This Day 100 Years Ago

This day 100 years ago was a Tuesday, and our choir founder, Jimmy McNish, was out of his 8 man tent at Tahuna Park at 0430. By 10.30 the infantry men were packed up and, despite departure secrecy, a small crowd watched Private James Hoey McNish of 4th Company Otago Infantry Battalion march down Victoria Road to the Musselburgh Station of the Ocean Beach railway line.

A train was waiting to take the Otago Contingent of 1,100 Infantrymen and others to the two troopships moored at Port Chalmers, while the 600 Mounted Troops rode their horses to Port Chalmers to meet their colleagues, before boarding with the others.

Jimmy had only been in camp for 12 days before departure, but the 32 year old bachelor had previously spent 13 years as a volunteer in the Waikari Riffles. In spite of the best efforts of government and defence to keep the embarkation quiet, word quickly spread, and by the time of sailing in late afternoon a sizeable crowd had formed. Numerous banners and a farewell speech from the Mayor of Port Chalmers would be the last memories the Southern Men would take with them.

Not quite, in addition to army issue clothing and equipment; The Dunedin Women’s Association, operating out of the Otago Early Settlers Hall; had issued every man with a “Comfort Kit”. It contained items such as a chest protector, muffler, housewife*, Balaclava, handkerchiefs, cholera belts, soap, liquorice, knives, forks, spoons, spare braces and socks.

Our Jimmy would not see Dunedin again for 3 years. Sadly, for a significant number of his mates, they would never see the city again.

Jimmy McNish Choir Founder – Part 1

James Hoey McNISH – Founder of the Dunedin RSA Choir:

Little more than two weeks after wading ashore at ANZAC Cove on the Gallipoli Peninsula, two events would change the life forever of 33 year old 8/1128 Private James Hoey McNish of A Company 4th (Otago) Regiment forever.

Some late evening after the heavy gunfire had subsided, he heard singing, and a day or two later, he was wounded. The singing came from the enemy trenches and, in a somewhat ironic twist of fate, the wound and immediate evacuation from the Dardanelles in all likelihood saved his life.

Jimmy, as he was known to his wide circle of family and friends, died in his 87th year on 20th December 1968. He is buried in the Services section of Dunedin's Andersons Bay Cemetery.

The singing Jimmy was attracted to, came from the beautifully harmonised voices of the Turkish enemy not much more than a cricket pitch away. Jimmy, a very accomplished singer in his own right, resolved that if he was ever to survive the absolute hell he had been thrust into, he would form a soldiers' choir back home in Dunedin.

It took five years for the resolution Jimmy made as he lay in his trench to materialise. Through sheer hard work and determination, he must have been overjoyed when the Dunedin Returned Soldiers' Choir (as it was then known), sang in public for the first time on ANZAC Day 1920.

The Oxford Companion to Military History makes this observation: "The role of music as a mood-changer or mood-enhancer is appreciated in all human activities. Music produced by the human voice, has been used to "enhance morale", by fighting men of many different countries, times and cultures."

The Choir is a tangible link to Jimmy's vision as it approaches its centenary.

Written by Huia Ockwell, (A current Choir member) 31 March 2014

Jimmy McNish Choir Founder - Part 2

James Hoey McNish (Jimmy) 1882 -1968,
Founder of the Dunedin RSA Choir.

Researched and compiled by Huia Ockwell, 2014-2015.

Pre enlistment
James Hoey McNish was the first child of John McNish (born Kilmarnock, Scotland, 1842, died Dunedin 1920, aged 78), and Mary (born Glasgow, Scotland 1850, died Dunedin 1913, aged 63)..

James Hoey McNish (Jimmy) was born on 5 January 1882 in Dunedin. He had a brother Ralph born in 1883 and a sister Mary Agnes (Maggie) born in 1887.

The 'Otago Daily Times' (ODT) provides fascinating glimpses of Jimmy prior to his joining the New Zealand Expeditionary Force on 9 September 1914. His summer game was cricket. He turned out for the Opoho 1st Grade team and also played in the Wednesday Twilight Competition for the Post & Telegraph Team. His enthusiasm, however, was hardly matched by runs and wickets, as it is reported that he finished the 1913/14 season with an average of 3.3 runs per innings and took no wickets.

Jimmy played Association Football on the left wing for Mornington A in the 1st Grade competition. His winter sport was met with much brighter comments such as: '... McNish's head work was very good ... McNish played capitally ... a dashing player' etc etc. He also turned out for Dunedin Anglican Harriers.

