Wednesday 18 September:

A grey cool morning and being a little tired after our dash to the Somme we drove to Zonnebeke to see the most important of the Flanders war museums. The museum is in a grand old house and contains some wonderful displays. After some time upstairs we went down through a mock-up of a trench system, with noises and cries of officers, etc., and the grumbles of men. We then passed into a series of underground bunkers, which included a Scottish armourer at work on a Lee Enfield rifle, a hospital wing with a dreadful operation in progress, an Australian bunker and a New Zealand command post, etc. After a pleasant lunch in the grounds we drove back towards Ieper and visited the Hooge Crater. There is a hotel alongside and for a small fee one can walk around the original trench system and look at the huge craters. There were also the remains of immensely thick concrete bunkers. One had been built by the British, and when the Germans captured it the immediately placed a very thick wall of concrete across the entrance which was on the British side so that they could use it in safty. These pre-dated the Messines craters and were blown up by both sides at different times with heavy loss of life. We then went through a very good small museum. Across the road is a large cemetery full of victims of the fighting at Hooge.

Thursday September 18:

A sunny and cool morning and we drove a few kilos south to Mesen (Messines). We parked in the pleasant little square and found our way to the council chambers which also hold the small museum upstairs. On starting to pay we were told very quickly and kindly that New Zealanders do not pay there. The welcome was amazing. Almost the first thing in the museum I saw was a New Zealand soldier in a genuine World War 1 uniform, wearing the lemon squeezer and bearing the familiar round badges of the 15th North Aucklanders which I wore from 1945 to 1949 as a school cadet in Wellsford. The original owner of the uniform had donated it years before. They had also another lemon squeezer in a display cabinet and said they had been donated it by a New Zealand soldier some time ago but knew only his name. Within minutes I had accessed his name and details about him on the computer so that made a good start.

Then in came some New Zealanders from Wellington. They had his grandfather's hand drawn map of the line of the New Zealand attack which he produced the day before the attack and copied on a simple copier machine the night before for the attacking troops. Reprters and photographers (for what paper/s we know not) and photographed the map, dad's diary, including pages from it, and all the New Zealanders with the map and diary prominently displayed. I had to give them details of Dad's service, etc., also. I also told them how he probably delivered a large part of the hundreds of tons of shells which had blown their town apart! They were fascinated also when I gave them a map showing the NZ twenty "lifts", each of 100 yards for the creeping barrage, which preceded the New Zealanders up and through the town to the end of the attack on the other side of Messines ridge. I was able to tell them of the immense job which the NZ Tech Acks must have done to produce over 2,000 individual calculations for the 114 18 pounders involved to do such a precise shoot. I have also promised to send them information on the role of the New Zealand artillery in the re-taking of their town from the Germans, and a copy of Dad's diary for their records.

Perhaps the saddest thing we saw were the boots found in 1978 still on the feet of a New Zealand soldier uncovered when a sports field was developed. There was also the rusty grenade still clutched in his hand. Half his head had been blown away. They could not find his identification though. I finally pointed out to them the surprise I had at finding in a display case the remains of an original long magazine Lee Enfield, the "Long Tom" used in the Boer War which some New Zealanders were still using in Gallipoli (I found the remains of one in the museum there a few years ago wrongly labelled as a French rifle). They were supposed to have been recalled after the Gallipoli campaign and replaced with the Short Magazine Lee Enfield still in use in the 1950s when I did my service.

They then went to a great deal of trouble to direct me to Hill 63 a couple of kms away where the New Zealand artillery were said to have been virtually wheel to wheel during the great barrage. The hill is now heavilly wooded and we could not see much of it, but we visited a small cemetery alongside where among others I saw the grave of a Maori Battalion soldier of the NZ pioneers - a Ruru from Te Karaka - a well known name there when I was a boy. There was also a very good Australian display at the corner of the road (known as Hyde Park Corner where the Australian tunnelers had made an enormous underground complex of billets and a hospital.. Then we drove on a short distance to Ploegsteert ("Plug Street" to the British troops), and on the way passed a large cemetery containing a few NZers and with a large British Memorial where they sound the last post once a month.

Friday 20th September:

We drove towards Zonnebeke and stopped at the only French war cemetery which we encountered on the trip. There were 5,000 crosses packed into the cemetery in absolutely geometrical lines. I imagine that it was a post-war concentration cemetery. We had planned to do another walk between Tyne Cot and Passchendaele, but decided we were too tired to walk, so drove southwest to Hill 60. This was an artificial hill built out of the spoil removed from a nearby railway cutting before the war. Its height made it an important strategic point for both sides and led to endless battles and thousands of casualties. Both sides mined it, but the Australian tunnelers blew up 650 German in one blast. Amongst the trees there are shell holes and mine craters everywhere, and a massive German pill box with hundreds of shell holes pocking its sides but clearly having made no impact upon it. There was also an underground concrete bunker. Nearby was a memorial to two members of the French underground shot their by German SS in 1944. Their photos looked so young.

