- Mah Jong Set
- World War One Crutches
- 600 Grace Street, Chicago
- Wartime Musical Companion
- Victorious Escape
- Churchill Collection Donated to Army Museum Library
- Supply of Ammunition
- Not Bad For 146 Years Old
- Good Luck Charm
- Peace Beads WWI
Mah Jong Set
Mah Jong set from Featherston POW Camp
This beautifully made Mah Jong set was recently generously donated to the National Army Museum and is a striking example of Prisoner of War Art. It was made by a Japanese Prisoner of War (POW) at Featherston Camp and given to a guard. The set is one of a number in the museum’s collection and is a terrific example of the skill and artistry of the POWs held at Featherston Camp. Featherston was the site of a large military training camp during World War I and then in 1942 became the location for an 800-man Prisoner of War Camp. Prisoners who did camp duties, such as clearing gorse, were usually given free afternoons to pursue hobbies like carving, which is perhaps the origin of this particular set.
World War One Crutches
Herbert Mills served in World War I and was severely wounded and shell shocked. As part of his rehabilitation he was given these crutches. When he returned to New Zealand doctors only gave him six months to live but he instead lived until he was 83 years old.
The donor, who boarded with Mr Herbert for a time, remembers he had shrapnel in his legs which would come to the surface in his old age. He spoke little of his war experiences and did not attend ANZAC Day services until the last few years of his life. Mr Herbert gave the donor the crutches to use when he broke his leg.
600 Grace Street, Chicago
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1992.2635 American marines at Majestic Cabaret Wellington. |
60 years on, Carol Peters still vividly remembers the day she and her family spent with a US Marine during World War II.
Between 1942 and 1944, over 100,000 American soldiers were stationed in New Zealand for varying periods of time, both for ‘rest and relaxation’ from fighting in the Pacific and to reassure New Zealanders they would be protected should the Japanese land on their shores.
These men made a huge impact on New Zealand society. They provided both relief and curiosity for New Zealanders. Their customs and behaviour, their strange accents, excellent manners, and free-spending habits all made them stand out from their more reserved
New Zealand counterparts.
Carol remembers regarding then “as being from another world, the world of Hollywood; film stars, cowboys and Indians and glamour”. Coffee houses and milk bars sprung up and taxi drivers, florists, jewellers and hotel owners all experienced a boom. A lively nightlife developed in Auckland and Wellington and ‘Kiwi’ women were swept off their feet to the tunes of the American ‘big band’ music.
Carol grew up in small town Nelson during World War II with her mother and father who were avid fishermen and spent many a day on the river banks with the family’s dog. During the war only a few American soldiers filtered out from the cities and as far as Nelson whilst on ‘R & R’. One soldier, Mike Reife, a member of the US Marine Corps Military Police, approached the Mayor of Nelson to find out where he could find someone to take him fishing.
Carol, a young girl at the time, remembers her father, a friend of the Mayor’s, being concerned about petrol rationing and hence was delighted when Mike turned up waving extra petrol coupons.
Carol was awestruck by this soldier and in later years penned her experience to paper. She remembers they went fishing on “the first available Saturday, the car loaded with fishing gear, picnic, rugs, dad, mother, Mike, me, and the dog. I think perhaps Mike enjoyed the relaxed family outing. No formality, he was in uniform but was soon behaving like one young man on holiday. Having never spoken to an American I was wide eyed and filled with questions, despite my mother’s interruptions of “leave Mike alone”, and “don’t pester him with questions”".
“When we arrived (at the river) and the anglers were getting kitted out with waders, rods and nets, Mike made my day. He took off an identity bracelet he was wearing and handed it to me with the instruction to wear it and look after it for him. Look after it! Why I would have guarded it with my life”.
“I must have read the inscription on it dozens of times during that day. ‘Mike Reife, 600 Grace Street, Chicago’”.
Carol remembers Mike calling in the next day with gifts for her father, mother and an enormous box of candy for her.
“The box was brown and white and had a type of nougat in brown and white wrapping, plus other sweets, including something called ‘Babe Ruth’ which was delicious but not a name I knew”.
