Alf Simpson interviewed by Philip Liner. 1988-08-01

Philip Liner interviews 91 year old R.A. 'Alf' Simpson of Whitianga. [Several music tracks are interspersed throughout the interview.]
Mr Simpson says he was born on 5 July 1896 in Kuaotunu. His parents came to the area from England after hearing about gold being found on the Coromandel Peninsula.
He talks about early goldmining and farming on the Coromandel Peninsula at the turn of the century, as well as kauri digging in Northland and bush-felling.
He goes on to remember his World War One experiences. When the farmer he was working for volunteered, he decided to as well, even though he was underage at 19. However, his parents already had two sons in the Army and refused to let him go until he was 21.
He recalls how he was shot by a sniper in the trenches in France and remembered nothing until he woke up in a hospital in Boulogne. He had been in the Taranaki Regiment and asked to be sent back into the Hauraki Regiment when he recovered as that was where his school friends were serving.
He recalls things were very bad after Russia capitulated but eventually the United States declared war on Germany which relieved the pressure on the British forces. He was wounded a second time while in the Hauraki Regiment, after being sent down to defend the line opposite Paris. He was sitting on the firing step of the trench when a shell landed nearby and he was wounded in the legs. He was sent to Brockenhurst hospital and was there when the war ended. He returned to farming on his return to New Zealand.
[The interview ends when Mr Simpson receives his Meals on Wheels dinner.]
Mr Simpson was born on 5 July 1896 and he died in August 1988.