From newspaper reports it is obvious that Jimmy McNish was a popular entertainer and singer. His name is frequently mentioned in reports of end-of-season sports' club gatherings, Orphans Club, Dunedin Choral Society, smoke concerts, and annual meetings of several clubs and societies.

It was intriguing to find Jimmy playing the role of 'Topnot' the Court Chamberlain, in the Operetta 'Princess Chrysanthemum', performed in the St Kilda Coronation Hall in July 1914.

Prior to enlistment Jimmy was employed as a traveller for Alex & John Watt cabinet makers and furniture manufacturers, of 237 George Street, Dunedin. They also had premises at 341 Princes Street. In 1914 Jimmy was a 32 year old bachelor living with his recently widowed father at 1 Chatham Avenue, Dalmore, Dunedin.

Jimmy and the New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Jimmy was attested and medically examined on 9 September 1914. Men had been pouring into Tahuna Park from all around the south of the South Island. It was reported in the ODT of 14 Aug that '... the number derived from the Otago District was in the vicinity of 2,000 (¼ of the 8,000 NZEF), including 750 mounted men. Preference is being given to Territorials 20 years of age and over, but there is excellent material outside the ranks of the Territorials, and a moments reflection will make it abundantly clear that quite a considerable number of volunteers who are not Territorials will be required'.

The Attestation for the NZEF asked volunteers: 'Have you ever served in any Military or Naval Force ?' Jimmy stated: 'Waikari Rifles, 3 years. Resigned and left district'. A check of the 'Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives' includes the Wakari Rifles as one of the 70 Volunteer Units in Otago and Southland. The Volunteer era ended in 1910 when compulsory Territorial Forces were established throughout New Zealand.

In late August Jimmy's football and cricket clubs arranged farewell functions along with the Dunedin Orphans Club. Unlike the unemployed, or day labourers, he had probably given his employers a month's notice following countrywide recruiting for the NZEF's Main Body which began on 8 August. At the Mornington Football Club farewell he 'sang for his supper' and was presented with farewell gifts of 'military brushes and a wrist watch'. The Orphans Club showed their thanks for his many performances with a 'case of smoking pipes'.

On 16 September 1914 the ODT reported that 8/1128 Pte James Hoey McNish was under training at Tahuna Park. He had been posted to 4 Coy Otago Infantry Battalion. The army issued Jimmy with hat, greatcoat, jacket, trousers, braces, boots, putties and weapons. From its depot based in the Early Settlers Hall, Queens Gardens Dunedin, the Otago Womens Patriotic Association gave Jimmy one of the 1,700 free 'kits' of shirts, underwear, sox, towels, muffler, balaclava and 'Hussif'. These items had been made by the ladies or donated by business houses in Otago and Southland. The 'Hussif' was a wallet containing needles, cotton, darning wool etc.

A fortnight after marching into Tahuna Park Camp, Jimmy and his seven tent-mates packed up and marched to the Musselburgh Railway Station and along with 1,100 non-mounted troops, boarded the train for Port Chalmers. In the late afternoon 22 September, Troopships No.5 and No.9 steamed out of Otago Harbour. They rendezvoused with the Main Body of NZEF in Wellington. On 16 October the sizable convoy including 10 troopships with 8,574 men and 3,818 horses; escorted by two cruisers and two gunboats; made its way out into Cook Strait and the Tasman Sea.

On 29 October, the convoy joined the Australian troopships at the Port of Albany, Western Australia. The entry of Turkey on the side of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire that same day, scuttled plans for the Australasian Troops to fight as part of the British Forces on the Western Front. Our troops would now help to guard the Suez Canal from the Turkish threat. The convoy entered the canal on 30 November and three days later began to disembark at Alexandria, Egypt. The Otago men, as part of the NZEF, established their base at Zeitoun camp outside of Cairo.

Apart from a minor role defending the canal in early February 1915, the five months prior to the Gallipoli landing could be summarised as: heat, training, flies, route-marching, hawkers, sand, beggars, brothels, bars and boredom !

Gallipoli 1915
Jimmy and his Otago Infantry Battalion cobbers embarked for the Dardanelles from Alexandria on 12 April 1915. Mid-afternoon, 25 April, the Otago Infantry were ashore on the Gallipoli peninsula. From Jimmy's Casualty Form B103 we learn that he became a casualty on 3 May: 'gunshot wound to the head (GSW head), received in action at Dardanelles'. Two days later he was admitted to 15 General Hospital in Alexandria.

