Ask to use material, get more information or tell us about an item
This recording contains an interview with Charles Upham, V.C. and Bar. [Originally recorded for the series "This is New Zealand".]
He is interviewed by an unidentified female broadcaster, who introduces the interview by noting that Upham is New Zealand's most highly decorated soldier. Before the war, he worked as a farm valuer, and when he came home in 1945 he returned to working on the land. He lives in Parnassus with his wife and three daughters.
Charles Upham talks about his combat experiences in World War Two, as an infantry soldier. He discusses the shooting of enemy paratroopers in Crete, as they landed. He says they were easy to shoot in the air, but more difficult once they landed. He notes the general high quality of New Zealand soldiers, which he says is down to the good standard of education in New Zealand. In 1939 the pioneer spirit still prevailed, with most young men still being able to camp out, fire a rifle, and improvise.
He says many New Zealand professional men succeeded in leadership roles within the army because they were astute thinkers - he refers to Generals Inglis, Kippenberger, and Barrowclough in particular.
He says when he was with C Company many of the men were West Coast bushmen, and while a bit harder to control, they were more adaptable, good at looking after themselves, and knowledgeable about explosives - again closer to the pioneer type. However, he feels this spirit will die out within a generation. He believes the NZEF was the best division in the Allied army.
Upham then discusses his time as a prisoner of war and his attempts at escape. He also speaks about his imprisonment at Colditz. After liberation, they found the German files on each prisoner and he read his own with much glee - it identified him as a "confirmed hater of the German race".
On his return home, he says he found New Zealand small, suburban, and second-rate. He says many returned servicemen felt this. He comments on the importance of ANZAC Day, and the Upham Fund which was founded to pay for deceased servicemen's sons to study at the University of Canterbury.
He says New Zealanders tend to be self-centred and a bit smug, owing to the fact that so few can travel out of the country while they are young.
He ends by saying he always had aspirations of being a civil engineer.