After dinner we packed up and attended the Menengate ceremony for the last time, and next day we delivered our car back to Calais and managed to get seats on the Eurostar with great relief as it was running a very reduced timetable as a result of a fire in the tunnel the day after we came over.

So ended the incredibly emotional trip back in time. My admiration and gratitude for the sacrifices of my father and the other soldiers was great before I came but grew enormously while there. I think I have a better understanding of why so little was ever said when they returned. The enormity of what they went through and the sheer horror of it was such that few could confront it for decades after. How could they explain to the rest of us just what they went through, watching their friends blown apart and grievously wounded day after day for years? Many doubtlessly had feelings of guilt that they had survived when so many did not. The effect on New Zealand of the time can never be underestimated . From a tiny country of just over a million population we sent 130,000 men to the war (more than one citizen in every ten), of whom one in seven was killed, and thousands were injured, many of whom went home to die prematurely, with the others carrying the mental and physical scars for life. And not just the men - thousands like my mother were widowed or lost fiances, sons, fathers, uncles, brothers. And then came the depression and another war. My generation and subsequent ones have truly had it lucky.

Monday15 September:

A nice fine day, but being Monday almost everything in Belgium is closed. We drove west to the small town of Poperinge which features briefly in Dad's diary for 26 to 30 September 1917. This was an important R & R town for the WW1 troops, and sadly also a military jail where many of the executions of soldiers took place. Talbot House, was the social centre for the troops set up by Padre Talbot, which led to the foundation of the TocH programme. Unfortunately it to was closed for the day, but as we were looking at the door the warden, a Canadian lady appeared and did take us in and give us some brochures and told us a little of its wartime entertainment and services for the troops. One of Talbot's famous notices was "If you spit upon the floor at home please feel free to do so here".

after excellent coffee and cake we drove to Watou a small town which was mentioned in the diary for 3rd to 7th November 1917 as a behind the lines camping point and on to Boeschepe where the artillery was out of the line 25 November to 7th December 1917, and also from 22nd to 25th March 1918 when the great German attack of March 1918 took place. The Australian and New Zealand infantry were rushed south and simply marched towards the triumphant German breakthrough on the Somme. They met them head on as the British forces retreated in near panic and did great slaughter, but lost heavily also as they had no artillery back up. The diary reports the rush from Boeschepe to Caestre and entraining in the middle of the night with all the guns and ammunition. I decided to do the drive which took place over undulating country and must have put great strain on the gun teams and mules. They then spent some 36 hours on the train going about 120 km by tortuous routes and rushed up to support the infantry (more of this later). Caestre today is a rather sleepy town with no rail connection now. We lunched at a tiny CWGC cemetry which contained one NZer (in the Australian army). I also noted the grave of a 19 year old from Durham, who at the time of his death had reached the rank of sergeant and had been decorated with the DCM (Distinguished Conduct Medal - just beneath the VC) and the MM (Military Medal - also a significant bravery decoration). One wonders at what age he had joined the army to have such a history at such a young age. There was also a grave of a young married Australian which had a brief history attached to his gravestone (probably recently by relatives) - he was on his bunk in his billet when a shell came through the roof and killed him instantly. A few seconds before he had been speaking to his friend of how he was looking forward to leave in London in two days. Another sad war story.

A rather difficult journey home followed via Metteren, Baillieu, Loker and Dikkebus - none of the roads seem to go directly to anywhere else! After a brief rest we started to walk the wall of Ieper and met a couple from Matamata - like me he came originally from Gisborne. We followed this with an excellent dinner on the square of fish and chips and excellent Belgian beer.

Tuesday 16 September:

A fine morning and we set out early for the Somme. This put a heavy strain on Edna as navigator as we went from one road system to another. After a couple of hours of difficult driving we arrived at Le Quesnoy. We seemed to be lost and wondered if we were in the right place when suddenly up ahead we saw the NZ flag on large floral display, paired with the French flag and the medaille millitaire picked out in flowers. Immediately behind were the moat and the formidable walls which the NZers scaled with ladders in the last few days of the war. Having photographed the walls we walked back down the hill to the CWGC cemetery with its rows of white stones, almost all bearing the fernleaf and the date of the 4th November 1918. We are proud of how we save the town's population and the medieval walls, etc., but I could not help feeling we should simply have blasted it and taken it without such horrendous casualties. In the town the first building we noticed was the Cambridge Bar (the towns are "twinned"), and it was full of NZ memorabilia. We asked for coffee but after a pleasant talk with the owner were directed across the square to where we could in his opinion get much better service for coffee. We left promising to sengd him some more Cambridge memorabilia.

After coffee we walked by way of New Zealand /Aotearoa Street to another part of the walls where the actual scaling took place and we were able to view and photograph from across the moat a magnificent bas relief let into the wall showing the New Zealanders scaling the walls - a rather difficult and very touching memorial. Later in our trip we met a New Zealander whose grandfather was the fifth man up the ladder!

