Auckland Sea Cadet Warrant Officer Max Lichtenstein with the bay leaves from his aunt’s tree that he will place at the Stone of Remembrance in Caterpillar Valley Cemetery in memory of his great great uncles.

Media release

14 September 2016

Auckland Cadet Honouring Family at Somme

Auckland Sea Cadet Warrant Officer (WO) Max Lichtenstein will pay tribute to two great great uncles who fought on the Western Front 100 years ago during his stay in France with the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) Battle of the Somme centenary contingent.

WO Lichtenstein’s great great uncle James Weir served on the Western Front from 1916-1918. He was wounded by gunshot but survived the war. Robert Weir, of the 2nd New Zealand Entrenching Battalion, was killed in action in 1918 and is buried in Meteren Military Cemetery in Belgium.

“On the march to the Western Front Robert Weir picked a bay leaf and pressed it in his diary. He posted this home to family and my aunt still has it to this day,” WO Liechtenstein said.

“My family and I pressed some bay leaves from my aunt’s tree and I will place them at the Stone of Remembrance in Caterpillar Valley Cemetery in memory of my great great uncles.”

WO Liechtenstein also has other family memorabilia with him, including letters, postcards, photographs and replicas of James Weir’s British War Medal and Victory Medal.

“By participating in this commemoration with the NZDF, I am able to pay my respects to my great great uncles on behalf of my family,” he said.

WO Lichtenstein’s official role in the commemorations is to deliver the New Zealand youth reading at the New Zealand National Commemorative service, which will be attended by His Royal Highness Prince Charles, on 15 September.

The Battle of the Somme was New Zealand’s first big engagement on the Western Front. It took a huge toll on the 15,000 members of the New Zealand Division who were involved. The New Zealand Division sustained 8,000 casualties and 2,111 soldiers were killed in action at the Battle of the Somme from 1 July - 18 November 1916. The New Zealand Memorial to the missing in Caterpillar Valley Cemetery lists 1,204 names.

WW100 is a programme established by the New Zealand Government to mark the World War I centenary through a range of activities from 2014 to 2019, in New Zealand and overseas.

For more information about WW100, visit WW100.govt.nz.

ENDS

A photo of Robert Weir with replicas of the British War Medal and Victory Medal.

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