Sean Brosnahan's analysis ('Otago Settlers News' March 2015, p7) starkly reveals that 97% of the 264 men in Jimmy's 4th Otago Company were killed, wounded or became sick on Gallipoli.

We know that on one of the nine evenings Jimmy spent on the Gallipoli Peninsula he heard Turkish soldiers singing. Then and there he vowed that if he survived the war he would form a soldiers choir back in his home town of Dunedin.

England 1915-1917
On 7 May 1915 Pte James Hoey McNish 4th Coy Otago Infantry Battalion was transferred to the Hospital Ship 'Lalitia' bound for England.

On 11 May the ODT printed: List No.12 Latest Wounded Released by Wellington. It recorded Jimmy's full name, unit and Next of Kin (NOK).

On 20 May 1915 Jimmy was admitted to 1st Southern General Hospital, Edgbaston. On 15 July 1915 he was transferred to the ANZAC Convalescent Depot in Weymouth. On 31 January 1916, after more than six months in Weymouth, he was sent to the New Zealand Convalescent Hospital at Hornchurch and a fortnight later was promoted to corporal.

On 31 May 1916 the ODT reported: 'From London Service News - new admissions under treatment Mt Felix Hospital' - there were 174 named, including Cpl James Hoey McNish.

By 19 July 1916 Jimmy had been posted for duty at the New Zealand No 2 General Hospital, at Walton on Thames.

On 9 September, under 'Association Football News', the ODT reported: 'J McNish who has been in an English hospital for some time is receiving treatment by an eye specialist; is expected home by an early steamer'. The prediction turned out to be 12 months premature.

With the NZEF now on the Western Front, Jimmy would have been available (considering his civilian occupation) for light clerical/storekeeping duties while receiving periodic ophthalmological treatment.

19 September 1916, Jimmy's army documentation records: 'Detailed (i.e. sent) to Command Record Office London'.

On 30 May 1917, while still serving in London, Jimmy was 'Classified unfit for further service - placed on the roll for return to NZ. Gunshot wound and loss of Right eye'. A week later he was given leave, prior to embarking for New Zealand.

Return to New Zealand
On 2 July 1917 Jimmy boarded the 'Arawa' at Plymouth. He arrived in New Zealand on 25 September. NZ Army Form BR84 granted him seven days sick leave and Form EF68 notes: 'Order for Supply of Civilian Clothing to soldier under Notice of Discharge'.

Form BRN010 was prepared for Jimmy on 22 October 1917. It contains Certificates of both Discharge and Character issued by the Commanding Officer New Zealand Military Forces. Jimmy's character is recorded as 'Very Good'. Even before his final discharge the ODT of 10 October 1917 mentioned: `... on the previous evening Brother J McNish sang at the Dunedin Orphans Club'.

In the final documentation two Next-of-Kin are shown as 'John McNish (father) c/o A & T Inglis, George Street, Dunedin and Mrs J H McNish, 12 Kings Road, Leytonstone, Essex, England'.

Formal records of discharge
8/1128 Cpl James Hoey McNish, Otago Infantry Bn.
Service in NZ: 9 September - ­15 October 1914, 37 days; 25 September - 22 October 1917, 28 days.
Foreign Service: 16 October 1914 - 24 September 1917, 2 years, 344 days.
Total service: 3 years, 44 days.
Theatres of Operation: Egyptian 1914/15. Balkan (Gallipoli) 1915.
Medals: 1914-1915 Star. British War Medal. Victory Medal.
Gallipoli Lapel Badge and Gallipoli Medallion, issued 8 May 1967; 19 months before Jimmy's death.

Cpl James Hoey McNish Married in England
From unconfirmed 'Blackman Family Tree Genealogy' by David Blackman (david@dellerfamily.com) I learnt that Lillian Dullam Blackman, daughter of George and Kate, was born at Putney, London in 1888. The 1911 Census, records Lillian as a nurse at Woodford Jubilee Hospital in London. From the England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes, Lillian and Jimmy married at Chertsey, Surrey in 1916.