Carol and her family never hearrd from Mike again. Many US Marines left New Zealand for an assignment to capture Tarawa Island in the Gilbert Islands. this landing turned into carnage as the Japanese opened fire on the US troops as they waded ashore, with more than 900 killed and over 2,000 wounded.
Carol kindly donated, along with this wonderful story, a truncheon which Mike gave to her mother that day to use as a trout ‘donger’ to kill fish. (Pictured above)
Wartime Musical Companion
Contributed by Assistant Curator Chris Rapley
The faithful musical companion of a remarkable New Zealand soldier recently found a new home at the National Army Museum. The Italian-made piano accordion was the treasured possession of Frank Burns and accompanied him to its place of origin when Burns fought in World War II.
He brought the accordion as a young man and quickly became a highly skilled player and won the New Zealand Accordion Championship. Burns also formed a band with some friends and played on 1ZB radio station.
Around the end of 1941, after serving as a territorial, he joined the army permanent force and underwent training at Trentham Camp. On the many train trips between Trentham and his home in Auckland Burns played his accordion almost non-stop, and other soldiers used to pack into his carriage, some lying on the luggage racks, just to hear his tunes.
Eventually Burns headed overseas to train in Maadi Camp, Egypt, and his accordion joined him on his journey, and while in Egypt he joined the New Zealand concert party on a number of occasions to entertain the troops.
When his training was over Burns joined the New Zealand Division in the hard fought Italian Campaign. When there were breaks in the fighting his accordion would come out to entertain the troops, but tragically Burns’ war came to an abrupt end when he was seriously wounded by artillery and had to have his right leg amputated above the knee.
The accordion went missing for a short time during this episode but thankfully it was found in time again for Burns to entertian other wounded soldiers on their ship back home.
However, Burns’ return home did not end his service or his commitment to his fellow soldiers; he became a very active member of the New Zealand War Amputees Association and was the editor of the national magazine War Amp until his untimely death in 1993.
Victorious Escape
On a recent school visit to the National Army Museum, Taupo boy Joshua Brown donated an original postcard dating back to World War II, belonging to his grandfather’s uncle, Lt Col Cliff George and with it a great story.
Lt Col George wrote home to his family whilst held in an Italian Prisoner of War (POW) camp. George served in Greece, Syria and North Africa. He commanded the 25th Battalion in Syria and at El Mreir, where he was taken prisoner when German tanks overran the battalion on the morning of 22 July 1942.
Having come from the heat of North Africa, many of the New Zealand soldiers did not have any warm clothes and suffered the cold winter temperatures in Italy, relying on the arrival of Red Cross parcels containing warm clothes and food. Joshua told us, “he (George) was allowed to play football and cards and did lots of exercise to keep fit.”
In 1944, like 717 other Kiwis during World War II, George along with five others, escaped by cutting a wire fence one night with a tool they had made. They waited until the guards changed from one group to another whilst the camps’ searchlights were still.
Having escaped the soldiers dressed in old clothes to look like local Italian peasants and hid in old buildings and farm houses as they made their way south to Taranto over 600 miles away and to the safety of the British who had landed there.
One night in their 600 mile journey to freedom, they were discovered hiding in a farm hay barn by the farmer’s 15 year old daughter. The girl showed them a secret way out of the village in return for a letter from the soldiers’ saying her family had helped them escape. She felt this would be important should Italy, in fighting for Germany, lost the war and therefore the victorious Allies would look kindly upon them.
Joshua’s grandfather travelled to Italy in 1954 and met this girl, who by now was 25 years old and married. His grandfather told Joshua she was very beautiful and she remembered showing Lt Col George the secret route out of the villlage.
Churchill Collection donated to Army Museum Library
“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, 20 August 1940.
The National Army Museum recently received a donation of the complete works of the iconic World War II leader Sir Winston Churchill. The limited edition Complete Collection Edition of Sir Winston Churchill’s books is one of only 3000 sets printed and was published in 1974.
Churchill was author of more than 50 books, over a 60 year period. He also wrote countless newspaper articles and contributed to many magazines and pamphlets containing the text of his speeches.
The first sets published of the edition were sold for around $2,500 in 1974, while set number 3,000 was recently found on sale at Abe Books for an amazing 25,000 pounds. Published by the Library of Imperial History, London, the editors had to seek permission from 11 different publishing houses who held copyright to various volumes before editing and publishng this collected set of works in a single publication.
