War Museum & Greater Passchendaele Recognition

Auckland War Memorial Museum Supports call for greater recognition for Passchendaele

At the start of a week long programme of events commentating the Battle of Passchendaele, Auckland War Memorial Museum's new Director, Dr Vanda Vitali voiced her support for the Prime Ministers call for greater recognition of courage and commitment of the young men who fought in that terrible war.

Dr Vanda Vitali said that "For a county the size of New Zealand to lose 1300 young men in just one week is a human toll to unbearable to contemplate - but Museums' are the memory keepers, and as such we must contemplate and commemorate.

Our week long programme of events this year is the start of what we anticipate will be an on-going commitment by our museum to commemorate Passchendaele, giving Aucklanders an annual opportunity to remember these brave young men."

Darkest Week Remembered Prime Minister to attend commemorative service for the 90th anniversary of Passchendaele

On two days in October 1917, in the farmlands of Belgium, New Zealand suffered two of its greatest tragedies. On 4 October 490 New Zealand servicemen were killed. Eight days later on 12 October there was an even greater loss. Of 3000 casualties on that day, over 840 young New Zealanders lay dead or dying in the mud and uncut wire in before the village of Passchendaele.

The Auckland War Memorial Museum, RSA and NZ Defence Force invite the city of Auckland to honour those who served in the 1917 Battle of Passchendaele at a commemorative service on Friday October 12th, 2007 at 4pm. The service will be attended by the prime Minister and is part of a programme of events that honour the 90th anniversary of this most tragic battle.

The 2007 service is the first event held at the Auckland Museum to commemorate Passchendaele - a battle that claimed the most lives taken in one single day of warfare in the history of NZ. The service is an opportunity to commemorate our fallen soldiers and to remember their sacrifice, determination and courage in the face of overwhelming odds. The ceremony includes a performance by the massed bands of the Royal Regiment of the New Zealand Artillery, the Royal New Zealand Air Force Base Auckland and the Auckland Police Pipe band. The memorial service will last approximately 45 minutes and will include keynote speakers, the laying of wreaths, the Last Post and a minute's silence (signaled by the firing of a minute gun by the Royal New Zealand Artillery).

The Passchendaele public programme also includes the exhibition of images that capture the days surrounding the battle (as photographed by New Zealand servicemen). This exhibition will be presented in a slideshow format from October 6 - 14. On October 6 and 7 are a series of readings from War Dairies and Poetry written by soldiers from the front line (these will be held on the hour between 11am and 2pm). Finally there will be series of informative talks held from midday on October 13 and 14 concerning the Battle of Passchendaele.

The Passchendaele Commemorative Service will commence at 4pm on the consecrated ground surrounding the Cenotaph on Friday October 12.

PUBLIC PROGRAMME

Pictures from Passchendaele 6 - 14 October Armoury Experience a pictorial record of the days surrounding the Battle of Passchendaele as photographed by New Zealand servicemen. These unique photographs were taken in the field and have been assembled from the Museum collection into a slideshow.

Dramatic readings from War Diaries and Poetry 6 & 7 October 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm Scars on the Heart I Hear the innermost thoughts of soldiers on the front line at Passchendaele.

Informative talks 13 & 14 October Armoury From midday A series of conversational presentations on subjects concerning Passchendaele.

PASSCHENDAELE MAP DISCOVERED

A map of Passchendaele dating from October 1917 has recently come to light amongst the Auckland War Memorial Museum Library's map collection.

The map is a working document of history in the making. It relates to the Battle of Passchendaele, which took place in October and November 1917 with a tragic loss of life.

The map was surveyed by the Royal Engineers of the British Army and shows positions of enemy trenches in the field as well as battery positions, munitions dumps, machine gun posts and dugouts.

What makes the map of historical significance are hand-drawn annotations referring to Canadian troop deployment and the accompanying notes on the reverse of the sheet.

The annotations clearly show where the 3rd & 4th Canadian Divisions were deployed, the unit boundaries, lines of advance and objectives for the final attack.

Lines are drawn indicating the present front (solid line west of the town), the jumping off point for the Canadian divisions (broken line) and the objective (solid line northeast of the town). The progress made by the Canadians in sweeping the German line eastward during the course of the Battle of Passchendaele is clearly visible.

British, ANZAC, Canadian and South African units engaged the German Army for control of the small town of Passchendaele, on the northern end of a 50m high rise of land east of Ypres known as Passchendaele Ridge. This was of strategic importance to the Allies in their attempt to break through the German lines.

Under the command of Canadian General Sir Arthur William Currie, two divisions of the Canadian Corps were moved into the line during mid-October. The 2nd Battle of Passchendaele began with 20,000 men of the 3rd and 4th Canadian Divisions; reinforced with the addition of two British divisions, a second offensive on 30 October resulted in the capture of the town in heavy rains.

Their replacements were the 1st and 2nd Canadian Divisions who carried out the final offensive on 10 November which secured the town and the Ridge for the Allies.

As we commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Battle, this is a fitting tribute to the success of the Canadian troops in securing Passchendaele for the Allies at massive human cost.

ENDS

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