Search results
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Seeing the Sights in Paris
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A party of young women show a group of smartly dressed British, Australian, American and New Zealand soldiers the sights of Paris. Insignia on the women’s clothing suggests they are from the Red Cross. In this excerpt, the group walk along a concourse toward the Eiffel Tower. A pan around the party of sightseers shows a smiling, cheerful group. Later on, the group is in front of the Hôtel de Ville, before all climbing into a truck.
When the Armistice was signed in November 1918, there were 56,000 New Zealanders overseas or at sea. Demobilisation was a carefully planned manoeuvre with most troops and nurses returning home during 1919 – though the last New Zealanders did not return home until 1921. Troops were anxious to leave and so, to counter rising tension as soldiers waited to hear when they could go home, activities such as the Inter-Allied Games and sightseeing parties were designed to keep the men occupied.
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Presenting Flags
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A large crowd of hospital staff and interested public gather outside the Town Hall in Lymington in Hampshire, England on 5 March 1919 to watch the principal matron present the New Zealand flag to the Mayor.
After the flag presentation the scene shifts to the graveyard at nearby St Nicholas’s Church, Brockenhurst – where 93 New Zealanders who died in the The No. 1 New Zealand General Hospital are buried. The No. 1 New Zealand General Hospital at Brockenhurst opened in June 1916 after being moved there from Abasseyeh in Egypt. By 1919, when it closed, 21,000 patients had been treated in the hospital.
The final scenes show Lieutenant-Colonel Percival Fenwick and his staff walking among the graves as the camera pans across the graves and the church.
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Goodbye to Blighty
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The evocative title for Pathé Gazette No. 535 says it all – Liverpool Good-bye to ‘Blighty’ – (New Zealand Soldiers Leave England with their Wives).
This short, 23-second clip, shows a passenger ship lined with New Zealand soldiers and their wives, waving goodbye. Quay-side friends and family members wave farewell – among those on shore are several New Zealanders identifiable in their lemon squeezer hats.
For New Zealand servicemen who had married ‘war brides’ – predominantly women from Britain and Europe – where possible the Defence Department arranged for the passage of both wives and children so that they could go to their new home on the demobilisation ships with their Kiwi husbands.
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Three cheers for the Prince!
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A camera positioned opposite Australia House on The Strand in London, captures Australian troops on parade for Anzac Day, 1919. The vast number of Australian troops is some indication of the scale of Australia's contribution to the war effort.
The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) stands on the raised platform, taking the salute. With him are Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig to the right and HRH Prince Albert (later King George VI) further back, next to Lieutenant General Sir William R Birdwood (left). Also featured on the stand are Billy Hughes (Prime Minister of Australia); Andrew Fisher (Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom); Sir Thomas McKenzie (New Zealand High Commissioner to the United Kingdom); Sir Joseph Cook and Senator Pearce (the Australian Minister for Defence).
The parade ends with Australian and New Zealand troops and British citizens pushing forward and mobbing the Prince of Wales with three cheers!
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Military Olympics
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This film shows the opening march-past of athletes in the Inter-Allied Games held on the outskirts of Paris from 22 June to 6 July 1919. Watch for the cameramen on the left of the frame.
Competitive events were put on in 22 sports, with 1,500 men from 19 countries competing. Look out for the New Zealanders with their distinctive silver fern – and team coach Sergeant EJ Benjamin carries the New Zealand flag.
With a team of 300 competitors, the United States dominated and placed first in 19 of the 22 events. The French, Australians and Canadians all entered sizeable teams. New Zealand contributed five athletes in track and field and an eight, four and single sculler in the rowing. One athlete represented for Guatemala.
New Zealand did well, coming third in the overall rankings in the track and field (United States 92 points, France 12 points, New Zealand 6 points, Australia 5 points). The New Zealand rowing team also did exceptionally well with Darcy Hadfield winning the international single sculls and the fours and eights both gaining third place.
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Te Hokinga Mai Te Hokowhitu-a-Tū
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Look at the smiling soldiers, jam-packed along the ship’s rail, the Māori Pioneer Battalion is home at last.
After a 36-day journey from Liverpool, the SS Westmoreland arrived in Auckland harbour on the evening of Saturday 5 April 1919. It berthed the following morning and 1,033 personnel disembarked to great fanfare – guns fired a salute, all the ships in the harbour sounded their sirens and horns, three bands played patriotic music and dignitaries greeted the men with brief speeches.
Renowned Te Arawa leader Mita Taupopoki can be seen with his distinctive tāniko bonnet towards the end of the film clip. One of the haka being performed is the Ngāpuhi war cry “Ka eke te wīwī, ka eke te wāwā” – complete with the leaping in unison and brandishing of taiaha and tewhatewha fighting staffs.