Leaving Le Quesnoy we drove again over very confusing roads to find the grave of George Whitfield MSM (Meritorious Service Medal - a rather rare decoration), who dad had met on the boat from Egypt to France. He came from Desmond Rd (off Gladstone Road near Gisborne High School). He and two other gunners were killed a month from the end of the war when the Germans were beaten and on the run. I imagine an unlucky shell had probably taken out the gun they were on. In the same cemetery were a line of eight graves of New Zealanders all died of wounds on 8 September 1918. I surmised that there must have been a dressing station nearby and that somewhere further east there would be another cemetery full of men killed in action on the same date.

We then sought out the small village of Montauban where Dad's diary recorded that they were shelled out of on 20 September 1916 and fell back on Fricourt a few miles further back during the first Somme offensive in 1916. It was a strange feeling to drive through this very remote and peaceful rolling countryside today and see small wartime cemeteries every mile of so. After Fri court we drove to Acheaux nearby where the amunition column went in March 1918 after their hurried rush south. This was where the diary inexplicably stopped with no further entries for the rest of the war. However, I remember him saying that he saw the troops coming away after the funeral of Dick Travis, so off we drove northwest to Couin CWGC cemetery where he is buried. His gravestone bears the outline of his VC. He was probably the greatest ever NZ soldier (and I am not forgetting Upham and his double VC in WW2). His decorations were VC, DCM, MM, Belgian Croix de Guerre, and twice Mentioned in Dispatches. On one occasion in Flanders he went out for 40 nights in a row to patrol and explore no mans land, plus countless other feats. As a boy in Gisborne I recall a friend of Dad's, Mr Slingsby, who had been with him in the Otago regiment and was not at all keen about going out with him. I wish now that I had questioned him more closely about it and memorised it more carefully. Travis was known as "the king of no mans land" and his death in action was said to have cast a pall over the whole New Zealand Division.

Much though I would like to have spent more time on the Somme by this time it was late and we faced a long drive back to Ieper which we reached after 7 o'clock - a day of over eleven hours of hard driving.

after wa

Friday 12 Sept:

Raining, so bought a very expensive map of the battlefields and then into the local Ieper Museum. Some very good displays about the war in Flanders, but no mention of NZ, in fact, the only things I saw was one small 'Onwards' badge from WW1. After lunch in the hotel (in our room - the dining room was very expensive!), and a short rest we drove to the Messines area. The rain having cleared we searched for the famous mine craters which were blown on 7 June 1917 before the attack. We found the famous Spanbroekmolen crater, after a muddy walk through a farmer's tilled field, only to find we could have driven right there on a different road. This mine had a strange history - due to problems caused by the suspicious Germans it failed to blow on schedule, but was 19 seconds late. The poor Irish Rifles had been told that the mines might not go off so they were to attack on schedule - they were out of their trenches and moving forward and many died. They are all buried in the tiny Lone Tree Cemetery close to where they fell. The pool is now surrounded by lovely trees and deserves its title of Pool of Peace.

The mines were along a circle of about 6 km surrounding the town of Messines.

Looking from the pillbox blown up at the edge of the pool one can see why it was so important to the Germans to hold this high ground and how well our troops did to win it. Then we moved on to the twin Kruistraat craters in farmland a bout half a kilometre away. Interesting but not so picturesque today as they are not surrounded by trees, but green fields.

After that we drove to the Messines Ridge cemetery - full of NZers, mostly killed on 7 June. I found the grave of Archie Greves' friend, one of three shepherds from the station next to him in Hawkes Bay, all killed in the Messines attack. I also saw the grave of a man from Wellsford named Ramsay - his parents from there were called Ramsbottom - I guess he did not want the name to bedevil his army career!

Back home to a pasta dinner in the Square and on to a rather smaller Last Post ceremony.

Saturday 13 September:

A fine but cloudy morning so we drove back to Dochy Farm and did another walk through the old NZ battlefield with names such as Gallipoli and Pommern Castle.Through gently undulating country now largely in amidst fields of corn (which stopped our views) and pasture and unknown leafy crops. We went past a beautiful little memorial to Ivor Gurney, war poet and later a mental patient who died early. His poems on the memorial were really moving. We stopped at a farm entrance to admire and photograph a 'sculpture' made of odd bits and pieces in the form of a field gun. The owner came out and greeted us in excellent English. He first showed us his barn made of battlefield debris and used as a first house after the war. Then into his own wonderful house full of re-cycled timbers and wonderful sculptures he had made of re-cycled materials.He showed us some of his war memorabilia and had his wife give us very good coffee while he told us of the post-war experience. For years the land was a hopeless mess of poisoned soil from the gas and high explosive full of unexploded shells, and later the first successful crops were destroyed by millions of rats and mice, before the land could once again become fertile. Even today they are constantly digging up shells, bullets, hand grenades, etc., which they leave by the side of the road to be collected and blown up. The gas shells are a bigger problem now they no longer can dump them in the sea. Even recently there have been fatalities - often from new machinery disturbing the soil in a different way.

