New Zealand and the First World War

World War 1 saw Kiwis fighting in campaigns like Gallipoli, and the Somme. Explore New Zealand’s role in this war, including battles, the home front, causalities, heroes, memorials, conscientious objectors and the ANZAC legend. SCIS no. 1808397

All items

Images
Evans, Malcolm Paul, 1945- :At the eleventh hour. 11 November 2013
Evans, Malcolm Paul, 1945- :At the eleventh hour. 11 November 2013
Captioned 'At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month...', the cartoon shows an upturned rifle with a soldier's helmet on it. Marking the burial of a dead soldier, the cartoon ...
Articles
World War One
World War One
World War One, also called the First World War, took place between 1914 and 1918. New Zealand fought as part of the Allies (the British Empire, France, Russia and others) against the Central Powers...
Articles
World War One
World War One
Use Many Answers to find information about World War One.
Images
Troops on board ship, departing for World War I
Troops on board ship, departing for World War I
Troops on board ship, departing for World War I. Photographer unidentified. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Glass negative Processing information: The collection desc...
Images
The Empire Needs Men!
The Empire Needs Men!
The imagery and text of this British First World War poster indicate a parent-child relationship between Britain and its dominions. Australia, Canada, India and New Zealand are the 'Young Lions’ he...
Images
Unidentified Maori soldier in military uniform
Unidentified Maori soldier in military uniform
Unidentified soldier in military uniform with his kit and rifle photographed by an unknown photographer Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s).
Images
Armistice ceremony notice
Armistice ceremony notice
When news arrived that the armistice had been signed on 11 November 1918, some New Zealand soldiers on the Western Front reacted with little enthusiasm - many thought it just another rumour. In New...
Audio
The Trooper’s farewell
The Trooper’s farewell
'The Trooper's Farewell' (1914) - Words by W. W. Boyes, music by Frank Wolfgang. Performed by Alexandra Foster and Lachlan Craig with Rosemary Barnes (piano).
Images
NZ hospital ship Maheno
NZ hospital ship Maheno
Shows two-funnelled ship with masts at each end, and red crosses painted along the side, on funnels and on flag. Gives information below: Length, 400 ft, breadth 50ft 2". Captain D McLean. One ope...
Images
Never hagen!
Never hagen!
Shows an abandoned German tank stuck in a depression or trench. It has two German crosses on it and the Roman numeral IV, and has the word Hagen at its left end. The title is probably a play on the...
Articles
First World War in maps
All our First World War maps in one place. Includes maps that show where New Zealanders served and who they were fighting with and against as well as where they were buried.
Newspapers
Somme battle
Private E.J. Maddams describes some of the scenes at the Somme, in a letter to his family.
Images
Military Service Act announcement
Military Service Act announcement
Text announcing requirement to enrol, and the consequences of failure to do so. Employers were forbidden to employ those who had not enrolled; nor were they permitted to employ deserters. Other Ti...
Images
100 years on
100 years on
Cartoon referring to the centenary of the Allies landing at Gallipoli.
Images
New Zealand troops in the trenches.
New Zealand troops in the trenches.
Two New Zealand soldiers shown leaning over a trench wall in the Messines Sector during World War I. One is taking sights with his rifle. Photograph taken May 1917 by Henry Armytage Sanders. Inscri...
Stories
First World War Postcards including embroidered
First World War Postcards including embroidered
"Embroidered silk postcards, expressing sentiments are distinctive tokens of World War I. The tradition of postcards, inserted with embroidered flowers on silk, predates World War I. During the con...
Images
This Poppy needs you
This Poppy needs you
An elderly man holds out an ANZAC Day poppy. He has a tray of poppies in his other hand, with "Lest we forget" printed on the side. Behind him is the famous World War I recruiting poster featuring ...
Images
Engineers resting in a large shell hole
Engineers resting in a large shell hole
World War I New Zealand Engineers resting in a large shell hole at Spree Farm, Ypres Salient, 12 October 1917. Photograph taken by Henry Armytage Sanders. Inscriptions: Inscribed - Photographer's t...
Images
No 3 General Hospital, Wiltshire, England
No 3 General Hospital, Wiltshire, England
Photograph of the interior of a ward at No.3 New Zealand General Hospital, Codford, Wiltshire, 1917 sent as a postcard by one of the patients pictured. Photographer unidentified. Quantity: 1 b&w ...
Articles
First World War: impact of the war
Of the First World War’s many consequences for New Zealand, the human cost was the most traumatic. Among the dominions of the British Empire, New Zealand had the highest percentage (5%) of its mili...
