Epitaphs on New Zealand Soldiers Headstones

Whether you are visiting a Commonwealth War Graves Commission Military Cemetery for the very first time or as a regular visitor, there are a number of things that give you that first visual stimulus…the neat rows of headstones, the trees, the architecture, the planting. Closer inspection reveals the care and attention of the Commission’s forefathers in ensuring that each headstone is special and unique to the soldier it is commemorating: the Regimental badge in pride of place, the soldiers name and military detail, and then on the majority of headstones, that intensely personal and family gift, the Epitaph. Men who fought with the Dominion forces, irrespective of their military role, are commemorated with their national symbol. Many of these have epitaphs too with, for my money, those from Australia often being the most heart-rending. And then, the men of New Zealand, whose headstones don’t bear an Epitaph, the reasons for which have been lost to time, but, so it appears, is largely assumed to be due to the costs involved and the decision of the New Zealand government that families had already paid enough by experiencing the loss of a loved one and no further financial payment was acceptable.

But, the Commission is anything but a stickler for rules – variations in the wording to commemorate Unknown Soldiers graves, the adoption of the broad cross on some Canadian and Australian headstones, British regiments which usually have the Latin cross suddenly appearing with the badge within the broad cross, epitaphs well over the set approved number of characters and, if you know where to look, epitaphs on New Zealand soldiers headstones.

Like many of us, I was presented with this quirk to the rules a few years ago, by someone who had seen it on a thread on a forum. I’m not bringing you ground breaking research here, just a window to the variations on a theme that makes up the collective element of remembrance. I don’t know why these six soldiers have epitaphs, while the rest of their countrymen don’t. The graves are predominately of enlisted men, with only one officer amongst the number. They were all born in parts of Britain, but so were many of their comrades. Five of the six are buried in the same cemetery: one is buried elsewhere. They were all lost in 1918, most in the same series of operations during the German Spring Offensive. It’s just one of the seemingly inexplicable elements that makes visiting the cemeteries such a special experience.

Private Donald McLean

Donald served with the 2^nd Wellington Regiment, and was killed on 29^th March 1918. He was the son of Angus and Annie McLean, of Clashmore, Clashnessie, Lochinver, Sutherlandshire and is buried at Doullens Communal Cemetery No 1. His epitaph reads, ‘I Am The Resurrection And The Life. Inserted By His Sorrowing Parents’.

 

Serjeant Harry Osborne Black

Buried in the same Cemetery, and killed on the same day as Donald (and yes, serving in the same regiment) Serjeant Black was the son of John Henry and Mary Black, of Dundooan, Coleraine, Ireland. His epitaph reads, ‘He died that others might live, ever remembered by his parents and brothers’.

Brigadier General Harry Townsend Fulton CMG, DSO

As the last of only three New Zealanders who were killed holding the rank of Brigadier General, it might be expected that an exception may have been made for a man of such rank, but whilst Harry Fulton was an Army man through and through, (he was born in India as a son to a Lieutenant-General in the Royal Artillery), he never actually lived for any time in England. Perhaps it was his wife, working as a nurse at the New Zealand Hospital in Brockenhurst who managed to get as his epitaph, ‘I Thank My God Upon Every Remembrance Of You’. He too is buried in Doullens Communal Cemetery No 1.

Rifleman Alexander Macrae

Alexander served with the 3^rd New Zealand Rifle Brigade, and died on 5^th May 1918. He is buried in the adjacent cemetery, Doullens Communal Cemetery No 2 (technically a separate cemetery, but you can easily walk between the two) and is also a Scot, from Ross-shire. His epitaph is one that is seen on many headstones, ‘Greater Love Hath No Man Than This, That A Man Lay Down His Life For His Friends’.

Rifleman John Mair

Another Scot and another New Zealand Rifle Brigade man, but from the 4^th Battalion, killed just a week after Alexander, on the 12^th May 1918. John’s parents lived in Mount Vernon, Glasgow and his epitaph reads, ‘Until the Day Breaks and the Shadows Flee Away’. John is also commemorated on the local war memorial in Sandymount Cemetery, close to where his parents lived.

Private Norman Williams

Keeping the Celtic connection, Norman Williams is the last of our six, and is buried in the small Courcelles-au-Bois Communal Cemetery Extension. The records provided by the CWGC show that his parents lived in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, but, given his epitaph, it is my guess that they returned there after living in Bristol, which is presumably where Norman lived before heading to New Zealand. He served with the 2^nd Wellington Regiment and was killed on 6^th April 1918. His epitaph reads, ‘Beloved Son of George & Ruth Williams Bristol, Eng He Died For You And Me’.

