Remembering Passchendaele: NZ’s worst military disaster

massey-university

Mon Oct 08 2012 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Remembering Passchendaele: NZ’s worst military disaster

Monday, 8 October 2012, 5:08 pm
Press Release: Massey University

Monday, October 8, 2012
Remembering Passchendaele: NZ’s worst military disaster

War historian Glyn Harper will give an address at a remembrance service marking the 95th anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele.

The ceremony will be held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum on Friday, October 12 in the WWI Hall of Memories and Sanctuary starting at 11am.

Professor Harper says the battle, on October 12 1917, remains our worst-ever military disaster.

“In the space of a few short hours 846 New Zealand soldiers were killed and 2,700 wounded. A further 138 men died of their wounds over the next week.

“It was an attack that should never have gone ahead under the dreadful conditions then prevailing.”

His talk will focus on the tragic event and examine its human cost to New Zealand.

Military and civic dignitaries are attending the ceremony, organised by the Passchendaele Society to commemorative the First World War battle, and will take part in a wreath laying.

ENDS

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}

Using Scoop for work?

Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.

Join Pro Individual Find out more

Find more from Massey University on InfoPages.