The Penny brothers of Blenheim

 A real photographic postcard portrait of Private Walter Blaymires Penny taken at Oakley’s Studio in Blenheim before his departure for war service. He never returned to Blenheim; he was killed in action on 4 October 1917.

The Marlborough Express reported on the loss of one of its sons:
“Another son of Mr E.H. Penny has made the supreme sacrifice. This is Private Walter Blaymires Penny, his second son, news of whose death in action on October 4 was received by his parents last evening. The deceased soldier, who was only 21 years of age, was born in Blenheim, and educated at the Borough School and the Marlborough High School. He then joined the local branch of the National Bank, and was a member of the staff up to the time of his enlistment in the 11th Reinforcements. He was recently in hospital in England, and his parents were not aware that he had gone back to France. It is just over two years since Mr Penny’s eldest son, Private ‘Sam’ Penny, who was one of the first Blenheim boys to enlist on the outbreak of war, laid down his life on Gallipoli. General sympathy will be extended to Mr and Mrs Penny in their second bereavement.”

Walter's brother Private Samuel Murray Penny, killed at action at Chunuk Bair, 7 August 1915.

Source: Auckland Weekly News, 10 June 1915.

Schulz brothers of Makowhai

“Trentham. 1916.” This postcard does not have a postmark or postage stamp affixed. 

Note the racecourse in the centre of the picture. 

The postcard is addressed to ‘Tib’ and was sent by Lance Corporal August Albert Schulz of H Company, 4th Platoon, 16th Reinforcement, Trentham:

“Dear Tib, 
I thought that I would just send you a card to let you know that I am still knocking round the world. I have been a fortnight in camp but haven’t got hardened to it yet as the boots are like iron clads & they make my feet sore but I will get used to it in time. I haven’t been out of camp yet but I might go out this week. I might go out to Petone to see if I can find Mrs Herdman but I will write to her first. We get plenty of stew but it must be good stuff as all the boys get fat on it. Do you know what time Hugh Andrews is coming in? Gerald told me that Kate is getting married next month. 
Au Revoir with kind regards, Aug.”

August, a farmer by trade, did not survive the war. While posted to the 2nd Battalion 3rd NZ Rifle Brigade he was killed in action on 2 May 1917 in Belgium at 31 years of age. Sadly, the Schulz family had lost another son earlier in the war. August’s elder brother Herbert Alfred Schulz of the Wellington Infantry Regiment, Main Body, was killed in action on the slopes of Gallipoli on 29 April 1915.

Lance Corporal August Albert Schulz (killed in action 2 May 1917)

Auckland Weekly News, 14 June 1917.

Rifleman Herbert Alfred Schulz (killed in action 29 April 1915)

Auckland Weekly News, 1 July 1915.

Gallipoli Heights

An artist’s impression of Turkish troops at Gallipoli firing on the Anzacs. 

A German postcard printed and published in 1915. 

The rugged and inhospitable terrain of the heights above Anzac Cove, and the effect it had on ‘boxing-in’ opposing armies is cleverly caught in this scene. Many soldiers were caught by shellfire and snipers, others were captured and became prisoners of war. On 29 September 1915 the Ashburton Guardian advised readers on what to do to try and obtain information about missing individual soldiers:
 “The Postmaster-General states that persons having friends or relatives reported to be missing may write a postcard to a missing soldier and send it to the deputy chief postal censor at Wellington, who will forward it to the proper quarter for delivery. The postcard should be addressed to the soldier by his rank, number, name and regiment, the words ‘Believed to be prisoner of war in Turkey,’ being added. The card should be fully signed by the sender. No postage stamps are required to be affixed. Written matter should be strictly confined to social and domestic affairs. Any reference to the war or to politics or the state of the country will result in the destruction of the card.”

NZ Hospital Ship Maheno

“N.Z.H.S. Maheno.” Photograph taken by Lancashire-born Ughtred Hitchon, of Auckland, NZ. Hitchon was a district officer of the Auckland St John Ambulance Association.  He came to New Zealand on the ship Ionic in 1904 and was a member of the National Reserve section of the St John Ambulance Brigade during the war. On his passing in July 1945, his estate was valued at about £20,000 and he had made generous bequests to a number of charitable institutions including the St John Ambulance Association, a Salvation Army house for children under five known as the “Nest” in Hamilton, and Manurewa children’s homes.

The Maheno entered war service in 1915 as a hospital ship and was skippered by Captain Donald McLean on five charters from July 1915 to April 1919. Her busy war service resulted in the evacuation of thousands of patients from Gallipoli, Egypt, and France with casualties transported to hospitals in England and New Zealand. The Maheno had a long and successful career that spanned some 30 years. Her seaworthy days came to an abrupt end when she was wrecked on Fraser Island off the Queensland coast in Australia on 8 July 1935.

Horses at War

Through the ages, the horse was ever present in and about the battlefield. Whether serving the artillery hauling guns, as a pack-horse carrying supplies, as a companion to the regular trooper, or as a charger and faithful friend to the officer, the horse was considered reliable and essential in war.

"Pals!" by British artist C.T. Howard. Postcard printed and published by J. Salmon, Sevenoaks, England.

Many distinguished generals of the past had a famous charger; Alexander the Great's 'Bucephalas', the Duke of Wellington's 'Copenhagen', Napoleon's white stallion 'Marengo', Lord Cardigan's 'Ronald', General Robert E. Lee's 'Traveller', Colonel Miles Keogh's 'Comanche', Lord Kitchener's 'Democrat', Lieutenant General Sir Harry Chauval's 'Aristocrat', the German Crown Prince's 'Jiu-Jitsu' and the list goes on.

