Former Rendelsham resident Gillian Bullard (nee Smith) will talk about a remarkable piece of war memorabilia from France when she addresses the August 22 meeting of the South East Family History Group.


The Adelaide resident and retired schoolteacher came across a rare photograph while going through boxes at her late parents’ home at Rendelsham.


Her mother Noeline (nee Chant) died last year at the age of 95 while her father Ian (“Rocky”) was 88 when he passed away in 2013.


On the bottom-right of the photo it says “found on a battlefield in France after a bombardment WAR 1916”.


She also found a letter written in 1961 by her late grandfather, Sydney Stewart Menzies Smith, a former A.I.F. warrant officer who had been deployed in the Somme during World War One.


Addressed to the mayor of Albert (Somme), but never sent, it described how Mr Smith found the photo in the ruins of a house that was bombed there in 1916 and brought it home with him post-war to Rendelsham in 1919.


The photo depicts around 50 people posing for the camera – now identified as Pernaut family members at a wedding ceremony in Albert.


In January, Ms Bullard emailed the Musée Somme 1916 – a World War One museum in Albert – which posted it to its social media page with a call-out for help.


It was viewed more than 700,000 times and shared almost 4000 times.


In the letter, Mr Smith explained how he had tried, and failed, to find the family to give back the photo before returning home.


He also wrote of his memories of France: “I remember stopping and giving to a mother and her three tiny children a tin of milk and a loaf of bread and how tears came into their eyes.


“I also remember the brave fortitude of the French people in their dark hour of trial.”


Mr Smith died two years later in 1963.


One of the museum’s Facebook followers, from the Albert area, identified the bride and the groom as Jeanne Merchez-Pot and Paul Pernaut-Caron.


The wedding is believed to have taken place on November 25, 1912.


Ms Bullard has travelled to France to hand-deliver the photograph.


The SEFHG meeting commences at 7.30pm and will be held at its Millicent research centre.