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The Liberation of Le Quesnoy: First man over the wall – How Kiwi soldiers rescued French town in WWI

On November 4 in 1918, New Zealand soldiers liberated the small French town of Le Quesnoy. We look at this little-known part of our history and the links that endure 100 years on.

Say the name Leslie Averill in Le Quesnoy and the locals will point you to the pre-school and the road opposite. Both are named after the New Zealander who first stepped foot inside this Northern French town 100 years ago, in a quest to free it from four years of German occupation in World War I.

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