We could have had clips of .303 bullets, but they were still dangerous to take home by air, so he just gave us a handful of shrapnel lead balls (they could have come from shells supplied by Dad!). He also had an amazing collection of large format war photos of the battlefields, troops, dead soldiers, blown up tanks, etc. We finally left after about 2 hours - what a nice man!

Then up onto the Messines ridge where we wanted to do the Australian walk to Passchendaele recently completed. The first part led through a railway cutting (no longer in use) with photos of dead, wounded, and completely shell shocked Australians sheltering there during the attack. After about a kilometre we found the track deteriorated to a muddy ditch through dense nettles and blackberry with water which would have been over the tops of our boots, leaving us with no alternative but to turn back. Then we found with difficulty because of local car racing the Passchendaele Cemetery with 126 New Zealanders among the Australian and Canadian graves (the Canadians finally took the town after the Massacre of the second NZ attack which was sheer lunacy on the part of the senior generals who ordered it. With the battlefield deep in mud, the guns and ammunition unable to be brought up to cut the wire and no heavy guns to take out the concrete pill boxes (18 ounders merely bounced off them) they were ordered to attack in a position which no troops in the world could have taken. There were 60 percent casualties and it is said to have broken the spirit of the NZ Division for months. Dad's account of the horrendous time they had trying to get ammunition up to the guns is only part of the worst day in NZ history.

Back home we went to the Last Post |ceremony and were delighted to see a group of NZ Officers laying wreaths on behalf of the NZ army. Their 'lemon squeezer' hats reminded me of my own time spent wearing one in the army. Because of the special occasion I wore Dad's medals on the right and my own on the left and my gunner's badge on my cap. I was also able after the ceremony to present photos of the buglers when they performed at Hamilton last year. One of those present that night had been at Hamilton and was delighted to see himself on film there.

Sunday 14 September:

A superb morning. We drove to Zonnebeke where we caught a free bus to the back side of Polygon Wood where there was a considerable gathering for the unveiling of a plaque to honour Henry Nicholas VC, MM, won on the 3 December 1917, during the NZ attack on Polderhoek Chateau. He actual location of his action was few hundred metres away in the green paddock opposite the road. The NZ army contingent led by a Brigadier, with a NZ piper and Menengate buglers all formed up for the arrival of the NZ ambassador who unveiled the plaque. Afterwards we were taken for a walk through the forest by a local historian, during which I talked with the ambassador (we have a mutual friend - an ex-student who is now an ambassador in the Middle East), and his wife. Talking with a Belgian man who was very interested in the action he bent down along the muddy track, picked up an old army web belt buckle and presented it to me. The kindness we NZers receive there is amazing.

After walking through the wood and photographing a bunker built by NZ engineers we arrived at the Buttes New British Cemetery where there was another ceremony to honour the NZ troops who were known to have died locally but have no known grave. There was a powhiri, etc., and more laying of wreaths by the local mayor (whose sash of office replicates Waikato sporting colours!) and the Mayor of Le Quesnoy from the Somme (more on Le Quesnoy later), and the NZ ambassador. After the ceremony I photographed the name of George Sheat who died with 13 other Otagos on 'a day that nothing happened' and none of whom have known graves. George's nephew John Sheat has tramped with me for many years and it really added a lot of meaning to the ceremony for me. After they took us back to Zonnebeke again by bus we drove back to walk in Polygon Wood again and take photos, before going home to watch the end of Ieper Marathon.

Below is the report on the web for this day:

Nicholas VC Plaque Unveiled

Published on September 15th 2008

A plaque to Sergeant Henry Nicholas VC, MM, was dedicated today on the brow of a sunlit hill in Flanders overlooking the Polderhoek Chateau valley and heights where the Canterbury and Otago regiments lost so many men in the devastatingly hard winter of 1917.

Some 350 people crowded onto a narrow country road in Belgium for the brief ceremony led by the New Zealand Defence Force, the New Zealand Embassy in Brussels, the Zonnebeke (Passchendaele) District Council and the Memorial Museum Passchendaele.

The ceremony was followed by a guided walk through Polygon Wood which included visits to dug-outs constructed by New Zealand engineers during a winter that remains one of the worst in European history.

There was then a service at the New Zealand Memorial to the Missing at Buttes New British Cemetery in the woods, a cemetery widely regarded as one of the most beautiful and peaceful of all those in Flanders. Around 500 people were present for the commemoration led by the Reverend Niki Francis, Minister of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Belgian Army Guard was inspected by the New Zealand Ambassador Peter Kennedy and the Mayor of Zonnebeke Dirk Cardoen after the official party was welcomed by a karanga sung by a Ngati Ranana member.

In his address Mr Cardoen recalled that the New Zealanders had paid the highest price proportionately of all countries in the Passchendaele region, while Mr Kennedy noted that New Zealand normally honoured its dead at Messines and Tyne Cot. It was rare that there was a service to the missing at the Buttes memorial. The Ambassador's address was supported by Nadell Karatea-Kokiri and Rachel Filiata of Ngati Ranana.

