Armistice Day 90th Anniversary
11 November 1918-2008
On the eleventh hour
Of the eleventh day
Of the eleventh month
The guns fell silent
This year is the 90th anniversary of Armistice Day, the end of the First World
War on 11 November 1918. Lest we forget, here are some recommended books and
resources in remembrance of those who lost their lives.
About the First World War
The chain of events that led to the
First World War
began on 28 June 1914, with the assassination of heir to the Austro-Hungarian
throne Archduke Franz Ferdinand by
Gavrilo Princip a Bosnian-Serb citizen of Austria-Hungary. Unable to settle things peaceably,
this act led to declarations of
war
. The war grew to become a global power struggle between the 'Entente Powers'
the nations of the United Kingdom, France, Russia and their dependencies and the
'Central Powers', Germany, Austria-Hungary and their associates.
This war was notable for the horrific number of casualties in the
battlefields, an estimated 18 million lives were lost and millions more were wounded.
The battles took place mainly in the muddy fields of Belgium and France, known
as the
Western Front, but also in Turkey and Palestine. The New Zealand and Australia soldiers were
known as
ANZACs. New Zealand sent 103,000 soldiers
overseas, of which 2227 were
Maori and 458 Pacific Islanders. The
number of New Zealand casualties
were far greater than any other country who fought for England, an estimated
18,500 men were killed, 20,000 wounded.
November 11 1918,
Armistice Day
, marked the end of the First World War. The many that came home were wounded or
suffered from shell-shock, known today as "Post - traumatic stress
disorder'. The First World War had a
lasting
impact
on this generation, and generations to come. This year we commemorate the 90th
anniversary of Armistice Day.
Rare WWI books available online
A number of rare and historical books about New Zealand's role in World War
One can now be read in their entirety on the Internet at the
New Zealand Electronic Text Centre.
These First World War volumes are highly regarded and considered to be the
accepted sources about New Zealand's efforts in the Great War.
Titles available include:
Coming Home - 90th Anniversary of the World War One
Armistice
The return of soldiers to New Zealand is being commemorated in a series of
events, talks, movie showings, exhibitions and recitals throughout the country
from October 2008 to March 2009.
Click on the links for information on events about
Armistice or
WWI.
Recommended Reads
For many years, the
First World War was presented as a glorified event for the countries who
'won'. It was labelled 'The Great War' and the 'War to end all wars'. However,
the First World War did not end all wars. The aftermath of war led not to
conciliation but bitterness among the nations who 'lost', proving but a prelude
to the
Second World War, where an estimated 40-70 million people were killed. The
First World War was an unspeakable tale of tragic horror for those who actually
served in the war. It took many years before soldiers who survived the war could
openly recount and publish books detailing the terrible
experiences they had.
Many soldiers wrote
diaries and
letters detailing their experiences of fighting during the war. New Zealand
books include 'Dear
Lizzie, A Kiwi soldier writes from the
battlefields of World War One'
, 'Letters from the battlefield: New Zealand soldiers write home',
'Mud Beneath
my Boots' a poignant memoir of the effects of war on a young New Zealander
and 'In
Flanders Fields'.
These letters and diaries contain first hand eyewitness accounts of life and
death in the battlefields of
Passchendaele,
the
Somme
and
Gallipoli.
War was never a glamorous subject to photograph. 'The First World War in
photographs',
'The Face of War'
and other
pictorial works
are available to view in books displayed in the
Waitakere Central Library
Reference Department.
The First World War's legacy on the landscape include vast graves in cemeteries
and memorial sites.
'New Zealand
Battlefields and Memorials of the Western Front'
gives the locations of many of these sites around the world. 'Defiant
Gardens, Making Gardens in Wartime
brings together accounts of gardens created in battlefield trenches.
The First World War also left a literary legacy of great poetry behind, with
many soldiers turning to verse to lament the tragedy and horror they
experienced. Well known poets in English include
Wilfred Owen
,
Siegfried Sassoon,
and John McCrae, who penned the famous and often recited poem 'In
Flanders Fields'. Many of these poems are collected in selected
anthologies, 'The Pity of War'
bring together some of the best.
In
fiction one of the most famous anti-war novels ever written was "All Quiet on the
Western Front'
by Erich Maria Remarque. Czech writer Jaroslev Hasek wrote 'The
Good Soldier Sjvek'
a comic novel based on his war-time experiences of being a reluctant soldier. Sebastian Faulks'
Birdsong
became a bestseller amongst the popular genre of historical fiction published
about the war.
Some young men were pacifists and became conscientious objectors to the war,
refusing to fight. Their stories were told in 'We
will not cease' and 'We
will not fight, the untold story of First World War conscientious objectors'.
Lastly, the way the First World War is remembered by later generations is
examined in Geoff Dyer's thought provoking 'The missing of
the Somme'.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Letters from the battlefield :
New Zealand soldiers write
home, 1914-18
edited by Glyn Harper. |
In Flanders fields : the World War
One diary of private Monty Ingram
by Monty Ingram. |
The First World War in Photographs
by Richard Holmes |
The Face of War - New Zealand's Great War
Photography by Sandy Callister |
 |
 |
 |
Remembered : the history of the
Commonwealth War Graves
Commission by Julie Summers |
Defiant gardens : making
gardens in wartime
by Kenneth I. Helphand |
In Flanders fields : the story
of the poem by John McCrae
and Linda Granfield |
Books for children
 |
 |
 |
Poppy Day
by Rosemary Moore |
The frightful First World War
by Terry Deary |
The bantam and the soldier by Jennifer Beck |
To find stories that tell what it was like to live during the
war
To find
true stories about World War One.
