09_13 Our boys, our families First World War research resources at Auckland Libraries and Auckland Council Archives A family receiving the result of the ballot for Class B reservists under the NZ Military Service Act, 1918, 7-A14534, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries. Find out more: phone 09 301 0101 or visit www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz Welcome to this guide showcasing First World War research resources available at Auckland Libraries and Auckland Council Archives. As part of the First World War centenary commemorations, this guide will enable you to carry out your own research into family members or people who took part in the war. This could be a soldier on the front line, a nurse on a hospital ship or the impact on those at home. Revised editions of the guide are planned for release during the commemoration period to create a set of guides. This guide is the first in that series and has been produced in time for the 2013 Auckland Heritage Festival. Auckland Libraries is also investigating the option of developing an online resource, which will allow you to digitally submit your research, so that it can be recorded and accessible to others. Email us at [email protected] for more information. You can also use this email address to request a print of any of the photographs in this guide. Through the research process we will honour those who made sacrifices for New Zealand, expand our knowledge of these people, add to collective memory and put a human face to the experiences and tragedies of the ‘Great War’. The Our boys, our families research guide was developed by Auckland Libraries, the Auckland Council Heritage Unit and Auckland Council Archives and owes a debt of thanks to Councillor Sandra Coney, Chair of the WW1 Centenary Political Steering Group. 2013 edition. Convalescent troops at Puhi Nui, c. 1917, photograph reproduced by courtesy of Howick Historical Society (from Lesley Kelliher), Footprints 02389. South Auckland Research Centre, Auckland Libraries. 1 Above: The Seventh Reinforcements departing the wharves at Wellington, 9 October 1915, AWNS-19151028- 42-4. Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries. Above: Group portrait of 16 NZ nurses aboard the deck of the troopship R.M.S. ‘Athenic’, with one male army officer and a small boy, 1916, 7-A15887. Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries. 2 . Two Privates of the NZ Māori Pioneer Battalion, one is Private Richard Abraham, Reg. No. 16/1397, of the 5th Māori Contingent, 1916, 31-A2. Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries. 3 Introduction to the First World War Portrait of the Leith brothers, Sapper David Alexander Leith, Reg. No. 4/1661, and Sapper James Charles Leith, Reg. No. 4/1290, both with the New Zealand Tunnelling Company, 1915, 31-L688. Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries. 4 Lest we forget – remembering Our boys, our families August 2014 marks the centenary of New Zealand’s entry in the First World War. Commemorative activities will occur throughout the next five years, focused on the major milestones in the war, such as Gallipoli (2015), Somme (2016), Passchendaele (2017) and the Armistice (2018). The Auckland War Memorial Museum has identified a theme for each year of the commemorations to reflect the key events and these have been adopted by Auckland Council: • 2014 Duty and adventure • 2015 Death of innocence • 2016 The forgotten • 2017 Western killing fields • 2018 Unprecedented trial • 2019 War is over. If you want. More than 100,000 New Zealanders served overseas during the war. 18,500 New Zealanders died as a result of the war, and almost 50,000 were wounded. The social impact of war is reflected in the whakatauki used by the museum and the council’s official commemorations: He toa taumata rau / Courage has many resting places. During the war, families parted from their loved ones and had to take on new challenges and contribute towards fund raising efforts, as well as maintaining as normal a home life as possible. Many women also took up the call to be nurses on hospital ships. There were also those who were opposed to the war and became conscientious objectors. This guide contains numerous links to various information sources at Auckland Libraries and Auckland Council Archives useful for researching people who lived during this period. Use this guide as a starting point and ask for help at your local library and archives. The Ministry for Culture and Heritage also provides a good overview of New Zealand’s involvement in the war on their website: www.nzhistory.net.nz/category/tid/215 The ministry’s WW100 website: ww100.govt.nz/activities_and_projects provides a national hub for all activities and many centenary projects are listed on this site. 5 Good research practice Remember to list the sources where you find information about the person you are researching. As a general rule of thumb, information should be verified from at least two to three sources, preferably primary sources such as original birth, marriage and death certificates and probate records (wills). Not all the information you find (even from some primary sources) will be accurate. For example, men sometimes lied about their age when enlisting, and newspaper accounts sometimes exaggerated their reports for dramatic effect to increase sales. Verifying information from multiple sources can also lead to the discovery of additional information. The research prompts at the back of this guide will be available online. Sick and wounded soldiers disembarking at Wellington, 1915, AWNS-19150916-42-2. Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries. 6 Private Flanton of the Māori Contingent, New Zealand Māori Pioneer Battalion wearing an RSA badge, 1917, 31-F3350. Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries. 7 Above: 33 Returned Soldiers all in military uniforms, most are from the15th North Auckland Regiment, c.1910-1919, 31-WP8123. Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries. Above: Ryan, 1 Lance Corporal of the 17th (Ruahine) Regiment, Auckland Infantry Regiment, 1 Corporal of the New Zealand Engineers Signal Corps (and one man not in uniform but wearing an RSA badge), 31-R2466. Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries. 8 Resources at Auckland Libraries Normal School Basketball Team, 1916, 31-WP8110. Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries. Biographical resources for researching someone who served during the First World War Beginning your research As a starting point, find the name of a soldier who fought in the First World War. This might be the name of a family member who fought in the war, or a name found on a local memorial, roll of honour, commemorative list, archive or cemetery. Alternatively, find the name of a nurse or anyone who participated in the war effort or social movements during the First World War – whether they are local personalities, someone in your family, or someone whose name you found in a book or old newspapers. Visit your local library, Royal New Zealand Returned and Services’ Association (RSA), community hall, church, school, genealogical society or public park to see these lists and memorials. Books about local histories can also contain this information. For example, this publication on the history of Swanson contains information about soldiers who fought in the First World War from the Swanson RSA and local families: Jack Adam, Vivien Burgess and Dawn Ellis, Rugged Determination: Historical Window on Swanson, 1854-2004 (Auckland: 2004). A copy of this book can be found at Auckland Libraries: www.elgar.govt.nz:80/record=b1596824~S1 9 Above: Unveiling of War Memorial on Lion Rock, 1919, JTD-04K-03812, West Auckland Research Centre, Auckland Libraries. Left: World War One Memorial, Nell Fisher Reserve, Birkenhead, c.1980s, B0314, North Auckland Research Centre, Auckland Libraries. 10 Portrait of Private Rudolph Baeyertz, Reg. No. 3/3144, of the NZ Medical Corps, 1917, 31-B3037. Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries. 11 See page 28 of this research guide for a list of selected books and useful links about the First World War. These may contain names of soldiers, nurses, enemy aliens or conscientious objectors. Many of these publications are held by Auckland Libraries and links have been provided where a copy is held in the library catalogue www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz Use the research prompts included in the back cover of this guide to help with your research. Published books Ask your local librarian about other sources of information such as published war diaries, war art or war poetry. Photographs and visual items Other useful sources of information include photographs and ephemera (such as cards and orders of service). When searching for photographs, be sure to note down the names of people who appear in the photo with them. This can provide clues about their friends and family. Photographs can be accessed from the Sir George Grey Special Collections at the Central City Library, your local research centre or digitally through the following Auckland Libraries databases: Heritage Images database (covering images from NZ and abroad from the Sir George Grey Special Collections): www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/dbtw-wpd/heritageimages/ index.htm Footprints database (covering images from the South Auckland Research Centre): http://manukau.infospecs.co.nz/footprints/home.htm Local History Online (covering images from the North and West Auckland Research Centres and the former Rodney Libraries): www.localhistoryonline.org.nz/cgi-bin/PUI The Schmidt Collection of glass plate negatives from the Sir George Grey Special Collections is a particularly valuable resource, which includes around 4,500 portraits of soldiers from the First World War. These portraits by Herman John Schmidt have been scanned and are available online on the Heritage Images database.