Southland World War I military men remembered
Bryce Horrell is close to finishing a book on Southland military men who were killed or died during World War I and later named on the province’s war memorials, honours boards and rolls of honour.
Horrell, with help from Southland war memorial restorer Ann Robbie, is reasonably confident he has located all of them, with varying degrees of information about each one.
Auckland military historian Phil Beattie has shared his database with Horrell. The database has the names of all Kiwis who served in WWI. Australian Matt Pomeroy is also helping with information.
‘‘About 6000 Southlanders went to World War I, and I’ve identified 1408 who were killed or died,’’ Horrell, an Oreti sheep farmer, said.
In addition to the 1408, there are another 60 men listed on memorials that Horrell is unable to identify. His research also showed there were 50 Southland men who were killed or died during WWI and not named on memorials.
As Robbie moves around the province restoring memorials, she passes information about them to Horrell.
She has arranged times for Horrell to view indoor memorials, with some being in halls, churches, and lodges.
Robbie has records for 409 memorials.
Looking through hard copies or online newspaper files, high school rolls and year books and checking museum information had been some of the ways Horrell completed research.
One military man’s photo was discovered in an edition of the Catholic publication The Tablet.
Horrell wants to place a photo of every man listed in the book alongside their details. He has obtained 1216 photos.
‘‘It’s coming up good ... very satisfying,’’ Horrell said of the book.
‘‘Without help from Ann, Phil and Matt, I’d be well behind in my research.’’
The book should be finished by September or October.