Spectrum 571. Witnesses to war

Rights Information
Year
1987
Reference
1509
Media type
Audio
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Rights Information
Year
1987
Reference
1509
Media type
Audio
Categories
Documentary radio programs
Nonfiction radio programs
Radio programs
Sound recordings
Duration
00:29:33
Credits
RNZ Collection
Perkins, Jack (b.1940), Compiler
Anderson, Tommy
Ryan, Ena, 1908-2005
Lee, George
SIMPSON, Bill

A programme marks ANZAC Day with memories of the Boer War, WWI and WWII from soldiers and civilians.

Boer War veteran, Tommy Anderson sings the first verse of the signature tune, “Goodbye Dolly Grey”. He says he signed up in 1901 at age 17, one of 6,000 New Zealanders looking for adventure and a steady job.

Prime Minister Dick Seddon had already offered New Zealand troops up for service when the South African war began in October 1899. After 27 years of peace following the end of the New Zealand wars he gauged public support well.

Anderson was amongst the first of ten contingents of mounted troops and 8,000 horses that took the journey to South Africa. The long sea journey was broken with a three day stop in Sydney, Australia and Anderson shares his negative response to the city.

He describes their food rations, avoiding snipers from the guerilla units of Boer Farmers, the long periods and conditions of horse riding and their rough feed. The Boer war ended with enemy surrender in 1902 largely due to enemy starvation.

Ena Ryan describes the frenzy of patriotic activity that accompanied the outbreak of the Great War in 1914. There was no doubt in the public mind she explains, that the war would only last a few months and that Britain would win. The only concern was if New Zealanders could get there in time.

ANZAC Day commemorates Australian and New Zealand contingents that fought in WWI. Australian, Private Bostock tells how he was in the first boat to arrive at Gallipoli, on April 25th 1915 and describes the “Baptism by fire” they experienced as they clambered to shore and took down an enemy machine gun post.

An unidentified female medic tells of soldiers that arrived on board the hospital ship, Guildford Castle following the sinking of the battleship the Gladiator and a solder watching his brother being shot down in no man’s land. With an increasing death toll on the western front, of whom many were just boys, the struggle was brought to an end in early 1916 with an evacuation of Gallipoli.

George Lee describes his first experience of leaving the trenches and being under machine gun fire at 18 years of age. Although he returned to the trenches safely, he was terribly shaken and tells how Jack Saunders, the trench cook for the day, offered him support.

Grace, her sister and husband, Albert Everett lived through the blitz from the London Borough of Islington. Grace says they were constantly being bombed, moving regularly to live in different houses, living with only the basics and using community street or garden shelters.

Before he joined the forces overseas, Albert was a postie. He describes how he would have to take shelter with nearest household until the bombing ceased and resumed work.

Wing Commander Bill Simpson describes flying over Germany on a typical night raid with buildings on fire, conical search lights in the sky, flares and aircraft collisions – both real and fake. Johnny Johnson, a Christian Relief Worker remembers how she felt driving through the civilian population of Hamburg which had been heavily bombed.

An unidentified female remembers reading the newspaper headlines, ‘Bomb Lands on Hiroshima’ and knew that would be the end of it. She believes no one felt bad about the bombing, at the time it just meant the prisoners of war in the hands of the Japanese had a chance of survival. She notes the changes in the returned servicemen and ends with a quote from Kipling.

[This programme is a compilation of recordings existing elsewhere in the Sound Archives collection].