To see a list of recommended
books
War Memorials
 |
| Red poppies traditionally symbolise those who fought and gave their lives |
New Lynn's War Memorial Library sits behind
on Memorial Drive, and the main wall is decorated with poppies. The poppy flower
symbolises the many people and animals who gave their lives. Red poppies
traditionally symbolise those who fought and gave their lives. White poppies
symbolise the countless civilians who were killed during the war through no
fault of their own. Today, poppies grow wild in the sites of former battlefields
in Belgium and France.
Find your local war
memorials
Visit Waikumete Cemetery to pay your respects to the soldiers who fought in the war.
Cenotaph Database
The Cenotaph Database is a biographical database of New Zealanders in the armed
forces who died in the twentieth century. Anyone can contribute their family
records to the Cenotaph database.
The National War Memorial
Visit the National War Memorial in Wellington. The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior
contains the remains of a New Zealand soldier who died on the Western Front
during World War I, but whose body could not be identified. He was re-interred
in his new Tomb on Armistice Day, 11 November 2004. He is a symbol of
remembrance for all the New Zealanders who never made the journey home
Finding more on this topicBooks about the First World War are shelved at 940.4 To find books with New
Zealand content look for the letters NZ on the spine. Or
search the library catalogue with the subject World War 1914 1918
Find articles and multi-media using our
e-resources
Choose from
- Australia New Zealand Reference Centre
- History Resource Centre
- World Book Online
- Encyclopaedia Britannica
Search using keywords 'armistice day', 'world war one' 'WWI' 'Passchendaele'
'Somme' 'Gallipoli' 'ANZAC'
Visit the J.T. Diamond Reading Room at
Waitakere Central Library for the Armistice Day Slideshow titled:
Waitakere
Remembers : World War 1 through photographs and oral history.
Ask a Reference Librarian or email
allreferencelibraries@waitakere.govt.nz
Recommended Websites
RSA: Returned and Services Association
The history of Armistice Day and the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services
Association
New Zealand History Online
Discover a wealth of information about New Zealand's part in the war.
Auckland War Memorial Museum
View the galleries, exhibitions and ANZAC photographs or add your family records
to the Cenotaph database
First World War
A site dedicated to everything about the First World War, with posters,
photographs, timeline, diaries and poetry
World War One Battlefields
Information about the battlefields which includes photographs from yesterday and
today
Imperial War Museum
The Imperial War Museum in London has a special online exhibition commemorating
the 90th Anniversary of Armistice Day
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission was established by Royal Charter in 1917
and pays tribute to the 1,700,000 men and women of the Commonwealth nations who
died in the two world wars
The Peace Movement
The history of peace movements, including those that emerged after World War One
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is the oldest
women's peace organisation in the world. It was founded in April 1915, in the
Hague, the Netherlands, by some 1300 women from Europe and North America, from
countries at war against each other and neutral ones, to protest the killing and
destruction of the war then raging in Europe
Different thinkers in Christchurch and Canterbury
Information about some New Zealand peaceniks and the Christchurch City
Libraries' Peace Library Collection
Prime Ministers of New Zealand: Peter Fraser
Prime Minister Peter Fraser's role in the anti war movement
Quotations
Some famous quotes on the subject of war
"Older men declare war. But it's the youth who must fight and die!"
Herbert Hoover |
"You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake."
Jeannette Rankin |
"As soon as war is looked upon as wicked, it will always have its fascination.
When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be popular."
Oscar Wilde |
"An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind."
Mahatma Gandhi |
"Of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want
to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to
his farm in one piece? Naturally, the common people don't want war: neither in
Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But
after all it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it is
always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a
fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship . . . Voice
or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders.
That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and
denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to
danger."
Hermann Goering (at the Nuremberg Trials) |
"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them."
Fourth stanza of 'For the Fallen' by Laurence Binyon |
Genealogy ResourcesThere are many resources that will help you to search for your family's war
information in the Research Department at
Waitakere Central Library.
Some
suggested titles are:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Army - Tracing your family
history |
Royal Air Force - Tracing your
family history |
Royal Navy - Tracing your family
history |
Army records : a guide for family
historians by William Spencer. |
Medals : the researcher's guide
by William Spencer |
 |
 |
 |
 |
New Zealand Medal to colonials :
in the New Zealand Wars,
1845-1872 by Richard Stowers. |
New Zealand Army distinguishing
patches, 1911-1991
by Malcolm Thomas and Cliff Lord.
|
Identifying your world war one
soldier from badges and
photographs by Iain Swinnerton |
New Zealand World War I service personnel
& reserves index
|
The complete New Zealand Distinguished Conduct Medal
Discharged in New Zealand : soldiers of the Imperial Foot Regiments who took
their discharge in New Zealand 1840-1870
A guide to Maori sources at National Archives
New Zealand reinforcement badges 1914-1918
Niue Islanders in World War I
Soldiers discharged in New Zealand : 65th (2nd Yorkshire North Riding) Regiment
For more information about genealogy research
at Waitakere Libraries.
Remembrance Events at Waitakere Library & Information Services
"Armistice Day 1918 - 2008: Waitakere remembers World War I through photographs
& oral history".
A slideshow and display will be on view in the J T Diamond Reading Room on Level
2 of the Waitakere Central Library
for
the month of November.
View/download the slideshow below.
Note: You will need to have
 Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 installed on your computer
in order to view the presentations or alternatively you can download the free
Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer.
Apple Mac OS X 10.4 or later can download the free
ThinkFree Viewer.
Armistice Day Slideshow - Part 1
(Size 9.8M)
Armistice Day Slideshow - Part 2
(Size 8.0M)
Displays commemorating Armistice Day will be held in all of the
library
branches.
|