Paul Turner, a New Zealander who was formerly a professional piper in Scotland and who performed in Flanders last year with the Wairarapa-based Celtic folk group Wild Geese, played the Lament for Murdo Mackenzie prior to the laying of wreaths. Paul had played twice at the Menin Gate, visited a school, taught young pipers and advised the Passchendaele Pipes and Drums during a week-long visit.

Wreaths were laid by the Ambassador, the Mayor and representatives of the New Zealand and Belgian Defence Forces, as well as the Mayoress of Beaudignies Mme Raymonde Dramez, and the First Alderman of Le Quesnoy, M Michel Guoyt. Sergeant Nicholas was killed in October 1918 close to Beaudignies, France, which in turn is close to Le Quesnoy, finally liberated by the New Zealanders towards the end of the First World War. A private wreath was laid by Mrs Holt, of Major and Mrs Holt's battlefield guides which have been published for Flanders since the 1970s.

Charlotte Whiting, a young New Zealander, read "Life in the Trenches", which was followed by prayers and The Last Post and Reveille sounded by buglers from the Menin Gate. Brigadier Warren Whiting recited The Ode and the national anthems were played by the Zonnebeke Harmony brass band.

In the afternoon, an additional 400-500 people toured the area of the Nicholas plaque, Polygon Wood, Buttes and the New Zealand winter frontline of 1917 with expert guides provided by the Memorial Museum Passchendaele.

Flanders Fields

My ten days in Belgium did not allow me to post any blogs because of problems with computers in Ypres. Back in London, all is well and I can commence!

Landing in Calais quite early in the day Edna and I set out in our tiny rented 1 Litre Toyota Aygo for Belgium and Mesen (Messines). We saw a road sign pointing out Westhoff Farm Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery, and remembering that Dad's diary showed he spent from the 2nd to the 13th July 1917 there, we drove down to the tiny cemetery - the first of many we visited. Here we quickly discovered the box inside the gate which contained the list of all in the cemetery, with information as to their age, their next of kin, any gallantry medals, and the date of their deaths. The first grave I saw was a NZ artillery driver so knew it was not a safe job. We filled in the visitors book with an appropriate comment, the first of many over the next ten days. There were many other NZers there too. A brief stop then on over rolling and peaceful countryside towards Mesen.

An hour and a half after landing I was walking up New Zealand Street in Mesen (Messines is the French version), which runs up the middle of the New Zealand attack on 7 June, 1917. I positioned myself as near as possible on the New Zealand Start line and imagined what it must have been like at 3.10 am when the largest blast the world had ever heard went up. Nineteen mines to which the tunnelers had been striving for up to 700 yards and many months of work went up. There should have been 23, but one in front of the NZers had been found by the Germans and they alone went up the hill without that advantage. To their right were the Australians, and on their left the English and then the Irish.

I tried to imagine the hillside as the first of the 18 pounder barrage began. A hundred and fourteen 18 pounders were firing along a line of less than 2000 yards - probably a shell landing every 17 yards or so. Several shots later came the first of 19 following "lifts" which allowed the troops to advance 2,000 yards up and through the town and beyond it to the new front line. I estimate that the "tech acks" would have spent days working out well over 2000 complicated calculations for the individual gun corrections to put in that barrage. I also imagined how many of the shells were delivered to the gunlines back on Hill 63 and in nearby Ploegsteert Wood where the 18 pounders were concealed just over the hill and were virtually wheel to wheel, by Driver Frazer, by now an experienced 21 year old a veteran of Armentiers and the Somme behind him.

This was said to be the most successful and carefully planned and executed attack of the war. It was said that 10,000 German troops died in the first explosion and thousands more in the barrage which followed. We won the day but suffered enormous casualties, but denied the Germans the use of the ridge which had dominated our front since 1915. They had powerful defense lines with tremendously strong pillboxes and underground bunkers both on the hill and throughout the ruined town. I began to realise what "going up the hill at Messines" meant to a generation of New Zealand men. I also thought of my friend Bob Wilson (a fellow NZer and lecturer at University of Melbourne), whose father, upon being told by his daughter (who had "got religion") that if he continued to drink alcohol he would go to hell, replied "I went up the hill at Messines twice. I've been to hell!." Capturing the hill faced by the New Zealanders entailed a climb of a little over 40 metres (about 130 feet), but very significant in defensive terms for the Germans.