Following the reception at the wharf the Battalion marched to a pōwhiri at Auckland Domain. Tribes from all over the country gathered to welcome the men home, along with thousands of spectators.
Of the 43,572 servicemen and nurses who returned home in 63 demobilisation sailings, only the Māori Pioneer Battalion returned together, as a complete unit.
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Investing in Australia’s future
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‘Patriotism must not die because the war is over’, exhorts a father to his son in this clip, reminding his family that peace also brings a responsibility to the nation.
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Peace Day Parade
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A Peace Day Parade at Woonona in New South Wales on 19 July 1919, claimed to be the best procession in the state outside of Sydney.
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The Australian Red Cross in action
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Nurses from the Australian Red Cross serve tea and refreshments to returned soldiers, including those injured and in convalescence.
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Civilian clothing for returned soldiers
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Towards the end of the war the Australian Red Cross focused on helping integrate returned service personnel into work and society. This clip shows women at the Red Cross making and sorting clothes for returned soldiers.
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Occupational Therapy
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Returned Australian soldiers in convalescence are shown to be in good spirits as they hand-craft objects from wooden materials.
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The Treaty of Versailles
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The Paris Peace Conference, also known as the Versailles Peace Conference, saw representatives of the victorious Allied powers meeting to set peace terms for the defeated Central powers after the end of the First World War.
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Peace Loan Procession
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At the end of the First World War, Australia was in desperate need of funds. To combat this, federal Parliament announced the first Peace Loan campaign on 30 July 1919.
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The Wizard of the Wire sells peace bonds
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The Australian Government used innovative methods to encourage people to buy peace bonds, to help recover the cost of the war. In this clip, Colleano & Sole Bros Circus zoo animals join the promotional campaign.
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Jellicoe Tours the Empire
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John Jellicoe was appointed commander of the British Grand Fleet the day war broke out with Germany in 1914. This clip shows him embarking on a tour of Dominion countries including India, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
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Invested at Buckingham Palace
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London – 3 May 1919 – crowds gather outside Buckingham Palace in London for an investiture by his Majesty King George V. Among the nurses and soldiers receiving awards and honours is a smartly dressed New Zealand officer in his lemon squeezer hat.
On the dais are Queen Mary and members of the royal household. In front stand Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig and his Generals – Plumer and Sir William Birdwood. Winston Churchill, then Secretary of State for War, stands proudly in morning suit and top hat.
After the ceremony, the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) Depot Band march past, followed by the New Zealand Parade Commander. Behind them are the New Zealand Field Artillery – note the infantry with their rifles and bayonets. Next, the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) march past. Mounted officers of the AIF and the Australian Light Horse trot by, and the crowd cheers and waves, then the AIF band march past – they are marching easy – and are followed by the Australian infantry.
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The Ruins of Cambrai
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French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau and Field Marshal Douglas Haig of the British Army inspect the ruins of the French city of Cambrai in this clip from the Australasian Gazette newsreel.
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Clemenceau’s dark days
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Georges Clemenceau, Prime Minister of France, inspecting French troops during the ‘dark days’ of war in 1918, the year before the assassination attempt. It’s interesting to see among the troops, soldiers from France’s colonies in Africa.
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Peace Loan - Watch for the Aeroplane
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In addition to the loss of life, wars cost money. Government campaigns encouraged Australians to support the war effort by purchasing war bonds which would be repaid with interest. After the war ended these became ‘Peace Loans’ to recover the cost of the war, including assisting returned service personnel to settle back into civilian life.
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An ANZAC visit to Versailles
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Produced in 1918 – 1919 the film The Land We Live In was a two-hour long extravaganza. Sadly only 21 minutes of the original film survive. Aimed at an education market, the film focused on the main centres and principal towns in Aoteroa New Zealand, promoting scenic views and industry in each province.
Curiously, sandwiched between images of scenic wonder and industry is this sequence showing New Zealand soldiers sightseeing at the Palace of Versailles, near Paris, in 1919, during the negotiations for the Treaty of Versailles.
The images were most likely taken by New Zealander Charlie Barton. At that time Barton was New Zealand’s only native-born official war cameraman – unfortunately this is one of the few of his films that survive.
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The Blue Boys
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The impact of wounds, gas, disease and post-traumatic stress or shellshock, meant many returned war veterans would spend a long time in hospital for years after the war – sometimes well into the 1920s.
In the era before antibiotics, people could spend many months recovering from injuries and illness. Dedicated veterans’ hospitals were set up throughout Australia and New Zealand during the war.
