- The Story of William’s £1 Note
- The ANZAC Biscuit
- Known Unto God
- Plate Propaganda
- The Tiki Times
- Booth’s Sash
- German Surrender
- Tankards of War
- Wartime Propaganda
- Care of the Collection
- Malone and the Kiwi Lemon Squeezer Hat
- My Favourite Thing
- A Reluctant Hero
The Story of William’s £1 Note
By Collection Technician, Tessa Smallwood
The ANZAC Biscuit
“Biscuits! Army Biscuits! Consider the hardness of them. Remember the cracking of your dental plate, the breaking of this tooth, the splintering of that.” From Army Biscuits by Ormond Burton.
Although it’s a myth that ANZAC biscuits were sent and eaten by troops in Gallipoli, some evidence suggests a rolled oats biscuit was sent to troops on the Western Front, although this was not widespread.
Known Unto God
When it comes to portraying the grief and loss of war there are few objects that have as much impact as the Unknown Warrior’s headstone.
For some 90 years the headstone stood as a marker over the remains of an unnamed New Zealand soldier in a French cemetery, until that soldier was selected as the nation’s Unknown Warrior.
The Unknown Warrior, an unidentified soldier who died in World War I, symbolises every New Zealand serviceman and woman who have lost their lives during war.
Plate Propaganda
by Chris Rapley
Italian decorative plate from World War II
When people think of propaganda normally visions of posters and leaflets come to mind, but sometimes even tableware can be used to carry a political message.
In 2007 a beautiful decorative plate souvenired by a New Zealand soldier during World War II’s Italian campaign was generously donated to the museum.
The plate depicts a roman scene of two women donating jewellery to some seated officals, and on the back there is an Italian inscription that translates as; ‘The Roman women go without their ornaments and pleasures in their devotion to religion and love for their country’.
The Tiki Times
The Tiki Times
In the National Army Museum’s Prisoner of War display there is a very special wooden wall that has been signed by many kiwis who experienced part of their war behind the wire.
Amongst the signatures is Bdr H W McCowan who spent time in camps in Libya, Italy, Germany and, finally, Poland. He finished World War II as a prisoner in Stalag E535 at Milwitz, Upper Silesia, before he was liberated by the Russians.
In this camp around 500 New Zealanders were forced to work in a coalmine that was only about 45kms from the Auschwitz concentration camp and McCowan remembered seeing the Germans marching prisoners dressed in striped pyjammas through the snow outside their camp in early January 1945.
During his time at Stalag E535 McCowan helped produce a secret, uncensored camp newspaper called the ‘Tiki Times’. McCowan was one of several columnists for the paper, which was produced under the noses of the German guards. The Tiki Times was written on 12 foolscap pages, with page 1 always identifiable by a green and red painted tiki and mere.
Booth’s Sash
This remarkable red woven sash was worn by Lieutenant Colonel H.G.P. Booth of the 43rd (Monmouthshire) Light Infantry, known as the “Wolfe’s Own”.
Lt Col Booth commanded the 43rd Regiment and led part of the ‘storming party’ during the attack on Gate Pa, 29 April 1864.
Leading a group of men, Booth smashed through the top rail of the palisade fence and jumped over the trench, sword in hand. At this point, a number of Maori left their trenches and encountered Booth and others in heavy hand-to-hand fighting.
German Surrender
The National Army Museum has a special World War II badge belonging to Warwick Harrison which helps to tell his story as a New Zealand soldier during the war.
Harrison; by a stroke of fate on 2 May 1945, was part of an initial party who were the first allies to arrive at Trieste. As such he helped to secure the surrender of the Germans in Italy.
As the Partisans and Yugoslavs advanced, the Germans surrended to the New Zealanders, and Harrison was part of a team who raised a white flag in the Square as the Germans looked on. He was also involved in much of the initial talk between the two sides.
Tankards of War
Contributed by Tess Smallwood
In the refurbished VE Day display are two charmingly manufactured brass tankards depicting character-scenes from World War II. They are classic in shape; slightly tapered toward the rim, with large, angular and somewhat masculine handles. One has a gilt finish, the other’s has worn down through time and use to reveal the warm tones of the metal beneath. Both are engraved in the same signature style. In casual passing they may appear to you as just two more of so many museum objects that the National Army Museum are thankful custodians of; But look a little closer and for a little longer and you will begin to detect something more of the sentiment that they embody. All our objects have a story to tell of the places that they have been and the things that they have seen; I would like to tell you something of their’s.