We then visited the New Zealand memorial which stands alongside New Zealand street and incorporates two pill boxes. A brief stop in the middle of the tiny town (proudly claiming to be the smallest town in Belgium), and deciding it was too late to visit the tiny museum we followed a very muddy road through highly cultivated farmland to a tiny Australian CWGC cemetery where all the graves were from the 8th and 9th of June 1917 - doubtless the result of German attempts to reclaim lost land after the initial Messines retreat. The cemetery with a low stone wall was beautifully kept as are all the CWGC cemeteries, but the graves were not in neat rows - later I was to realise that this was a "battlefield" cemetery, where men had been hastilly interred close to where they fell and often under fire, which compared with the large and very orderly "concentration" cemeteries, to which bodies were taken by special units, sometimes years later. In concentration cemeteries it is normal to find that perhaps two thirds of the graves had no names, but the CWGC did their best to put on the gravestone whatever information they found with a body. Thus the statements might vary from "An unknown soldier of the great war" to "An unknown 2nd Lieutenant of the Royal New Zealand Artillery".

On the web there is a commentary about the Messines attack:

The Battle of Messines Ridge

This summary of the battle is from the brochure by Jeff McNeill. All photos on this page are with the kind permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library. Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand, must be obtained before any re-use of these images.

New Zealand troops training for an attack on Messines, Belgium

During the 1914-18 Great War, the New Zealand Division was below the village from November 1916 until taking it as part of the Battle of Messines on June 7 to 9, 1917. Messines sits on the southern end of the Messines Ridge that runs southwards from Ypres. It had been taken by the German Army in 1914 and commanded excellent views of the British lines below.

The Germans considered the village a key defence and were reinforcing it as a fortified strongpoint. It had become a fortress of deep trench systems and barbed wire entanglements surrounded the town. All cellars were turned into dugouts, while five reinforced concrete strong-points were constructed.

The New Zealand Division was sent to hold 1½ kilometres of frontline below Messines in November 1916, relieving the Canadian forces. The ‘Diggers' spent the winter and spring of 1917 here, periodically raiding German positions and repelling raids in return. Hundreds of casualties resulted, many from shell-.re. During this time Battalions were taken out of the line in turn for rest and training for the forthcoming Messines Offensive.

The Offensive

New Zealand tank going into action near Messines

The Messines Offensive was a preparatory step to the larger 1917 3rd Ypres Offensive, known as Passchendaele. Its goal was to seize the whole of the Messines Ridge, securing the flank of the Ypres Offensive and removing a German vantage point. The attack was to be carried out along a 10 km front by 9 Divisions of the British Second Army under General Plumer.

The ‘bite and hold' attack had two phases, the capture of the ‘Black Line' just to the east of Messines, followed by the attack and capture of the Green or Oosttaverne Line. No ‘breakthrough'was intended.

For the first time artillery, mines and infantry were all coordinated to support the attack. In many ways it was an artillery battle - using artillery in the most coordinated and concentrated form yet seen in warfare, 2,300 guns and 300 heavy mortars - on average one gun to every 7 metres of German front. In the 2½ weeks before the attack, British artillery had bombarded enemy strong points and trenches and cleared their protective barbed wire entanglements to assist the advance. Artillery was also engaged in effective counter-battery work, eliminating German artillery to reduce possible counter fire on the attacking troops.

The synchronised detonation of mines dug under German strong-points marked the start of the attack. Just before dawn, at 3:10am on the 7th of June, 19 mines along the ridge exploded within one and a half minutes of each other, killing an estimated 10,000 Germans. No mines were exploded in the New Zealand sector, though a mine with 60,000 lbs (2.7 tonnes) of explosive under Ontario Farm on the left flank blew a crater 60 metres wide. A mine shaft under La Petite Douve, a suspected strong-point, on the Diggers' right flank had earlier been discovered and destroyed by German counter-miners in 1916.

Members of the Pioneer Battalion laying a road in Messines

Once the attack began, the artillery and machine guns followed detailed fire plans with a timetable targeted to fall some 300 m in front of the advancing infantry, protecting the attackers.

This ‘creeping barrage' lifted eastwards 100 metres every 2 minutes (the calculated walking pace of a laden soldier) during a scheduled advance, while slowing for the hill section.

A ‘standing barrage' was also mounted to protect the attackers from counter-attack while regrouping at each of the Lines. Keeping to the timetable was critical for if the advancing troops lagged too far behind the barrage, the German defenders could return to their positions once the barrage had past but before the attackers could take them.

The ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) was responsible for the southern end of the attack, with the New Zealand Division on the left and the Australian 3rd Division on the right. The New Zealand Division was responsible for taking Messines and pushing through to the Black Line behind it. The 4th Australian Division was then to pass through them to carry on the second phase and take the Green Line some 2 km to the east of the front line.

The Germans were anticipating attack from the increasing bombardment over the previous weeks and the German Command was relieving with fresh troops just before the attack. The infantry exchange was completed at Messines and troops of the German Fourth Army's 40th Division (Saxons) and 3rd Bavarian Division held the line opposite the New Zealanders.

The Attack

The attack fell in three phases:

• Capture of the trenches on the west slope (Blue and Brown Lines), and of the village with the ring of trenches immediately surrounding it (Yellow line)
• Capture and consolidation of the Black Line;
• Establishment of strong points on the Black Dotted Line and capture of any guns.

