Not everything is obviously ‘military’ in our collection – sometimes you have to look a little closer to see the connection, like with this tug of war trophy.

It’s August 1917… at the same time as the Third Battle of Ypres (also known as the Battle of Passchendaele) rages on, a tug of war competition was being held in Bournemouth, England.

 

World War I saw troops stationed all over the world, some away from the front lines for many different reasons, such as rehabilitation from injury, ongoing training, or troops temporarily stationed for rest and resupply before being sent elsewhere to fight. To us, it seems like the world paused for four whole years, but in reality some every day activities continued, albeit looking a little different. As well as the obvious physical health benefits, sports played a big part in keeping up the morale of the troops. New Zealanders were able to demonstrate their sporting prowess in various fields including rugby, rowing and athletics – even tug of war! 

 

This sterling silver tug of war trophy was competed for at the 4th Battalion Hants (Hampshire) Regiment Athletic Sports in Bournemouth on 11 August 1917, and won by the New Zealand Command Depot Maori Team. It is engraved with the names of the team:

 

SERGT H. C. POPE. CAPT.

L/CPL T. S. SMITH

PVTE. J. THOMPSON

 

PVTE M. TUARU

” J. SCIASCIA

” P. WAATA

 

PVTE W. WAINOHU

”  W. KOUKA

” J. COOPER

 

Congratulations to the New Zealand Command Depot Maori Team! Do you have any family stories of the team or the competition? We’d love to hear from you!