The engraved designs on our tankards are aesthetic and expressive. They illustrate a synopsis of the War with spirited figures, images and events that led to the successes which we celebrate annually on VE Day. They show nothing of the horror or gloom but rather they attest to the resoluteness of our brave and adventureous ancestors who nobly fought against oppression. On the Italy tankard we see an Allied soldier make a courageous leap from Tunisia to Sicily, whilst one works his way up the boot of Italy to a group of surrendering Nazis in Genoa; The Kiwi Onward tankard has an iconic gondola to illustrate Venice and the Colosseum for Rome.
Wartime propaganda
Contributed by Adam Moriarty, Assistant Curator Heraldry
Amongst the many exciting items held in the stores of the National Army Museum there is a small medallion that represents the powerful effect that propaganda art can play on the mind set of a population at war: the Lusitania Medallion.
In May of 1915, on a clear Friday morning, 1959 civilian passengers and crew of the ocean liner Lusitania were nearing Ireland after a long passage from New York. Little did they know that U-20 (a German submarine) was patrolling the area and, believing them to be transporting military munitions, had marked them as a threat. At 2.10 that afternoon the Lusitania was struck by a torpedo. A mere 18 minutes later she was resting on the ocean floor along with 1,198 souls.
Later that year a German political satire artist depicted the event on a propaganda medallion for the amusement of the German public. The artist portrayed the tragedy as a gross oversight of the British Government for allowing a civilian liner to transport military contra-band in an advertised militarised zone. German officials in the USA had warned the passengers of the risk.
Care of the Collection
Have you ever wondered what happens to all the treasures that are not on display at the museum?
The National Army Museum has a vast collection of national treasures and it is the staff’s job to ensure these treasures are looked after for the benefit of future generations.
Marie Rapley is the museum’s Collections Technician and she plays a vital role in ensuring the museum’s artefacts are well cared for and housed in the best possible conditions.
The National Army Museum’s collection of national treasures is divided into six areas, including heraldry, textiles, weapons, technology (including vehicles), social history, and accoutrements. Each of these areas has an Assistant Curator responsible for the items in that collection. Marie’s job is to work on specific projects across all the collections. Over the last few years she has re-housed over 2000 artefacts, including everything from compasses to bear skin hats, and cutlery to sweetheart badges. Currently she is working with the museum’s collection of embroidered souvenirs.
Malone and the kiwi lemon squeezer hat
World War One
The iconic kiwi ‘lemon squeezer’ hat was introduced by one of New Zealand’s outstanding soldiers of the Gallipoli Campaign, William George Malone. Originally for his Taranaki Rifles Regiment, the hat was designed to mirror the outline of Mount Taranaki and also to allow ‘run off’ in the rain. The hat went on to be adopted first by Malone’s Wellington Regiment and later by the rest of the New Zealand Infantry Division on 1st January 1916.
At the outbreak of war in 1914 Malone was appointed to command the Wellington Infantry Battalion, and at 56 proved to be both a forceful and efficient commander. Once at Gallipoli, he immediately began to impose order and although he pushed his men hard, he also fought his superiors to provide building materials and basic comforts to his men.
My Favourite Thing
Written by Chris Rapley, Assistant Curator Accoutrements & Social History
Sometimes a terrible twist of fate can transform an ordinary object into something extraordinary. I have the privileged position of caring for the National Army Museum’s Accoutrement and Social History Collection, a fantastic collection that numbers into many thousands of objects. Amongst the pieces there are a number of objects that portray the violence of war and even some whose owners met a violent death.
Nestled in a box in my store, securely cared for in a foam carved mount, is a bugle that is unremarkable in its design and construction. It is a standard military pattern – there are a few others on a shelf nearby. What makes this bugle special are the bullet holes which have torn its metal, simultaneously ruining it for further use and rendering it a truly remarkable object.
A Reluctant Hero
“I just did what I was trained to do. It’s what mates do for each other”
Corporal Willy Apiata, VC
On 2 July 2007, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Helen Clark announced that Queen Elizabeth II had conferred New Zealand Gallantry Awards on four members of the New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS) Group. One of those men was Corporal Bill (Willy) Henry Apiata and he was awarded the Victoria Cross for New Zealand.
Corporal Apiata’s citation reads:
Lance Corporal (now Corporal) Apiata was, in 2004, part of the New Zealand Special Air Services (NZSAS) Troop on patrol in Afghanistan, which laid up in defensive formation for the night.