In a 1957 radio interview, two New Zealanders, Frank Broad and Alan Kernohan – who were in the King George V Hospital in Rotorua – remembered the restrictions placed on the recovering soldiers.
Throughout the British Empire, men who were able to get out of bed, were known as “Blue Boys” because of their “hospital blues” – a uniform worn by the convalescing soldiers. This marked them out and was supposed to prevent the invalids sneaking off to local hotels for a drink, as civilians were prohibited from supplying alcohol to the men in blue… but there were ways around this, as the men recall.
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No Beer for Soldiers after 6pm
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Returning New Zealand soldiers found changes had been made to their homeland while they were away fighting. As a war measure, the early closing of hotels had been introduced in 1917, with all pubs forced to close at 6pm.
In a radio documentary recorded in 1977, entitled A Land Fit for Heroes, several men recalled the effect of these measures on New Zealand society and the anger they inspired in returning soldiers.
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Entertaining the troops, “The Kiwis” concert party
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The campaigns of the Western Front saw men serving in frontline combat positions in the trenches usually for a few days to a week at a time. In between, units were rotated back to ‘reserve’ positions several kilometres away from the Front, where boredom was yet another enemy to contend with.
In an attempt to keep the troops entertained, concert parties were formed by the men, with names such as “The Pierrots”, “The Tuis” and “The Kiwis.”
Bill McKeon, who served in the Wellington Infantry and had been in a concert party himself, had fond memories of “The Kiwis” and the high-quality shows they put on at Nieppe, near Armentieres in 1917, which he recalled in a radio interview with Neville Webber.
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The nimble “Scout Experimental”
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Legendary New Zealand fighter pilot Keith “Grid” Caldwell, engaged in more fights, for his time in the air, than any other pilot in WW I. He also commanded one of the most successful fighter units, No 74 ‘Tiger’ Squadron. In this interview excerpt he describes the capabilities of the British fighter biplane, the “Scout Experimental” or formally, Royal Aircraft Factory S.E. 5.
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I’m Going Back Again to Yarrawonga
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"I’ll linger longer in Yarrawonga"
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Anzac football in London
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During their war service, Australian troops organised Australian Rules football matches across Europe. The highest profile matches were played in the United Kingdom but one-off matches were also played in other countries, including Belgium and France in 1919.
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Ask Your Tailor for Anzac Tweed
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The factory weaving Anzac Tweed was on the brink of closure when it was taken over by the Returned Soldiers and Sailors Imperial League. It then employed only returned servicemen and their families.
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Learning to farm
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After surviving the bloody battles on the Western Front and elsewhere, able-bodied returning soldiers were offered opportunities to become farmers.
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Anzac Hospitals at Home
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Returned servicemen engage in handicrafts, music-making and a degree of flirting with nurses while convalescing in an Anzac hospital.
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Short films, audiences and nitrate fires
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Harry Kennedy was a long-time picture theatre manager in Timaru. In this interview, recorded on his retirement after decades working in showbiz, he recalls the types of films shown to cinema-goers, the enthusiastic applause and appreciation of the audience to films shown to them, as well as one of the hazards of film at the time: a nitrate fire in the biobox (projection booth).
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Projectionists, orchestras & silent films
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Harry Kennedy was a long-time picture theatre manager in Timaru. In this interview, recorded on his retirement after decades working in showbiz, he recalls some of the challenges projectionists faced as well as the sounds that accompanied “silent films”. Sound effects were supplied by staff watching the action on screen, and orchestras, made up of “tip top” musicians”, played music to bring the movies to life.
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Early newsreels: A 1915 Pathé Animated Gazette
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People went to cinemas during the war to be entertained, but moving-pictures also played an important role in providing cinema-goers with news and information from abroad. Early newsreels, or topical films, were an important part of the typical cinema programme of the time.
This film is an example of a full-length Pathé Animated Gazette newsreel that was shown during the war. It demonstrates the contents of these types of films and how they mixed serious topics with more light-hearted footage: scenes of the Algerian Native Cavalry in Flanders, a brief glimpse of King George V and Queen Mary making their way through packed London Streets to a service at St Paul’s Cathedral, the opening of a New Zealand military hospital, and Zouaves (Algerian French Infantry).
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Australia Day at Burra
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This newsreel shows the then prosperous and bustling mining town of Burra, or the collection of townships known as ‘The Burra’, celebrating Australia Day on July the 30th, predating the now national celebration held on 26 January. At that time there was no nationally recognised national day, instead they usually were based around each state’s date of significance for the founding of the colony.