Gun captured by New Zealand soldiers at Messines

Some 8,000 New Zealanders took part in the attack. Four battalions each of about 1,000 men were used to attack the Blue and Brown Lines. Another 2,400 men consisting of two reinforced battalions took Messines itself, while two more battalions were used to take the Black Line.

The Division suffered 3,660 casualties in the attack, with 700 killed. Ironically, the success and unexpectedly relatively light New Zealand casualties on the first day led to high casualties from shell-fire on the 8th June when the ANZAC commander, General Godley, refused permission to retire the high concentration of troops.

Overall, the Messines Offensive was successful; the objectives were secured within three hours of the battle commencing, giving the British forces strategic high ground and a significant morale boost. British losses were 17,000 men killed or wounded, while German losses were 25,000 men, including 7,500 prisoners.

Another website adds to the earlier description:

On 7 June 1917, at 3.10am, 19 of the 21 mines exploded in a roar that it was claimed could be heard in London . Simultaneously, the artillery began its fire plan that would provide covering fire for the assaulting infantry and suppress the German artillery. Stan Stanfield described going over the top.

“We started off, 'hopped the bags' we called it, out of the trench into the open and it was just light enough to see. You could see the flash of shell as well as the smoke. You'd just blunder along and hope you don't get shot, and if you came up against something and you get shot at and get close enough, you'd shoot back. That's about all there is to it. … And if you came under heavy fire, you'd immediately take shelter in a shell hole or any bit of broken ground to size up the situation. Groups of you in twos and threes. It was basic, not to bunch …”

Percy Miller evaded the usual military censorship by asking a comrade going on leave in England to post a letter to his family. Instead of the cheery, self-censored tone of his usual letters, this communication provides us with a more detailed narrative of his experiences at Messines.

“When the mines went up we didn't wait for no command, over the top we went. The continual roar, the smoke and the flames from the bursting shells in front, the red & green SOS rockets, was what I first saw. As soon as we first went over a man a yard or two in front of me fell. My turn next I wondered & felt like taking over in a shell hole. The ground was just a mass of shell holes, with broken wire sticking out here and there. Two or 3 more fell, some groaning pitifully. We were up to the barrage now, I were entitled to take shelter in shell holes till it lifted. We were not in any sort of order, no officers leading us like you read about in the books. Officers, NCOs & men were all hopelessly mixed, but that did not matter at all, we all knew our jobs & it was a case of colonial initiative instead of imperial discipline.”

For once, everything seemed to go much as planned for the New Zealand Division. The initial assault on Messines was successful, with battalions of the Rifle Brigade moving through and beyond the village to establish defensive positions for the anticipated counter-attack while companies allocated the role of mopping up defenders completed this. The Australians on the right flank found the going more difficult due to the German gas shells, but were able to achieve their objectives. Jim Blakemore commented in 1988 on the relative ease with which the village of Messines was captured. “Mighty big guns, wheel to wheel, more than 150 Vickers machine guns – the din was something tremendous. I reckon we could have taken Messines with a wet sack … not that much opposition.”

Russell was hamstrung by the Corps' plan which required all the infantry brigades that had seized the ridge to dig in to resist the German counter-attack. It was during one of these counter-attacks that Benjamin Claridge was killed. Russell wanted to withdraw one of his brigades behind the ridge to minimise casualties from German artillery, but was overruled by Plumer and Godley. Miller commented on the consequences of this decision. “ It took us a fortnight to consolidate, & it was a very severe time. Many casualties every day, & at the end of the fortnight our nerves were completely on edge. … Every night we were deluged with gas shells, as well as HE (high explosive) & shrapnel.”

In Russell's view, this decision increased the casualty rate unnecessarily. Russell's comment when writing to James Allen, quoted by Pugsley, shows his frustration at not being able to do what he wanted to protect his men.

“I do sometimes think that a non-professional mind takes a more detached view of operations than those who have given their whole lives to the study of these problems. I suppose one ought to be content with success, but the price that one pays, though cheerfully accepted when necessary, is always a matter of careful thought, and I think we want to study economy. To have to sit down for hour after hour under heavy shelling is a severe tax on the stoutest and must mean an expenditure of nerve power. The longer men are exposed to it, the longer it takes them to recover.”

This comment reveals Russell's ongoing concern for his men's welfare. As he visited the front line in succeeding days, Russell had two close calls, when officers accompanying him were killed and wounded by a shell-burst, and Russell himself was nearly killed by a sniper, with the bullet piercing his steel helmet. Meanwhile, he and his staff analysed the battle to identify mistakes made and to improve procedures for forthcoming battles. The New Zealand Division handed over control of the areas captured on 9 June to the Australians and apart from the New Zealand Field Artillery which remained in support of the Australians, moved back into Divisional Reserve areas.

