Kiwi soldiers in First World War focus of historian's new book

A University of Waikato researcher is collaborating with this year's Distinguished Alumni Award recipient and military historian Dr Chris Pugsley on a book looking at the experiences of New Zealand soldiers in France during World War I.

World War I Veterans

"The Great Adventure Ends: New Zealand and France During World War I", edited by Dr Nathalie Philippe, Dr Chris Pugsley, John Crawford and Dr Matthias Strohn, is a collection of contributions from specialists and the descendants of WWI veterans from New Zealand, the UK, France and Germany.

"This is the forgotten part of World War I, yet more New Zealanders died on the Western Front than in Gallipoli," says Dr Philippe who has a long-standing interest in the topic.

Life of a Soldier

She says for many Kiwi soldiers, the 1914-18 war was their first taste of the world outside New Zealand, and it came as something of a shock. “The soldiers who were posted to northern France encountered a different culture, a different language, and a very different life – it was war after all.”

Most arrived with people they already knew, from the same town or region, and Dr Philippe says that was an important support.

Historians, Artist and Descendants

The 21 contributors to the book include military and social historians, an art historian, an artist and a New Zealand literature expert, as well as four descendants of Kiwi soldiers who fought in France.

“It’s quite a mix, but we wanted to include a personal aspect to the book as that’s what’s usually missing in history books,” says Dr Philippe, who selected the contributions along with Dr Pugsley and Dr Matthias Strohn, both of Sandhurst Military Academy in the UK, and John Crawford, NZ Defence Forces historian.

Le Quesnoy, France

The collaboration began in 2008 at a colloquium organised by Dr Philippe in the French town of Le Quesnoy, where Dr Pugsley was the keynote speaker. Le Quesnoy was liberated on 4 November 1918 and the colloquium commemorated the event as well as the special relationship between Le Quesnoy and New Zealand.

The book is due to be published next year in New Zealand and in France, ahead of the World War I centenary in 2014. 

Distinguished Alumni Award

A University of Waikato graduate, Dr Pugsley is back in New Zealand to receive the University’s Distinguished Alumni Award this week, and will give a free public lecture on New Zealand military history on Thursday 18 August at the Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts, starting at 6pm.