The Vignacourt 14–18 Interpretation Centre

The Thuillier Family: Antoinette, Robert, and Louis

For someone who visited the Western Front regularly from 1989 to 2018,  it's a bit of a shock to discover a new and interesting site that I would love to visit but will probably never get to. Since it just opened in 2018, though, the curators of the Vignacourt 14–18 Interpretation Centre were probably just opening their front doors as I was heading back to the States for the last time. If you're heading over to the Somme sector, I'd recommend a stop at the Centre. It displays thousands of World War I glass-plate photographic portraits taken by local farmers Louis and Antoinette Thuillier between 1914 and 1918. Nearly 4,000 glass-plate negatives were discovered in 2011 in the attic of the Thuillier farmhouse by an Australia TV  network.

Entrance

Interior

A Documentary Made About the Collection

Vignacourt was an important military base located 30 miles behind the front lines during the period of trench warfare. French, British, Anzacs, and Yanks passed through during the war and had their photos taken by the Thuilliers. It became important as a casualty treatment center in 1918 as the German offensive drew near. The Vignacourt Commonwealth Cemetery holds 584 graves. During this period Aussies were dug in near by and their portraits form a major part of the collection.  Present throughout the hostilities were Louis and Antoinette, both farmers who loved new technologies and owned their own camera, which was rare in the early 20th century. Louis taught Antoinette how to use it and they turned their farm yard into a photo studio. In front of an improvised backdrop, both civilians and soldiers would come to the farmhouse to have their photographs taken. When the war ended, the photographic plates were stored in the attic and forgotten about for over a century. 

Gurkha Troops (?)

Aussies

Yanks

Vignacourt municipality purchased the farmhouse in 2012 following a local Anzac Day exhibition and restored it into a museum.  It's now open and, of course, has its own online presence WEBSITE.  Displayed above are some photos I've found of the farmhouse/museum and some of Louis and Antoinette's originals.