Courcelles-au-Bois is an interesting location to visit, as it is one of the few cemeteries that has the red Corsehill or Locharbriggs sandstone to mark the graves. As a separate aside, I am aware of six cemeteries that have this stone as opposed to the more usual Portland or Hopton Wood limestone for grave markers. I wonder if there is a definitive list of these?

I know of colleagues who have also found these graves when spending a bit of time by themselves, as neither of the cemetery locations are on the main ‘tour group’ routes, so if you are in the habit of going off the beaten track when you can, maybe check these locations. Not only that, but seeing something as opposed to reading it or hearing about it allows you to be more specific should you have interest expressed from any fellow travellers in this particular topic.

The Centenary Approaches

Yesterday, I found myself being involved, in a small way, to assist in plans for the forthcoming centenary of The Great War. I couldn’t help but notice that, in line with this, my Twitter feed has been full of opinions and comments on this same subject over the past few days, so I felt it would be an opportunity to make my thoughts known on this.

Whilst I admit a certain bias here, The Great War is something that should be remembered  everyday, as its effects are still with us.  Centenary events are important and I have noticed the debate on what will and will not be commemorated. The Prime Minister has pronounced, the Imperial War Museum is undergoing extensive renovation and interest in the battlefields is increasing. However, picking certain dates, important though they are, and assuming that nothing happened outside of these dates is the trap that I feel many may well fall into.

For me, it’s not just about an individual day or and set piece action. I often tell my guests that whilst the Official History tells us that the Somme battle finished on 20^th November 1916, had you been up on the Transloy Ridges on 21^st November, that fact wouldn’t have necessarily been apparent to you. The point is, for a full aspect of remembrance, you should remember each and every day. There are those that I know who do. One, who will be nameless, told me that it is the defining thought on waking up and the final thought on retiring for the night that these men should always be remembered. I would suggest that is a pretty good mantra. And, as I wandered around London yesterday, there is plenty of evidence about to remind us, if we look closely.        War Memorials to Railway staff at Waterloo Station, above and Euston, below.

So what may be the outcome of what is planned. Many, I know, and I have to say I share this point of view, strongly believe that the key opportunity to further educate the wider British public into the ultimate success of what was achieved will be squandered. We like a good defeat and failure, so the Retreat from Mons, Gallipoli, the Somme, (and read for that, 1^st July 1916 only) and Third Ypres will be given plenty of coverage. The role of the Royal Navy will probably be relegated to a sideshow, the emergence of the RAF will likewise probably be glossed over. The final success of the Hundred Days will scarcely get a mention.

The efforts of the Commonwealth Forces will, I hope, be recalled in the correct way, as an integral part of the BEF on the Western Front, and not some glorious ‘strike force’ that came and sorted out the mess the British had got themselves into. It’s something I try very hard to ensure that my guests take away with them, bearing in mind that over the years the vast majority have been from Australia; I think I have achieved that by the simple expedient of stating the truth and not allowing stereotypes to be confirmed.

We live in a different society now, with different values and a much wider cultural hegemony than the generation who marched off to war in 1914 would believe possible. This has to be reflected in how the Centenary is approached for a new generation, who possibly consider it to be irrelevant to their lives today, especially if they are from a background which has little to identify itself with Edwardian England. That is the job for others, who have a broader and wider remit. Educational organisations do a pretty good job, and the number of school groups that I see on the Western Front each year shows that at least it is being taught in schools, which not a luxury that I had. If only one of each coach group visiting Thiepval or the Last Post at the Menin Gate is ‘converted’ then I would say that is job done.

I’m not advocating that everyone becomes a historian or develops a fuller understanding: it is a colossal topic and no one I know would realistically profess to know everything about it, although I admit there are many who have far greater knowledge and specialist skills than I do.

Will the British public have a better understanding of what the Great War was all about come November 2018? Sadly, I suspect not. That old and discredited phrase, which I dare not even state here, will have been trotted out many times, serious academics will have looked skyward and wondered why they weren’t properly asked and the men who fought on the Western Front and elsewhere, in Gallipoli, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Syria, Italy and across the seas will be seen as relics from a previous era.

As for me, well, I hope I will have had the pleasure of many more guests from wherever in the world to visit the Western Front, at all times, not just in July or November. And, if I have done things correctly, then they too will remember every day, not just for one day.

We will see.