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Tis the season of seasonally inappropriate Christmas songs! It looks like we might be having a beautiful sunny Christmas day (fingers crossed), so next time you hear ‘Let it snow’, ‘White Christmas’, or ‘Frosty the Snowman’, have a little snigger with me.
The library will be closing at 1pm tomorrow (Tuesday 23rd December), and we will reopen at 8 am on Monday 5th January.
We hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and New Year.
See you in 2015!
1918 was the final year of war, but it was also among the most costly.
Bruce Hickenbottom was remembered at the Technical College for his portrayal of Father Christmas in a fundraising entertainment. He died on April 23, 1918.
Nesslea Jarman was killed in action on August 25, 1918. His older brother, Frank, had been killed at Gallipoli in 1916.
Duncan Rutherford was a prominent member of the Students’ Association. With his friends Don Smith and Fred Twyford, he would perform comic musical numbers at entertainments. He was also a member of the Debating Society. Duncan was killed in action on August 22, 1918. His old friend, Don Smith, was able to attend his burial.
Gordon Seay, who was known as a keen and successful sportsman at College, worked as a clerk for the National Mortgage and Agency Company. On joining the army he was made a Paymaster-Sergeant, but on arriving in France he reverted to the ranks at his own request. He was killed in action on May 9, 1918.
Joseph Thomas was reported wounded and missing in October, 1918. His death was finally confirmed at a court of enquiry held in January, 1919. He left a widow, Elfrieda – they had been married for less than six months.
Frank Cummins, Charles Horwell, Cecil Kircher, Fred Lees, William Leighton, George Lewis, Charles Mackintosh, William Miller, William Otley, Percy Saville, and Leonard Tobeck were also killed in 1918.
The First World War ended, officially, at 11.11am, on the 11th of November, 1918. New Zealand had lost more than 18,000 men and women, and thousands more had returned broken in body and mind. Every April, we remember them, and those from other conflicts.
Next time you’re passing through the Rakaia Centre, take a moment to read the honours board there.
We will remember them.
“Cantabrians are this week being invited to join millions of people worldwide in learning how to create using computer code. Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT) is encouraging participation in the international Hour of Code… CPIT computing tutor Amitrajit Sarkar says Hour of Code will be an easy introduction to this field. ” Read more about it on the Stuff website. Read the official information on this event on the Hour of code website.
Watch this You Tube clip.
McConnell, S (2004) Code complete – Find on the shelf at QA76.76.D47MCC 2004
October 1917 saw some of the fiercest fighting of the war, at the height of the Battle of Passchendaele. New Zealand troops were heavily involved in this battle.
Percy Clark was a prominent member of the Students’ Association, rising to be Vice President in 1913. He was a member of the debating society, but this may not have been his best skill: “Mr. P. Clark for the negative put himself at a disadvantage by reading his speech, and his remarks were occasionally beside the point.” (CTC Review, Nov. 1913). He became a manual training teacher in Invercargill, before joining the army.
He was mentioned in dispatches by Sir Douglas Haig, commander of the Allied Forces:
“For conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty in the Boutillerie Sector on 10th December 1916. During a German raid he mounted his gun on the parapet and kept his gun in action under heavy shell fire, the Lewis Gun for this part of the line having been put out of action, and was chiefly instrumental in defeating the raid. This Non Commissioned Officer previously did excellent work on the Somme.” – London Gazette, 1 June 1917, p. 5430
Percy was killed in action on October 11, 1917.
William Esselborn studied plumbing in the Evening School. He was the subject of what seems to have been a lengthy military enquiry in July 1917, after he sprained his ankle in the trenches. It was eventually concluded that this was the result of an accident and not through any deliberate action on William’s part. He was killed in action on October 4, 1917
Murdock MacLeod “was one of the first, and perhaps the most able of the students we have had in the building department” (Review, 1917). He became an architect, and worked for Samuel Hurst Seager in Christchurch. Murdock died on October 13, 1917, from wounds received in action. He left a widow, Minnie.
Thomas Dixon was described in the Review as “one of the ablest wood-working boys we have had” – and as having the dubious honour of having been known to his classmates as ‘little Dickie’. He was killed in action on October 12, 1917.
Robert Allan studied Agriculture, travelling to the Technical College each day from Waikari in North Canterbury (probably by train). He worked on his family’s farm until he joined the army. Robert died on October 17, 1917, from wounds received the same day.
George Allard, Fred Brown, Harold Burnett, John Hanna and Ralph Restall also died during October, 1917.
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