Whanganui City College student Arapeta Latus drew people's minds back to the Battle of the Somme at yesterday's Anzac Day Maori Service.
He was the guest speaker for the morning service outside the War Memorial Centre and about 500 people listened as he described his own family's military history, before speaking about those lost in 1916.
He talked about July 1 that year, when 20,000 soldiers of the British Army were killed during an attack.
Allied shells were dropped on the German defences positions for seven days, after which the allied soldiers left their trenches and walked into no-man's land "shoulder to shoulder", thinking the shells had annihilated the enemy.
"It was never going to be that simple," Arapeta said.