Well-Known New Zealanders at Messines
The people below provide an idea of how deeply the campaign at and around Messines affected New Zealand...
(All photos on this page are with the kind permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library. Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand, must be obtained before re-use of any of these images.)
Some of those who died...
Samuel Arnold Atkinson: Captain Samuel Atkinson, New Zealand Rifle Brigade, was the fourth son of Sir Harry Atkinson, three-times New Zealand Prime Minister. He was married and a leading lawyer in Wellington when he joined up. He died aged 43 on the slopes below Messines when he went to the aid of an officer who in turn had gone to rescue three men after a raid on enemy trenches on June 5, 1917 - two days before the Battle of Messines Ridge began.
Grave (IV-E-12) at La Plus Douve Farm Cemetery, 2 km from Messines
Paul Milton Freyberg: Rifleman Paul Freyberg, New Zealand Rifle Brigade, was an older brother of Lord Freyberg VC, veteran of World War 1, Commander of New Zealand forces in World War 2 and the first New Zealand raised Governor-General. Paul Freyberg died at the Boulogne hospital base in France on June 18, 1917, of wounds he received at Messines. Another brother, Oscar, a Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, was killed at Gallipoli.
Grave (IV-A-7) at Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, France
Autini Pitara Kaipara: Kaipara was the Poverty Bay rugby captain, twice a North Island representative and New Zealand Maori in1910 and 1911. Widely regarded as one of the best five-eighths New Zealand had produced, he was nicknamed "the india rubber man" by newspapers of the time. Kaipara, a second lieutenant in the Maori (Pioneer) Battalion, was killed aged 30 on August 4, 1917.
Grave (III-A-26) at Prowse Point Cemetery, 2.5 km from Messines
Among those who survived...
Pat Hanna: George Patrick Hanna was a New Zealand diving champion and captain of the national water polo team in 1912-1913 who served in Samoa, Egypt, France and Belgium during the war. In late 1918 he formed a concert party named The Diggers and after returning home relaunched the group to raise money for the Returned Soldiers' Fund. In 1920 The Diggers travelled to Australia and for the next 10 years toured both countries. Hanna recorded his most popular characterisations from the show, notably The gospel according to cricket, and starred with The Diggers in three films - Diggers, Diggers in Blighty and Waltzing Matilda. The Diggers disbanded in the early 1930s. A cartoonist of note, Hanna died in England in 1973. (Source: Downes, Peter. 'Hanna, George Patrick 1888 - 1973'. Dictionary of New Zealand Biography)
Sydney Holland: A Canterbury MP for 22 years, party leader for 17 and Prime Minister for eight (1949-1957), Sydney Holland played a crucial role in the creation and success of the National Party. Prior to World War One he represented Canterbury and the South Island at hockey, while in post-war years he became a test referee and managed a New Zealand team to Australia. He served with the New Zealand Field Artillery in World War One, but contracted hydatids and was invalided home after the Battle of Messines. (Source: Gustafson, Barry. 'Holland, Sidney George 1893 - 1961'. Dictionary of New Zealand Biography)
John A. Lee: Now a legend in New Zealand social and labour history, John A Lee enlisted in 1916 and served with distinction. He wrote from the front for Chronicles of the NZEF and in June 1917 was awarded the DCM for single-handedly capturing a machine-gun post at Messines. In 1918 he was wounded and had his left arm amputated. Back home he became a force in the Labour Party and was an MP from 1922 to 1928 and 1931 to 1943. From 1936 to 1939 he was Under-Secretary to the Minister of Finance and was responsible for the introduction of state housing, but in 1940 was expelled from the party. From the 1930s he built a reputation as a writer and in later life was a bookseller in Auckland.
Close to Messines at other times...
Leslie Beauchamp: The younger brother of the writer Katherine Mansfield and a second lieutenant in the South Lancashire Regiment, Leslie Beauchamp died aged 21 on October 6, 1915, while teaching soldiers how to throw grenades. His death had a profound effect on Mansfield. "Chummie", as she called him, had stayed with her in London shortly before he died.
Grave (III-E-2) at Ploegsteert Wood, 2km from Messines
Anthony Wilding: Anthony Wilding, who was killed on May 9, 1915, remains New Zealand's greatest tennis player of all time. Between 1907 and 1913 he was Wimbledon Singles Champion four times and Doubles Champion three times. Also a Canterbury cricketer, Wilding was a captain in the Royal Marines Armoured Car Division at the time of his death.
Grave (II-D-37) at Rue-des-Berceaux Cemetery, near Armentieres