The collection contains 34 volumes made up through the editing of Churchill’s 50 published books. It is in excellent condition with each volume hand bound in natural calfskin with 22 carat gold gilt lettering. Each individual book is contained within a dark green hard case, stamped with the Churchill Arms, and printed on special 500 year archival paper with marbled edges.
The collection was purchased by Lt Col Harry Low, MC, DSO, and donated by his son Mr Stuart Low. Low was awarded a Military Cross during World War II whilst serving with 23 Battalion and later a Distinguished Service Order whilst commanding the New Zealand Regiment (which was attached to the Fiji Infantry Regiment) in Malaya.
Supply of Ammunition
A seal machine is not something you would expect to see in an army museum’s collection, but recently the National Army Museum received one with a fascinating history.
The machine has a sprung handle that pushes down a cirular stamp to impress ‘The Colonial Ammunition Company Limited, Common Seal’ – a company that had its origins in the late stages of the 1800s.
In 1885 New Zealand was gripped by a war scare thanks to the rising tensions between Britain and russia over Afghanistan. Defences were built at some New Zzealand ports and – more importantly for our story – authorities became concerned about a shortage of small arms ammunition from Britain.
To remedy the shortage an ammunition company was founded, which by 1889 had evolved into the Colonial Ammunition Company.
The company set about filling the need for ammunition and became New Zealand’s pre-eminent supplier of military small arms ammunition during World War I and World War II.
The company finally closed its Auckland factory in 1982 and later, during a clean up, the seal machine was discovered.
Thankfully a person saw the unique historic value of the machine and donated it to the National Army Museum this important piece of New Zealand’s military and industrial heritage.
Not bad for 146 years old
Early this year a rare firearm dating from the New Zealand Wars was donated to the National Army Museum.
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Calisher and Terry 30 Bore (.539in) Pattern 1860 No 2 Carbine – NZ 803. |
The Calisher and Terry 30 Bore Carbine was donated by Dean Stockwell of Wellington and apart from needing a little bit of a clean was in remarkably original condition.
The carbine was developed in 1860 and first used in New Zealand in 1863, when a total of 286 arrived from the United Kingdom for the Forest Rangers. These carbines were the latest thing in military technology because they were loaded from the breech end at a time when the conventional military rifles of the period were loaded from the muzzle – standing up.
The breech loading Calisher and Terry was originally intended for Cavalary troops as it could be loaded while riding a horse. The Forest Rangers recognised that this meant it could also be loaded while lying down, behind cover. It was an ideal weapon for the close country, close quarter type of actions being fought in the New Zealand bush, and by the end of 1869 there were 1736 Calisher and Terry carbines in service in New Zealand.
The carbine donated by Mr Stockwell is numbered NZ803 and it even has its matching serial numbered cleaning rod.
Good luck charm
This colourful cross pendant was given to 31544 Lance Corporal Edgar Squire of the Canterbury Infantry Battalion by his mother as a good luck charm before he went overseas for World War One.
The swastika is a symbol used in Buddhism and in Hinduism, and became popular in the West 1880′s to 1920′s as a good luck charm/symbol until it was subverted by the Nazi’s.
It is not known if this cross was purchased in England or via a jeweller in New Zealand. It is understood to have been made by Adie & Lovekin Ltd of Birmingham (c1880-1910) circa 1910.
Edgar Squire left New Zealand with the 19th Reinforcements C Company Canterbury Infrantry Battalion 15th November 1916 on board either His Majesty’s NZ Transport (HMNZT) No 68 “Maunganui” or HMNZT No 69 “Tahiti”.
Peace beads WWI
Written by Mrs Joyce Neill 1973
“Peace Will Come Again” – Those are the words symbolised by an old bead necklace. The red, white and blue beads were threaded, in that order onto white tape. Many of these bead gifts were made by an elderly lady (neighbour of Mrs Neill nee Nichols) over fifty five years ago in 1918. She presentede tham to all the young girls she knew. THere are sixty seven ordinary beads making these signs of faith and hope; for they were made, set aside to be worn when the German Army was when the peace bells rang and the bonfires blazed.