The New Zealanders' attack on Messines had been an outstanding success. The benefits of Plumer's thorough preparation and sound battle plan had enabled the British to seize an important foothold from which to support a wider attack on the Ypres Salient. Russell's tactical planning and detailed training had paid dividends, and the evolution of New Zealand soldiers from enthusiastic amateurs of 1915 to competent professionals was increasingly evident. Although suffering almost 3000 casualties in this assault, the New Zealand Division had demonstrated why it was coming to be seen as one of the most successful divisions within the British Army. The New Zealand soldiers clearly understood their role in the overall battle plan, and had the men and materiel to accomplish it. From divisional to platoon level, the value of rehearsals, clear instructions and good leadership was evident.

After that a few miles North to Ieper (Ypres) where we managed to thread our way through a maze of narrow one-way streets to find our modern and rather expensive hotel. We settled in and looked at the beautiful Cloth Hall on the nearby main square which was a total ruin when Dad went through there on 3rd June 1916 on his way to their first experience of battle at Armentiers. Inside was the Information office, and we went in to get the feel of the place. Hundreds of WW1 books in many languages for sale - almost the first I picked up was a thin looking volume with a NZ soldier on the cover*. The very first page showed the Troopship Tahiti leaving Wellington in on 8 January 1916 with thousands of soldiers on it - I knew instantly that it was the 9th Reinforcements and that I had probably struck gold. It was in French and English on facing pages and was based on a young shepherd from Hawkes Bay who marched in on the same day as Dad and did the same training. It has given me a great deal of information about conditions and training and the voyage to Egypt.

* Adam Cutforth, A Sovereign in My Pocket - The story of Bombardier Archibald K. Greves MBE, for L'Association France Nouvelle-Zelande, 2005.l

Then it got even better. The soldier was like Dad young and light and that was why they (and also Uncle Vic Wise who married Dad's sister Jean just before he sailed in the same group) became drivers instead of gunners. Shortly after Archie Greves went from driving the gun team horses for the 18 pounder guns to the ammunition column so he would have known Dad for sure and that was how I learned just what a terrible job it was. The descriptions of what they went through were hair raising and I could not stop reading till it was finished.

Later that night we had a nice meal and as we were finishing off a brass band of British policemen marched down the street heading for the Menengate ceremony a hundred yards on, so Edna and I dashed after them. Menengate is enormous and this great arch which covers the street for about 70 metres is covered in thousands of names of Commonwealth troops who have no known graves (but no NZers - our names are on other monuments - more of this later). The Menengate buglers who performed in Hamilton in front of a replica on Anzac day in 2007, performed and also a piper. The West Yorkshire Police also performed and then they and others laid wreaths. The buglers played the Last Post and the police band marched off to the Z Cars theme. An enormously emotional occasion with many of the hundred packed in wearing decorations of relatives.

The 11th of September dawned very bright and we drove about 8 km east to Zonnebeke where we called briefly at the Passchendaele museum, before having coffee in a little bar and driving a few km North to Dochy (pronounced Doo chee) Farm CWGC cemetery. We saw many NZ graves in this "small" cemetery, including one from Waharoa near Hamilton. We filled in the Visitor's book and started a walk through the battlefield where the NZ troops went on the first of the two Passchendaele attacks. This circular walk took us past the NZ memorial at Gravenstafel where they ended the first attack known as the Battle of Broodseinde. It was very emotional to look at the memorial with its fernleaf and and statement "from the uttermost ends of the earth". Then the weather began to fail and we drove through gathering gloom south to Polygon Wood. By the time we found the Buttes New British Cemetery the rain came down and we had to rush for the car and drove home through some of the most blinding rain I have ever seen.

Following Driver Frazer to Flanders and the Somme

My father, John George Hepburn Frazer, having put up his age enlist in July 1915 in Gisborne, rode out of the Waioeka Gorge in late 1915 at the age of barely 20 to join the New Zealand forces. He trained at Tauherenikau Camp, and with the 9th Reinforcements marched over the Rimutakas to depart on January 8th 1916 from Wellington. He arrived in Egypt a few weeks too late to go to Gallipolli where three out of four of his wider family who served there had been killed. He sailed with the New Zealand Division to France in early April and served throughout the entire campaign to the end of the war in 1918.

Having left New Zealand as a member of the Wellington East Coast Rifles he found himself put into the artillery ammunition column. His job was to deliver 18 pounder shells to the gunlines with his mules and GS (General Service) wagon. This was a difficult task as the 18 pounders were forced to locate just behind the trenches, often in full view of the enemy, who endeavored to stop him with shell fire and bombs. When the mud grew too deep the wagons were left at the depot and the mules were laden with eight shells, later reduced to four when the conditions became virtually impossible. This highly dangerous and exhausting task left him in poor health for the rest of his life as a sheep station manager and farmer.

Thirty two years after I found myself, like Dad, simply directed into the artillery and trained for the Korean War, which fortunately reached a stalemate which meant that the CMT gunners were not called upon to serve. My experience with the 25 pounders which were the direct, and greatly improved, descendants of the 18 pounders which Dad supplied with ammunition served greatly to increase my appreciation of the life of a gunner.

This blog is my attempt to follow his diary around the battlefields in an attempt to understand something of the horrors of his life and of the New Zealanders who fought there.