Today marks 101 years since the end of the First World War, 1914-1918.
At 11 am on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918 the guns fell silent after more than four years of bloody conflict. Lest we forget…..
Tag: First World War
Armistice Day 2018: 100 years since the end of the First World War
” …the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month…”
November the 11th, 2018 will mark the 100th Anniversary of the ending of World War One. At the 11th hour, on the 11th day, of the 11th month the fighting along the Western Front halted and peace reigned after four bloody years of conflict. The Great War between the Allies and Central Powers was finally over.
While New Zealand and Australia remember those who have served on ANZAC Day, most of the other Great War combatants use the Armistice as their day of remembrance.
George Edmund Butler, Stretcher party, November 1918: Ref: AAAC 898 NCWA 473
During the course of the Great War over 100 000 New Zealanders or 10% of the population served overseas and 18 000 did not return. Included in this number were over 40 past staff and students of the Christchurch Technical College, the forbear of Ara Institute of Canterbury.
To my mind one of the most poignant wartime texts is the Ode of Remembrance. This is proudly displayed in every RSA club in New Zealand, and has been recited at every ANZAC Day parade since 1916:
The Ode to the Fallen:
“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning
We will remember them. We will remember them.”
2018 Commemorative Service to remember Armistice Day
The Christchurch Branch of the Returned Services Association (RSA), in conjunction with the Christchurch City Council will host a parade and commemorative service this Sunday, 11th November. Veterans will march down Cashel Mall to the Bridge of Remembrance where there will be a wreath laying ceremony.
All are welcome, please congregate at the bridge by 11 am.
We will remember them…
In Flanders Fields
Tomorrow marks 98 years since the end of World War One. At 11.11am, on November 11, 1918, a ceasefire was called that ended over four years of fighting.
I recently visited Ypres (Ieper), in Belgium. Part of the town walls is the Menin Gate memorial.
Within this memorial are recorded the names of 54,395 Commonwealth soldiers whose bodies were never found. New Zealand soldiers are not listed here – at the time, the decision was made to record New Zealanders in separate monuments in cemeteries closer to where they fell.
On the town walls of Ypres is a small Commonwealth War Graves cemetery, containing 198 graves. There are 14 New Zealand graves here, of members of the Māori Battalion and the Army Engineers.
Ypres itself was almost completely flattened during the fighting. After the war, there were some calls to make the town a memorial. The people of Ypres, however, wanted their town back, just the way it was. It was strange to walk around and see ‘old’ buildings, and then realize that the date over the door is 1927.
If you’d like to know more about World War One, and in particular the Pioneer (Māori) Battalion, try some of our library resources:
Te Ara: Encyclopedia of New Zealand – First World War
Te Ara: Encyclopedia of New Zealand – Māori and overseas wars
Te mura o te ahi : the story of the Maori Battalion
1918 – the final push
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.
October, 1917
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.
1917 – the fourth year
1917 was a sombre year for families of New Zealand soldiers, and the Technical College was no exception.
George Craw studied in the Engineering department, before working as a cleaner for New Zealand Railways. He died on August 6, 1917, from wounds received in action. He received one of the most poignant memorials in the Review in November 1917:
“Quiet and kindly in disposition, it is difficult for us to picture him, as in the case of so many others, taking an active part in the events in which he was called to engage.”
Eric Cobeldick was a popular student at the Technical College, taking part in school sports and dramatic productions. He was killed in action on July 26, 1917, less than six weeks after arriving in France.
Thomas Ritchie, along with his sister Flossie, began at the Technical College in 1907, only its second year. He worked as a shepherd in Havelock North. He was killed in action on August 18, 1917.
Cecil Ardley, Francis Goodwin, John Horgan, Cecil Merrett, Arthur Postgate, George Scarr and Ashley Vincent also died in 1917.
1916 – the third year
By 1916, any thoughts of “over by Christmas” were gone. The Technical College lost many Old Boys in the fighting of this year.
Leonard Barter, Edward Beattie, and Hugh Bower were reported missing on September 15-16, 1916. Leonard Derungs joined his company in France on October 1, 1916, and was reported missing that same day.
An extensive enquiry was carried out in December, 1916, which confirmed the deaths in action of these and many other men.
Walter Dougall was a pupil in the Agricultural department, and an active sportsman – “An excellent forward, who knows the game well and plays with dash,” according to the Football notes in the1912 Technical College review. He was wounded four times, and promoted to Lieutenant, before dying on September 15, 1916, of wounds received the same day.
James McCullough was an early pupil in the cabinetmaking department, and worked as a shop fitter in Wellington. He died after being wounded in an accidental explosion on August 26, 1916.
Leonard Scott, Geoffrey Willey, and Albert Wills also died during 1916.