Granddaughter Judith Lyon told me that Lillian nursed at the New Zealand Military Hospital at Walton on Thames. From historical research I was able to identify this description as being the New Zealand No 2 General Hospital at Walton on Thames, commonly known as Mount Felix. It is reasonable to assume that Lillian met Jimmy during his May to September 1916 posting spent at Mount Felix.

The following extract is taken from the 2014 published book, 'New Zealand and the First World War 1914-1919', written by Damien Fenton, senior historian, in association with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage: p69: 'With so many New Zealand soldiers training, recuperating and stationed in England between 1916 and 1919, it was no surprise that hundreds married local women. Whether recuperating from medical treatment or performing administrative duties, there where opportunities to form real relationships. Some of these women worked in a hospital or other war-related industries, or lived near New Zealand bases. Many men married their 'war-brides' in England and brought them home with them, while others corresponded for a year or more before the women journeyed to New Zealand to get married'. In all, Jimmy spent 25 months in England.

Following Discharge in New Zealand
By January 1918 Jimmy was 'back in harness' with many aspects of welfare and community service. He was appointed on to the Building Committee of the Dunedin Returned Soldiers Association and also joined the Property and Sports Committees.

ANZAC Day 1918 featured a Patriotic Demonstration and the ODT reported: 'One of the vocal items was contributed by Corporal McNish'. Throughout the year he sang at functions organised by the Otago Women's Patriotic Association, Dunedin Orphans Club and the Burns Club.

New Zealand celebrated three armistices - Bulgaria; Turkey and Austria-Hungary; between 29 September and 4 November 1918. News of an armistice with Germany on 8 November proved to be incorrect. News of the genuine German armistice was promulgated on 12 November New Zealand time. The spreading influenza pandemic did however cast a shadow over the flag waving and general air of excitement. Both of my parents were attending Forbury School in South Dunedin. The school was closed for three days: '... the children were entertained and given one sugar bun, two small cakes, and two pieces of cake'.

During the RSA annual meeting in April 1919 Jimmy moved that a band and orchestra be established for the returned men. At this same meeting he was appointed to the Executive. Largely as a result of the flu and almost 7,000 deaths, the official peace celebrations did not take place until mid-winter 1919. On 14 July the ODT reported on the final rehearsal of the Peace Celebrations Choir in the Bridgeman Street Army Drill Hall, with more than 1,000 voices taking part.

Mr W Padget Gale - the first conductor of the Dunedin Soldiers' Choir - in thanking members of the Peace Celebrations Choir for their loyal support, went on to say: '... it would be a pity that such an organisation of singers should be disbanded. I do not see why there should not be developed something along the lines of the Welsh musical festivals'.

In September 1919 the ODT reported on a 'Smoke Concert' for men of the Otago Infantry Regiment, claiming it to being the: `... first gathering of its type in New Zealand'. Doubtless, Jimmy and his small band of enthusiasts used such occasions to actively seek prospective members for a soldiers' choir.

The first year of peace sees Jimmy urging the purchase of land for soldiers housing; being a delegate to the Conference of Otago and Southland RSA's; joining the Peace Celebrations Committee; on the RSA Ball Organising Committee; advocating for a Discount Society and urging better medical help for discharged men. We find him strongly advocating for billiards; debating societies; improved help with getting correct pensions; suggesting tramcar passes for limbless men; pushing for a better deal for farm land allocation for returned men and pleading for the ongoing care of soldiers' graves.

Dunedin Soldiers' Choir is formed
In the midst of a very busy life Jimmy had not forgotten the promise he had made to himself in the brief sojourn on Gallipoli five years earlier. Late in the evening, after the heavy gunfire had subsided, he had been attracted to the beautifully harmonised voices of the Turkish enemy singing not much further than a cricket pitch away. With his love of singing he had resolved that if he was ever to survive the absolute hell he had been thrust into, he would form a soldiers choir back home in Dunedin. Only nine turned up to the inaugural meeting but so great was Jimmy's enthusiasm that they mustered friends from wartime days and by the end of 1919 there were 30 in the new Dunedin Soldiers' Choir. Paget Gale, a well-known church choir conductor, was persuaded to conduct and another prominent musician, Charles Martin, became the first accompanist. The first time the choir sang in public was at the 1920 ANZAC Day service.

A short time later the Choir put on its first concert in Burns Hall. The venue was filled to overflowing with many being turned away. So the Choir repeated its performance the following evening, again to a full house. Newspaper reviews were encouraging and Jimmy could see his dream becoming an important segment in the musical life of Dunedin.

