Courage under fire
commemorates 1176 New Zealanders who have no known grave.
On April 18, 2018, Walker’s descendants watched as he was buried with full military honours at the nearby New Irish Farm Cemetery. Among them was his great-nephew Allan Innes-Walker.
‘‘According to his men, Jack’s last words were ‘Come on lads’ as he raised his revolver and led his company towards German lines and heavy fire,’’ he told Britain’s Ministry of Defence.
‘‘His discovery and burial are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for my children to connect to a family member and a devastating history – an unexpected and inspiring legacy.’’
Today, family stories are shared over pints by visitors to Flanders as they reflect on the war that claimed 41 million casualties with 23 million wounded and 18 million killed. In Belgium alone, 600,000 people died.
Flanders Fields is a European landscape of reflection and remembrance. New Zealand memorials are scattered across the countryside, including at Tyne Cot, Buttes, Polygon Wood and Messines. They are all accessible from Ypres.
Messines, today a town of 1000 people, was in 1917 the scene of a military victory for the New Zealand forces. It came at the cost of 3700 casualties, including 700 dead.
Tasked with seizing the village in a wider engagement designed to take the Messines Ridge, the New Zealand Division met its objectives with great gallantry, and one of its number earned the Victoria Cross.
Lance-Corporal Samuel Frickleton of the 3rd Battalion of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade won the highest military honour for leading a charge against two enemy machine gun placements.
Concealed by the smoke and noise of artillery shelling, a wounded Frickleton snuck up on the first gun position before lobbing a grenade in and then charging, killing those inside.
With his comrades providing covering fire, he then rushed the second gun post some 25 metres away, killing its crew and destroying the gun. He was later wounded again and evacuated to England.
After receiving his VC, Frickleton returned to New Zealand in 1918 to a hero’s welcome.
His story lives on in modern Messines where a monument to him was unveiled in 2007 and is observed today by thousands of visitors each year.
Last Post every night
Every night in Ypres, The Last Post is played in a brief remembrance service at the Menin Gate, a memorial arch over a driveable street that pays tribute to fallen soldiers whose graves are unknown.
On an ordinary Monday night in May some 500 visitors to Flanders attended the service where 15 poppy wreaths were laid, including one by 16-year-old English Sea Cadet Connor Sherry.
Sherry was moved to buy the wreath from one of several poppy stores in Ypres after discovering on the trip a curious connection with best friend Anthony Woods, whose great-grandfather had died on the same battlefield as his own.
The brief, daily public service at the Menin Gate is an opportunity for remembrance of a dark period of history.
For New Zealanders it’s an opportunity to reflect on the sacrifices made by past generations that have helped shape our nation.
Among the tragedies endured by New Zealanders in Flanders is arguably the single greatest disaster in our military history, the 1917 first battle at Passchendaele, where some 843 New Zealand soldiers died in a day.