Couple move from Australia to the Somme to save the Lost Diggers house

Michael and Donna Fiechtner are the latest Australian newcomers to Vignacourt, a town in the Somme with deep historical ties to Australia dating back to World War One, when Antipodean soldiers fought in the region.

The Fiechtners – pronounced Feckners – are both teachers and amateur historians. They have taken part in a dozen Anzac Day commemorations in Vignacourt since 2015. Since April, however, they are no longer visitors but residents.

Their move to France began with a conversation in December 2023 with the town’s then-mayor, Stéphane Ducrotoy.

He told them he had ordered the demolition of a local house with extraordinary wartime heritage that held a special place in their hearts.

Built around the 1860s, La Maison des Thuillier was owned by Louis and Antoinette Thuillier, two local farmers and photographers who produced 4,000 glass photographic plates featuring around 800 Australian soldiers on their way to the battlefields.

The Lost Diggers archive

The images, long forgotten, were later revealed through The Lost Diggers of Vignacourt, a 2011 segment broadcast on Australia’s Channel 7. It marked the culmination of two decades of research into the existence of the plates. The programme showed investigative journalist Ross Coulthart opening a safe containing unseen images.

A museum opened in 2018 next to the house, partly funded by the Australian government. But as the building itself deteriorated, the commune eventually concluded it could not afford its renovation.

The decision came as a shock to the Fiechtners.

“We had fallen in love with the town and thought we had to do something about it,” said Michael.

Donna also had a personal connection: two of her great-uncles fought in World War One.

Inspired by the Vignacourt archive, the couple went on to identify additional Australian soldiers and have written two books on World War One servicemen, with a third, Shadows beneath the Somme, due to be published this winter.

Passion and international support

The couple’s response was to buy the house and relocate permanently to Vignacourt, selling most of their possessions in Australia.

The process was complex and slowed further by the language barrier.

Help came from Aline Ferard, founder of the Le Monde d’Antoinette association, which organises Vignacourt’s Anzac Day commemorations. She handled much of the administrative work needed to turn the project into reality.

“We could not have done it without her commitment, time, passion and enthusiasm,” the couple said.

Ferard later arranged for a 20-year lease agreement to be signed. At its conclusion, the Fiechtners will return the house fully renovated to the commune, where it will operate as a gîte. The €700,000 restoration will be funded by Australian patrons.

She also brought the project to the attention of Rollon Mouchel-Blaisot, prefect of the Somme and former French consul in Melbourne. A talent visa was subsequently issued in March, 27 months after the idea was first conceived.

“It shows that when you want something, you have to hang on to it and never give up,” Ferard said.

The Fiechtners arrived in April and are now assessing the extent of the renovation work required. The house has been empty since the 1970s; its roof needs replacing and its windows are broken.

“The structure is fantastic, but all the internal and external features have to go,” they said.

“The pigeons have been the only inhabitants.”

Incredibly, they have already discovered more than rubble inside.

25 new glass plates and photographs have been found, with the soldiers depicted yet to be identified.

“It is like a treasure hunt,” said Michael.

However, funding pressures have begun to emerge, with some businesses involved in the renovation withdrawing support.

A GoFundMe campaign titled History Restored: Save the Thuillier House of Vignacourt will be launched in the coming weeks.

“We want Louis and Antoinette to be proud, and their legacy to be restored. We want the house to live again,” the Fiechtners said.

Click here to follow the project.