World War II

On 15 August 1940 Jimmy was Attested for a second time. He gave his trade/calling as: 'storeman'. Next of Kin: 'wife'. Address 120 Moray Place Dunedin. He was working for Whitcombe & Tombs and said he had been educated to Std 6. He served from 11 Dec 1941 to 11 September 1942.

Huia Ockwell:
'Northgate Lodge', Chatsford, Mosgiel, Otago.
29 December 2015.

Our Jimmy Enlists. By Huia Ockwell

In 1935 Ormond Burton (using the small history of the New Zealand Division which he had written fifteen years earlier) wrote what has now come to be regarded as one of the quintessential accounts of the New Zealand Division in World War 1 “The Silent Division – New Zealanders at the Front 1914 – 1919”. This classic account begins: “Within a few days of the declaration of war, the young manhood of New Zealand was assembling in the camps of Alexandra Park, Awapuni Racecourse, Addington and Tahuna Parks. From the gum fields and the timber mills, from the sheep runs and the dairy farms and the flax swamps, from mine and office and factory and school, shop hands and lawyers, labourers and university professors, a few crooks and deadbeats and a great crew of decent chaps – they came pouring in.”

New Zealand’s declaration of war was read from the steps of Parliament House on 5th August 1914. As a mood of excitement accompanied by determination swept the country, Prime Minister W.F. Massey moved a motion in the House of Representatives, “….that steps be taken to form an expeditionary force”.

One of the earliest to volunteer for that force was our choir founder, Jimmy McNish. We knew enough of his life before he stuffed his palliasse with straw at Tahuna Park in August 1914 to place Jimmy as a member of Burtons “…great crowd of decent chaps”.

In his masterly “A History of Otago”, Emeritus Professor Erik Olssen wrote: “The Army housed them at Tahuna Park and they proved riotous and rude. When military authorities cancelled leave one Saturday night over 1,000 men rioted.”

By late August news of Jimmy’s enlistment had quickly spread around the Dunedin cultural, social and sporting societies and clubs in which he had played a prominent role. On the 27th the Otago Daily Times reported that the Mornington Association Football Club had put on a farewell function for him. Believe it or not, Jimmy sang at the gathering and “…was presented with military brushes and a wrist watch as a parting gift.” The paper also reported on his farewell by the Dunedin Orphans Club and the Opoho Cricket Club. The Orphans Club presentation was “…a case of pipes”.

N.B. The “Military Brushes” would have been used for boots, brass and hair. Photographs show that pipe smoking was very popular with all ranks during “The Great War” and in the hurly-burly of soldering, a protective case was essential. 

Written 20th June 2014

NZ was not caught napping

For a young country whose population did not reach one million until 1908, the early years of the 20th century saw very considerable activity in defence affairs.

• For a young country whose population did not reach one million until 1908, the early years of the 20th century saw very considerable activity in defence affairs.

• The South African (Boer) War 1899 – 1902 resulted in the New Zealand Government supporting the Mother Country by enlisting and dispatching 6,500 men in 10 Contingents. Not only did this give out country a more highly developed sense of identity, it created a small corps of training officers and NCOs, and completed the push to see Volunteers into Khaki field uniforms

• Following the 1907 Colonial Conference, New Zealand Prime Minister welcomed a "broad plan of military organisation for the British Empire" and representation on the Committee of Imperial Defence.

• In 1909 we not only increased our contribution to the Royal Navy – our ultimate trade and security guarantee – but offered to pay for a new battle cruiser for the Royal Navy as well.

• We established a New Zealand Branch of the British Navy League; passed our own Naval Defence Action 1913 and secured HMS Philomel as a training ship.

• To bring our army into line with Britain and the other Dominions (and placate the National Defence League) by 1911, the "creaking" 50 year old volunteer system had been demolished. It was replaced with an up-to-date Territorial Force (T.F.) based on compulsory part-time training.

• The T.F. units made outstanding progress within a couple of years. Credit must go to British regular officer Major-General Sir Alexander Godley and his team of 300 British and New Zealand officers and soldiers.

• Not only did training, organisation and administration improve beyond recognition: equipment, weapons and uniform were also quickly brought to a high standard.

• The principal component of the Territorial Southern Military District ("The area south of the Waitaki River) were:

  • An Infantry Brigade with four Rifle Regiments based in Dunedin Invercargill, Oamaru and Milton.