1916: The Year of Stalemate
1916: The year of Stalemate
By many measures, 1916 was the worst year of the First World War. More soldiers were killed during 1916 than any other year of the war. Although the year would start with some small hope, by the end stalemate on land had truly set in. Gone was the belief that the war would be “over by Christmas”, and a new understanding of the price to be paid would start to emerge.
Focus on Europe
Of note during the year were the final withdrawal from Gallipoli, the Battles of the Somme, Verdun and massive conflagrations on the Eastern Front. The battle for control of the Atlantic had started to heat up, with major sea battles at Jutland and Dogger Banks and the scourge of the U Boat developing.
On land, the focus of battle had shift from peripheral regions to the trenches of the Western Front. For good or for bad the war would be decided at sea and in Northern France and Belgium.
New Zealand’s role
New Zealand forces had finally shift our prime focus to Europe, before the end of the year the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) would be fully committed to the titanic battles taking place there.
Thankfully, we were not involved in the early stages of the disastrous Battle of the Somme ( 60 000 casualties on day one, 20 000 dead within 24 hours).
However, our forces would play a significant part in the later stages of the battle and start to build the enviable reputation for toughness and resourcefulness that characterised them later in the war.
The greatest enemy of all
Illness and disease have always ravaged armies, and the First World War was no exception. In an age before antibiotics, even common ailments could kill.
Ameral Abbott, who had worked on his family’s farm at Southbridge, died of Polio in Cairo on May 8, 1915, without having seen action. His brother, George, was also killed in the war.
Alan Barker was fondly remembered in the Technical College Review as a lively member of the Society. He died of Tuberculosis in hospital in London on July 7, 1917.
David Fincham died of Malaria in Cairo on November 7, 1918. His family received news of his death on November 11, 1918, the day the war ended. Frank Rudd also fell to Malaria in Cairo, on October 22, 1918.
Reginald Leeming arrived in England on January 20, 1917, and was admitted to hospital ten days later. He died on February 8, 1917, of meningitis.
William Colville, James Hooper, and Daniel Spence all died of Influenza, during the epidemic of 1918-9. James and Daniel were on board the troopship Tahiti, when an outbreak of Influenza struck. Overall, 90% of those on board were infected and 77 died.
William was in camp at Featherstone when he fell ill, and he died on November 21, 1918, ten days after the war had ended.
WW100: Disease: The greatest enemy of all
When people think about casualties caused by war they envision combat dead but disease has historically been a far greater danger.
Disease: the greatest enemy?
Was the Great War the first major conflict in which disease caused fewer deaths than armed combat?
A comparison of war casualties from the pre First World War era is informative:
- Peninsular Wars, Southern Europe, 1808-1815. Deaths from disease 70%, combat deaths 30%.
- Crimean War, Eastern Europe, 1853-1856. British deaths from disease 55%, combat deaths 45%.
- American Civil War, North America, 1861-1865. Deaths from disease 56%, combat deaths 44%.
- First and Second Boer Wars, South Africa, 1880-1881, 1899-1902. British deaths from disease 66%, combat deaths 34%.
- Russo-Japanese-War, Asia, 1904-1905. Japanese deaths from disease 35%, combat deaths 65%.
Apart from the Russo-Japanese war, it is obvious that more soldiers died from disease than from combat in the pre war period.
Of the 10 million military deaths during the First World War, 6-7 million died in combat and a staggering 3-4 million died from infectious diseases.
Improvements in ambulatory services, surgery and medical treatment meant that fewer died from infections & sickness. Regardless, a third of deaths during the war still resulted from disease.
Common vectors of illness
The types of illness across theatres is remarkably similar. Epidemics of typhus, malaria, typhoid (the infamous enteric fever), diarrhoea, yellow-fever, pneumonia and influenza, innumerable cases of venereal disease & scabies affected all nations.
Conditions in the trenches also caused specific diseases: trench fever, trench mouth and trench foot were all caused by the filthy conditions. Gangrene and tetenus were also problems.
The deadly 1918 Spanish Influenza was indirectly a result of the massive concentration of men in sub optimum conditions.
The New Zealand story
Of our 16 700 war dead, approximately 11% died of disease. This is 1600 women and men, including 275 from the 1918 Influenza pandemic alone.
Further reading:
Jared M. Diamond, (2005). Guns, germs and steel : a short history of everybody for the last 13,000 years. HM626DIA
Here is transcript of a lecture delivered by Professor Francis Cox, of Gresham College on this subject: The First World War: Disease, The Only Victor: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-first-world-war-disease-the-only-victor
Here is an interesting statistical breakdown from the Otago medical School about New Zealand casualties:
Nick Wilson et. al. Injury Epidemiology and New Zealand Military Personnel in World War One: http://www.otago.ac.nz/wellington/otago038206.pdf
The primary site for WW100 commemoration in New Zealand:New Zealand WW100: http://ww100.govt.nz/
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