During the First World War, Vignacourt, a village of 2,200 inhabitants in the Hauts-de-France region, was a village on the home front. Soldiers came here to rest or for medical treatment. Among them were Australian soldiers who, perhaps to ease their homesickness, renamed some of the streets with English names inspired by Australian cities, such as Melbourne Street, Sydney Street and Brisbane Street.
In memory of this anecdote, the association le Monde d'Antoinette asked the Atelier de l'émail to create street signs to be affixed under the existing street signs, as well as a panel explaining this astonishing story.
All the photos in this article were kindly provided by the association Le Monde d'Antoinette.