Battle of Passchendaele Commemoration

Battle of Passchendaele Commemoration

A Commemoration ceremony will be held on Monday 12th October at 11.00am in the WW 1 Hall of Memories at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, to honour those New Zealanders who fought, were killed or wounded in that tragic battle 98 years ago.

Throughout the next three years, up and down this country, services of remembrance, parades and extensive publicity will raise in the consciousness of New Zealanders, the tremendous sacrifice we made during the horrific events of that time.

The Battle of Passchendaele on 12th October 1917 has gone down in history as our 'blackestday' ever, when 846 of our finest men were killed whilst attacking Bellevue Spur, Passchendaele in Flanders, Belgium. The New Zealand attack was severely handicaped by an ineffective pre dawn artillery barrage, and heavy rain, which transformed the pock marked shell hole landscape into the 'Flanders soup', mud so deep that soldiers who fell into it were sucked to a suffocating death. Duck boards were destroyed by our own shell fire andan entrenched enemy mowed our men down with enfilading machine gun fire.

The guest of honour will be Brigadier Jon Broadley MBE, Director General Reserve Forces& Youth Development, NZDF, and floral tributes will be laid by representatives of the Government, Opposition, Auckland Council, Consular Corps, RSAs, Military and the public. Music will be provided by Auckland Choral, and the Royal New Zealand Navy Band. 3/6 Battalion RNZIR will provide the Catafalque Guard, and North Shore Cadet Unit, the Flag and Poppy Orderlies.

The Minister for Veterans' Affairs will present his Award to the Year 13 winner of his Competition “Why Should We Remember Passchendaele?”

The Passchendaele Society invites members of the public to come and pay their respects.

ENDS

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