  • A Mounted Brigade with three Regiments having head-quarters in Dunedin (Otago Hussars), Invercargill and Balclutha.

  • A Field Artillery Brigade with Batteries in Dunedin and Invercargill.

  • Coast Defence Troops, a Company of Engineers and two Ambulance units.

  • Signals and Ammunition Supply Companies were also created.

The following paragraphs have been extracted from "Armed Forces and Volunteers in Otago and Southland" which I wrote for the "1998 (150th) Cyclopaedia of Otago and Southland."

Outside of Dunedin and Invercargill, some 35 companies and squadrons were established from North Otago to the South Coast. Compared with the Volunteer system standards of training and attendance at parades and camps, improved dramatically and officer standards were appreciably raised with the introduction of selection by examination and interview by District Boards. By August 1914 some 4,000 or more young men from our provinces had experienced Territorial training and many must have been grateful for the experience on entering camp in the early months of WWI. Annual camps were held at scattered locations throughout Otago and Southland. Places such as Mandeville, Merton, Milton, Wyndham experienced gunfire, the noise of galloping horses, the tramp of hob-nail boots and shouts of command.

The following extract comes from the Commanding Officer's (Lieut Col J McAra) report of 4th Regiment (Otago Riffles) for the year ending 31cMay 1912: "The outstanding feature was the training camp held at Waironga (North Taieri) from 15th to 23rd February. Unfortunately, the weather conditions were very adverse, but in spite of this, much good work was done. The route marching, undertaken every afternoon, was greatly appreciated by all ranks, who cheerfully faced the ever increasing length of the march, with the result that on the last day, the Regiment moved in marching order from camp to Dunedin, a distance of over 10 miles, in a style that would have done credit to regular troops."

Col McAra's report for the year ending 31 May 2014 mentions: "On 24 April the Battalion assembled and entrained for Matatae, Central Otago for 9 days training in camp. As the camp comprised the whole troops in the Otago Military District, it was the largest concentration ever seen in this part of the Dominion. Cold frosty nights, delightful warm days, no rain – all ranks enjoyed the open air life in the invigorating climate of Central Otago. Altogether 586 Officers and Men attended camp this year."

Twelve months to the very day from when the Otago Military District Camp assembled, many of these same men were desperately wading ashore at ANZAC Cove on Gallipoli Peninsular. In the van of the Otago Regiment was the 8th (Southland) Company under the command of Major J A MacKenzie. Strath Taieri and its invigorating climate must have seemed worlds away.

WW1 1916

World War I History - 1916
RSA Choir Matinee Concert – Sunday 7 August 2016
Huia Ockwell

1916 on the Home Front: By early 1916 newly built Featherston Army Camp could accommodate 10,000 men in excellent conditions. Its post office became the busiest in New Zealand outside of the four main centres.

The Board of Trade was established to tackle rapidly rising food prices.

A 160,000 signature petition to Parliament demanded hotels close at six o'clock to assist with wartime efficiency.

Conscription under the Military Service Act became law on the 1st of August and the first ballot was held in November.

Wartime profiteering, conscription and what many on the left of politics saw as the fading of a 'fair go for all', offered stimulus to the formation of the Labour Party.

1916 on the Battle Front:

The Great War entered its third year with Britain, France and Germany certain that it would be won, or lost, on the Western Front in France and Belgium. While the Allies were formulating their plans for a combined attack on the Somme, Germany struck first.

On the 21st of February 1916 the French Forts at Verdun were attacked with an artillery bombardment that could be heard 160 kms away. The battle is recognised as one of the most terrible in history. By the end of the year, the adversaries were very nearly in the same position as they had been, 10 months earlier.

In late May the British were urged to bring the Somme offensive forward to take pressure off the decimated French Army. Laura Voight, who attends Otago Girls' High School, is the only Dunedin pupil selected to travel to France next month, to attend the 100th anniversary commemorations of the Battle of the Somme. We are delighted that Laura will be joining us, to speak at our November Concert.

By mid-May the New Zealand Division had been sent to (ahmontyear) Armentieres; a quiet sector; to gain experience of conditions on the Western Front. Throughout the summer they made 11 raids onto German trench lines. It was on one such night-time raid that the 4th Otago Company were ambushed by artillery and machine-gun fire and virtually wiped out. The Germans had been alerted by the desertion of a Wellington Battalion soldier a few days earlier. Many of you will have seen the numerous 'In Memoriam For The Empire's Cause' entries in the Otago Daily Times three weeks ago, the very time when the Otago and Southland Regimental Colour was being paraded in Paris.

