WWI ARMISTICE DAY The All Blacks who died for us
Eden Park is to recognise the sacrifice of our sportsmen on the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War, writes Patrick McKendry
It was George Orwell who described sport as war minus the shooting, but of course it’s not really. Sport can bring out the worst in us in terms of venality and selfishness and impetuosity but it can also highlight the best in a person’s character and even in many cases develop it.
More than 18,000 New Zealanders made the ultimate sacrifice during World War I (the population of New Zealand in 1918 was 1.15 million), and it’s those who we remember today, Armistice Day, the 100th anniversary of the end of a war often described as “great” but which was a mechanised catastrophe of bloodshed and waste.
Of those 18,000 who died, a terribly large number and huge in proportion to our population then, 13 were All Blacks, including 1905-06 Originals captain Dave Gallaher.
Gallaher, who was born in Ireland, is relatively well known to Kiwis and especially rugby supporters because of his special role with the team after whom the All Blacks were named. His name is given to the shield for which Auckland’s clubs play for and the trophy contested between the All Blacks and France.
He was 43 when he died in
Frank Wilson
A school teacher, Wilson was not just a talented rugby player but a superb all-rounder in other sports and in music and horticulture. He excelled at cricket, tennis, swimming and gymnastics, and was one of Auckland’s fastest track sprinters. He was called into the All Blacks side to tour Australia in 1910 when a number of original selections were forced to withdraw. He played in the preliminary match before the boat journey across the Tasman, dropkicking a goal in the 26-17 win over Wellington. He was chosen for the opening match in Australia against New South Wales, but late in the match, twisted his knee and was put out of the tour and the game itself for good. No sooner had World War I broken out than this gifted young man enlisted and quickly became an officer. He fought at Gallipoli, before losing his life during the Battle of the Somme in France in 1916 aged 31. Passchendaele in Belgium in 1917. Gallaher wasn’t conscripted due to his age but he volunteered after losing two brothers in the war. It’s little wonder the All Blacks often visit his final resting place when they are in Europe. The word “sacrifice” is often used in these pages but it seems trite when compared with Gallaher’s or that of his countrymen.
Ernie Dodd
A hard-working front row forward or hooker in the old 2-3-2 scrum formation, Dodd was the first member of the Wellington College Old Boys club to represent New Zealand. Dodd formed a formidable front row pairing at club and provincial level with Eric Watkins. They were in the Wellington side which played the 1905 Originals before they left to tour Britain and France. Dodd played 45 games for Wellington during 1901-05 before his job as a clerical worker with the New Zealand Shipping Company saw him transferred to Timaru. He was given life membership by his WCOB club before departing. Dodd was out of the national reckoning until 1905 when, with the Originals on their way to Britain, he and Watkins played together in the second New Zealand team which met the touring Australians in an official test in Dunedin. Though in his late 30s, Dodd served in the war but was killed in France in 1918.
Ten All Blacks — Gallaher, Frank Wilson, Bobby Black, George Sellars, James Baird, Reg Taylor, Jim McNeece, ‘Jum’ Turtill, Ernie Dodd and Jimmy Ridland — died on the Western Front. Ridland, a Southland blacksmith, died on November 5, 1918, only six days before the end of the war. Albert Downing and Henry Dewar died in Gallipoli. Eric Harper died in Palestine.
The sacrifice of those men and all of the others has been recognised by Eden Park, a place where the All Blacks have enjoyed so much success over the years and a place, too, which houses
New Zealand’s smallest Returned and Services Association.
A large poppy has been painted on the pitch into which have been placed many white crosses remembering the sacrifices and duty of all those who fought in World War I which ended on the
11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. Lest we forget.
Information and images are courtesy of the New Zealand Rugby Museum www.rugbymuseum.co.nz Hubert ‘Jum’ Turtill
Turtill was one of the first of New Zealand’s leading players to switch to the new code of rugby league, or Northern union as it was then known. After appearing for a combined Canterbury and South Canterbury selection against the touring Australians in 1905, Turtill was included in the New Zealand team for the only international in Dunedin. Though New Zealand’s leading players were, by this time, on their way to Britain for what became celebrated as the Originals tour, the match in Dunedin has always carried full test status. Turtill, who had been considered unlucky not to have made the British tour, was one of New Zealand’s best players against Australia, but that was to be his only All Blacks match. After the 1907 inter-island match, he joined the ‘rebel’ All Golds side on their trailblazing and historic tour of Britain. He played in five of the internationals in Britain and then in 1908 was captain against Australia. He confirmed his switch to rugby league in 1909 by joining the famous Lancashire club, St Helens, for whom he played until the outbreak of World War I. He lost his life while serving with the British Armed Forces in France in April 1918 at the age of 38.