Albert Cathedral (Albert Basilica)

Depicts the ruins of the basilica at Albert, in France, with war damaged buildings in the foreground. Albert was central to the First Battle of the Somme. During the war, the statue of Mary on top of the church was hit by a shell and was put in a horizontal position and was left hanging precariously. The Germans claimed that whoever made the statue fall from the church, would lose the war. Some time after, the Germans captured the town and used the church tower as an outpost. British artillery fired at the church because it was an outpost and a shell hit the Mary statue which fell from the church tower. The Germans were happy and believed the British would lose the war. Frank Crozier (1883-1948) worked as a decorator and clerk and attended the National Gallery of Victoria School in Melbourne from 1905 to 1907. In March 1915 he enlisted with the 22nd Battalion AIF, serving in Egypt and at Gallipoli. In France he served under Brigadier- General Gellibrand who asked Crozier to make sketches of the Battle of Pozieres. He was trained in camouflage work in London in 1918 and in September the same year was appointed Official War Artist. Following the First World War he worked for the Australian War Records Section in London. He returned to Australia in 1919 and his commission was terminated in 1920. In 1936 he was appointed to the Australian War Memorial for 6 months and during the Second World War he worked in a munitions factory at Maribyrnong in Victoria.