The first Otago Mounted Rifles Squadron was the only one of the four provincial mounted units to accompany the Division to the Western Front. They spent much of 1916 in stop-gap infantry roles and their nights repairing, draining and digging trenches. In their eyes, this was not what they had been trained for. Through 1916 the Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury Mounted Units that had remained in Egypt were to play a vital role in banishing Turkish forces from the Sinai Peninsula.

In April 1913 HMS New Zealand; a £3 million battle-cruiser which we gifted to Britain's Royal Navy; steamed around our country. Dunedin sightseers were ferried out to the heads as she was too large for the harbour. Her survival at Jutland on the 31st of May 1916; the only critical sea battle in the Great War; was ascribed to the gifted Maori piupiu worn by her captain during the momentous 170 vessel engagement. Britain's surface fleet confirmed her mastery of the seas.

HMS New Zealand was scrapped in 1922 and we finally paid off the loan we had raised for her construction, in 1944.

Dunedin RSA Choir

August Matinee Concert Dunedin Town Hall. Sunday 6 August 2017.

Historical Commentary by Huia Ockwell.

Many here this afternoon have been appreciating the outstanding 'War Stories' series, written by Ron Palenski and published regularly in the Otago Daily Times. 

Ron headed his 8th of June article 'Otago Boys to the Fore in Messines Assault'. One of those 'Otago Boys' was Trooper - later Sgt - Joseph Patrick Moroney, Otago Mounted Rifles, a 24-year-old from South Otago. 

Joseph's Grandson Peter - sitting on stage in the First Tenors - kindly invited me to view the notable collection of his Grandfather's WWI effects. Pride of place is an extensive diary titled 'J P M's Chronicles'. The chronicles encompass the 44 months Joseph spent overseas with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. They present with meticulous handwriting, distinctive style, and superb use of language.

I am quoting a selection from Chapter 18 titled: 'Messines The Model Battle'. 3am 7 June 1917; only two hours sleep; Zero Hour is at hand.

We have been allotted the position of honour; for our 'Silent Division' is to form the spearhead of the attack; our objective being the Ridge and town of Messines. 

Our front of 1500 yards is covered by the record concentration of 1500 guns, one per yard. In addition to this, the Messines Ridge is mined by one million pounds of explosive. 

The minutes, the very seconds, drag. Time moves very slowly. Oh, so slowly. But what is this? Why does the morning seem so different from yesterday or the day before? Now I know. All guns have ceased firing and the huge 'Machine' is ready to deliver its first great smashing blow. The waiting gunners (Joseph had been seconded from the Otago Mounted Rifles to the Royal New Zealand Artillery), stand rigid and silent like sculptured figures against the dim background. 

I can see right through my gun pit and across the small field between the Battery and 'Red Lodge'. Except for the warlike weapon in the foreground, the scene is a peaceful one, and in the subdued light of early morning its sylvan beauty is enchanting. The wood crested hill, the row of poplars, the red roof of the 'Lodge' dimly visible through the trees, the little triangle of dew soaked grass make an impressive picture. n the pale grey light the tiny field with its blanket of silver dew is like a fairy's playground. 

Strange thoughts these at such a moment when the savage storm is about to shatter the silence and a million shrieking demons will be loosed upon the fairy field. 3: 10: Zero Hour, and the exploding of the mines. We hear nothing, see nothing, but the earth heaves and shakes and quivers in agony. The shock moves the gun, a breathless moment while the sights are finally adjusted, the crashing salvo of the massed artillery, and the infantry are over the top. By Sam they have occupied Messines, the first Belgian town retaken since the beginning of the war.  Over 7000 (German) prisoners passed our battery during the day. 

Six weeks later; on the very morning he was to commence 10 days leave in Britain; Joseph was seriously wounded and would spend the remainder of The Great War in Britain. Firstly, New Zealand General and Convalescent Hospitals, followed by Non-Commissioned Officer at the New Zealand Army Pay Office, Bloomsbury Square, London, in charge of a staff of 25 women clerks. 

Joseph Patrick Moroney died aged 79 and is buried in Blueskin Cemetery Waitati, with his wife Ann Sarah Catherine who pre-deceased him.