But the heroic deeds performed by the war horse were not limited to the charger. The artillery was reliant on the horse to transport guns and often in the firing line, and the army service corps to carry much needed supplies. 

New Zealand Artillery on the move transporting their guns. Date and location unknown.

Apart of New Zealand's military formation in the First World War was the New Zealand Mounted Rifles. Their distinguished war service included action at Gallipoli, Sinai, Palestine and the Western Front. Of particular note, was the New Zealand involvement in the attack on Beersheba in 1917, and the Otago Mounted Rifles charge on Messines in June 1917.

Companions - A New Zealand soldier and his horse.

No.2 New Zealand General Hospital, Walton on Thames

The first New Zealand Military Hospital to be established in England during the First World War was a large villa at Mount Felix, Walton on Thames in Surrey. The villa and its service buildings were set on lush green fields with peaceful walkways among flower beds and cedar trees, and with easy access down to the banks of the River Thames.

At the outbreak of war in 1914 the Mount Felix estate was used to accommodate British soldiers through until about June 1915. The estate was then refurbished in preparation for its use by the New Zealand Medical authorities and the hospital was officially opened by the New Zealand High Commissioner Sir Thomas MacKenzie in August 1915.

Source: Auckland Weekly News, 23 September 1915

The hospital's first patients came from the Gallipoli campaign and as the war continued on, an ever increasing number of casualties demanded more treatment and more hospital beds. In August 1916, No.1 New Zealand General Hospital at Brockenhurst opened to help the swelling number of wounded New Zealand servicemen. The hospital at Walton on Thames then became known as No.2 New Zealand General Hospital. By October the latter hospital and huts on its grounds accounted for approximately 1,500 beds. This increased again when the New Zealand Medical Board obtained use of Oatlands Park, a large hotel located only a few kilometres away from the hospital.

 Real photographic postcard of the Square Tower at No.2 N.Z. General Hospital, Walton on Thames c.1917.

Private Leroy Henson of the Canterbury Infantry Regiment, and a farmer from Feilding New Zealand was a patient here in September 1917. He sent the above postcard to his sister Eileen and wrote;

"My Dear Eileen, 

Just a P.C. to let you know that I haven't forgotten you. It is of a part of the hospital where most of the Officers are. The post office is just inside the door. I have been in there a few times. My arm is getting on slowly. This morning the Dr injected some stuff into it and then cut the skin away from the flesh a bit and then put a few stitches in it to draw it together a bit. It was about an inch wide all fleshy so it will look better now when it is healed up. He put in about four stitches and I might tell you it was no caper at all. I have seen a good lot of Louis (Rifleman Louis Mathews) lately but he is going on a fortnight's leave today and then he expects to be going back to N.Z. I get up and go about a bit now. We have been going about together and enjoying ourselves. I must close now and send one to Dulcie (Leroy's younger sister) with much love to yourself and all at home.

Your loving Bro., Leroy xx."

Despite his wounds Leroy Henson survived the war and returned to New Zealand where he found happiness with Olga Irene Harris whom he married in July 1919.

When the war ended in November 1918, No.2 N.Z. General Hospital continued to provide medical care for its patients through until its closure in March 1920. The hospital and Oatlands Park had treated approximately 27,000 patients. 

Sadly the villa no longer remains. It suffered considerable damage from fire in 1966 and had to be demolished. The tower is one of only a few of the N.Z. Walton on Thames hospital structures still standing today.

Our First ANZAC Day 25 April 1916

This postcard was produced by Whangarei-based Frederick George Radcliffe ('F.G.R.') and features images of crossed flags, a photograph of His Majesty the King, photographs of New Zealand scenes and two New Zealand soldiers.

The significance of this postcard is that it was produced as a souvenir to mark the first anniversary (25th April 1916) of the ANZAC landing at a cove north of Gaba Tepe on the Aegean coast. Of course it is this cove that we now know as 'ANZAC cove'. Its dominating high cliffs and difficult terrain made it advantageous to the defending Turkish army who claimed many Australian and New Zealand lives on 25 April 1915, the first day of the ANZAC invasion on the Gallipoli peninsular.

His Majesty King George sent the following message to the people of New Zealand on the first anniversary of the Gallipoli landing;

"Tell my people of New Zealand that to-day I am joining with them in their solemn tribute to the memory of their heroes who died in Gallipoli. They gave their lives for a supreme cause in gallant comradeship with the rest of my sailors and soldiers who fought and died with them. Their valour and fortitude have shed fresh lustre on the British arms. May those who mourn their loss find comfort in the conviction that they did not die in vain, but that their sacrifice has drawn our peoples more closely together, and added strength and glory to the Empire."

On the back of this postcard is an assortment of handwritten names and notes recorded by a New Zealand soldier far from home. I especially dedicate this posting to those named;

11130, Rifleman Ormonde Henry Butler Stoney, of Silverdale, N.Z.
11134, Rifleman John George Tremaine, N.Z. Rifle Brigade, of Whangarei, N.Z.
28590, Sergeant Eric John Lord, 3rd Auckland Infantry Battalion, 4th Brigade, of Epsom, Auckland. 
(Sgt Lord was killed in action on 4 October 1917).
2nd Lieutenant E. Reddaway, Wireless Testing Park, R.F.C., Biggin Hill, Kent
Lieutenant Ivan Snell, Headquarters, France

LEST WE FORGET.