Saluting brave men a privilege

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Opinion

Over the next few years there will be many events across the world marking the centenaries of major events during the First World War. Last week, I had the honour of representing New Zealand at two of these events in England and France.

World War 1 is such a poignant event in our short history and one that many of us can relate to through our grandparents and great-grandparents. Right across the country our younger generations are becoming increasingly interested in our involvement and it is fantastic to see a resurgence in attendance at Anzac services.

Both of my grandfathers fought at the Somme and survived the battle — so services that honour their contribution and those they fought alongside are always special to me. Being able to pay tribute to all the New Zealand soldiers in such significant locations was incredibly moving.

In England, I attended a centenary event and unveiled a church window marking the first patients arriving at the No. 1 New Zealand General Hospital at Brockenhurst in Hampshire. Here, New Zealand medical staff treated over 20,000 war-wounded countrymen arriving from battles on the Western Front.

Descendants of those who nursed troops and of those who were treated in the New Zealand general hospitals attended along with local residents, as we celebrated the continued friendship and strong bonds which tie us together.

For many wounded soldiers, hospital and support staff, St. Nicholas’ Church was a spiritual home during their time there. Ninety-three New Zealand men are buried in the St Nicholas’ Church Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery — five from the East Coast electorate — so being able to pay tribute to these brave men was a privilege I do not take lightly.

At the service, I read an excerpt from the diary of Captain Charlie May who was killed on July 1, 1916, leading his men into action on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. He was 27 years old. Charlie was born in New Zealand to an English family and had been a poet and journalist prior to the war.

Then in France I attended the Battle of the Somme Commemorative Service in Thiepval. This was an international service organised by the French and British governments and took place exactly a hundred years to the day since the battle began. Prince Charles and wife, British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande hosted the event.

This was New Zealand’s first major engagement on the Western Front and took a huge toll on the 15,000 members of the New Zealand Division who were involved. It is estimated that there were 8000 New Zealand casualties at the Somme, including 2000 troops who were killed — about 600 of them on the first day our infantry went “over the top” on September 15, 1916. At the time, it was the greatest loss of life in a single day in New Zealand’s post-1840 military history.

These services really drove home the harsh brutality of war and the sacrifices our servicemen and women made. We must continue to remember and to share their stories.