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In the Bull Ring at Sling Camp
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Sling Camp on the Salisbury Plains of England was home to four or five thousand New Zealand soldiers at any one time, from 1916 until after the end of the war. It was staffed by New Zealand officers, with the exception of physical instructors whose job it was to get the ‘colonials’ into fighting shape. These men were veteran sergeant-majors of the regular British Army and their territory was the training ground known as ‘The Bull Ring.’ In a 1964 radio interview, Jack Archibald of Nelson recalled the grim conditions he faced there in the harsh winter of 1917.
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Surgeon-General Charles Ryan, ANZAC Cove, 1915
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Surgeon-General Charles S. Ryan is shown in a casual pose outside the aide-de-camp’s dugout at Anzac Cove, May 1915.
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The walking wounded return home
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New Zealand soldiers board a ship. It may be a hospital ship returning them to New Zealand, as some of the men are visibly wounded, using crutches and walking sticks. A civilian woman can be seen in the opening frames, indicating that this scene may have been shot in England.
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Who was to blame for the sinking of the Marquette?
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Thirty-two New Zealand medical staff, including ten nurses, were killed when the troop transport ship SS Marquette was sunk by a torpedo from a German U-boat on 23 October 1915. The Marquette was en route from Alexandria to Salonika, carrying troops of the British 29th Division Ammunition Column, Royal Field Artillery, along with their equipment and animals. The medical personnel, equipment and stores of the New Zealand No. 1 Stationary Hospital were also on board. Questions were later asked about why a hospital unit was travelling with an ammunition column, which made the ship a legitimate military target.
In this 1965 recording two survivors, Herbert Hyde and Alexander Prentice of the New Zealand Medical Corps, recall the shipwreck and their impressions of why the disaster happened.
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No bayonet needed / E hara te pēneti i mau
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Captain Pirimi Tahiwi of Te Hokowhitu a Tū, the Māori Battalion, describes how he and Captain Roger Dansey led a charge on Sari Bair, Gallipoli in 1915. Te Rauparaha’s famous war cry “Ka Mate, Ka Mate” rang out as they cleared the Turkish trenches. Tahiwi says there was no need to use the bayonet as the Turkish troops fled for their lives.He was wounded in the neck and evacuated to England to convalesce. After an outstanding military career he attended the 50th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings as the sole surviving officer to serve in Te Hokowhitu a Tū, the Māori Pioneer Battalion. Tahiwi laid a mere pounamu, a symbol of both peace and war, on the memorial at Chunuk Bair.
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"War is lunacy": The burial armistice
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On 24 May 1915, both sides on Gallipoli agreed to a temporary armistice (ceasefire) to bury the dead, who were literally piling up between the trenches. This event was perhaps not as friendly as the famous Christmas Truce of 1914 in France, but nevertheless the men were thankful for a chance to bury the decomposing bodies. Here, three New Zealand veterans of Gallipoli, Walter Cobb, Mr Fraser and Mr Davidson, recall their experience of the armistice. Their accounts differ in their reporting of fraternisation (making friends) with the enemy Turks. This may be due to their different ranks (Cobb was a sergeant) or to the attitudes of their commanders.
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Heroes of Gallipoli
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Heroes of Gallipoli contains the only known filmed scenes of the Allied involvement in the Gallipoli Campaign. It is an edited version of an earlier film, With the Dardanelles Expedition. This is amateur film, shot under the most trying conditions, yet it provides unique footage of Gallipoli and some of the most vivid frontline images of the First World War.
Heroes of Gallipoli was deliberately edited to tell a story of Australian military achievement. However, the film footage also tells a story of British and New Zealand action that the intertitles never mention.
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Bright blades flickering into straw-filled sacks
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As part of their full 16-week training course, recruits were given four weeks of training in drill, artillery and bayonet use at Featherston Military Training Camp, in the countryside north of Wellington. This film shows Lewis gun instruction, and fixed bayonet training with straw-filled dummies. A history of the Trentham Camp recorded how: “The bright blades flickered into the straw-filled sacks, out again and in again. At each point the men made hoarse guttural noises, like football war-cries, and when the enemy was presumed to be dealt with they charged on for a line of trenches. The instructor had overtaken them... But he scarcely could be heard for the yelling of his men, mingled with the war-cries of other squads.”
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'Soldier sentry of the foam'
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After taking part in major naval battles at Heliogland Bight, Dogger Bank and Jutland, the gifted battler cruiser HMS New Zealand returned to New Zealand after the war. This song was written in honour of her triumphant 1919 tour by Margaret Sinclair (lyrics) and Bert Rache (music).