lindisfarne College, a recent discovery in our archives has brought that history a little closer to home.

Among the items uncovered was a commemorative cup presented to former Rector Mr Grant Lander by the Deputy Mayor of Le Quesnoy during a rugby tour in 2006. This prompted us to explore the connection between Le Quesnoy, New Zealand, and Lindisfarne itself.

Le Quesnoy is a historic fortress town in northeastern France. Occupied by German forces for four years from 1914, it was liberated by New Zealand troops in the final week of World War I, on 4 November 1918.

At the time, several thousand German troops remained in the town. Rather than using heavy artillery, which could have caused significant destruction, New Zealand forces chose a more daring approach. Battalions of the 3rd New Zealand (Rifle) Brigade surrounded the town while a small assault group attempted entry.

By midday, soldiers from the 4th Battalion had reached the inner walls, having already scaled the outer defences using ladders supplied by engineers. Faced with the challenge of the high inner wall, they positioned a ladder on a narrow ledge above a sluice gate. Led by Lieutenant Leslie Averill, a small group climbed the wall, exchanged fire with retreating German troops, and entered the town. The garrison soon surrendered.

Le Quesnoy continues to honour the role New Zealand played in its liberation, as well as the 93 soldiers who lost their lives. In 1968, Lieutenant Averill was made a Citoyen d’honneur, and both a street (Rue d’Averill) and the town’s primary school were named after him.

Lindisfarne shares a special connection with Lieutenant Averill. Six of his descendants - Simon, Hamish, Benjamin and Alexander Forbes, and Thomas and William Averill - have attended the College.

This connection has been strengthened through visits to Le Quesnoy during Lindisfarne rugby tours in 2006 and 2013. On both occasions, students and staff were warmly welcomed, visiting the memorial to the New Zealand soldiers and the Commonwealth War Cemetery, where the 93 Kiwis who died in the liberation are buried.

The visit in 2025 is nicely summarised by students Fergus Benefield & Lachie Swanson:

“The highlight in Le Quesnoy was visiting the memorial wall where the NZ soldiers famously entered the town on ladders. In keeping with tradition, our group performed a haka there, a powerful and fitting tribute to those who fought there.  For many, it was sobering to think that young men the same age as our boys would have been fighting in those very fields”.