Stories
Featherston Military Camp
Featherston Military Camp
In January 1916 the biggest army training camp in New Zealand opened in Featherston. The camp occupied the land on both sides of the main road between Featherston and Tauherenikau. In 1916 the camp...
Images
NZ soldiers around a billy
NZ soldiers around a billy
New Zealand soldiers in a strong post, near Mailly-Maillet, France, during World War I. Shows men grouped around a steaming billy and one alongside a Lewis gun that is ready for immediate action. P...
Stories
Doctors & nurses in WWI
Doctors & nurses in WWI
A selection of images and newspapers articles about New Zealand doctors and nurses who served in the First World War. All of this content is open and reusable for digital storytelling.
Images
German prisoners captured by New Zealand soldiers
German prisoners captured by New Zealand soldiers
A column of German prisoners captured by New Zealanders during the second Somme offensive walking down a road near Louvencourt. Photograph taken 31 March 1918 by Henry Armytage Sanders. Inscription...
Articles
First World War – origins of the war
As part of the British Empire, New Zealand was formally involved in the First World War (often referred to as the Great War) by the declaration of war on Germany by King George V on 4 August 1914.
Videos
New Zealand: The First World War
New Zealand: The First World War
This video focuses on New Zealand's involvement in the First World War.
Images
To my dear wife from your loving husband.
To my dear wife from your loving husband.
Embroidered message on recto: "To my dear wife from your loving husband" in pinks, greens, yellows and blues, with a garland of flowers Quantity: 1 curio(s). Physical Description: Hand-embroidere...
Articles
First World War diary
First World War diary
John Duncan McLeod starts his diary with details on his enlistment at Rockhampton on 4 Jan 1915. He also includes his thoughts on the men enlisting and meditates on how "many of us, no doubt, not c...
Images
A bakshee. Blighty at last!
A bakshee. Blighty at last!
An English soldier in the trenches in France, with a battle ranging beyond him. He has just received a flesh wound in the buttocks and is looking delighted because he can now be invalided out to En...
Images
It's first anniversary. Can we ever forget it?
It's first anniversary. Can we ever forget it?
Shows two women wearing helmets, swords and togas (Australia and New Zealand). They have their arms around each other and one of them (New Zealand) is placing a wreath on an ANZAC memorial. Refers ...
Images
The spirit of his fathers
The spirit of his fathers
Shows a cartoon relating to Maori soldiers in the First World War. A Maori soldier charges two Turkish soldiers with a bayonet. The ghost of a Maori warrior wielding a patu rears behind him. Quant...
Images
Arawa
Treatment of German prisoners by New Zealand soldiers
Extract: "Some prisoners recently taken by New Zealand troops were singularly depressed, and shrank from all manifestations of kindliness on the part of their captors, especially refusing cigarette...
Images
Group portrait of the first nurses to leave for the First World War
Group portrait of the first nurses to leave for the First World War
Group portrait of the first 69 nurses and 11 staff to leave for World War I. Taken on the steps of the General Assembly Library, Wellington, by an unidentified photographer for The Press newspaper ...
Images
Final leave
Final leave
Final leave
Images
Full marching kit painting
New Zealand soldier with marching equipment
Full marching kit, Corporal J.W. Cahill ARTIST: George Edmund Butler MEDIUM/SUPPORT: Oils DIMENSIONS: 540 x 340mm Dated 16 October 1918 Archives New Zealand Reference: AAAC 898 NCWA 496
Images
Hell', by Georges Leroux
Hell', by Georges Leroux
Painting by French artist Georges Leroux depicting a First World battlefield.
Images
Poster, 'And they thought we couldn't fight'
Poster, 'And they thought we couldn't fight'
Advertising the Victory Liberty Loan This First World War loan poster, which features a tattered and wounded yet smiling soldier carrying a rifle and souvenired German helmets, was created by the U...
Images
Ballot box from 1916
Ballot box from 1916
The original wooden drum used to draw names for the First World War conscription ballots
Images
Conveying sympathy
Conveying sympathy
Condolence letter written during the First World War
Articles
Conscription, conscientious objection and pacifism: Conscientious objection
Objecting to conscription First World War When conscription was introduced in 1916 the views of conscientious objectors –people who refused military service on political, religious or philosophical...
Articles
New Zealanders in the First World War
A guide to information about the men and women who served during the First World War.
Websites
WWW
Passchendaele society
Website dedicated to the battle of Passchendaele.
Articles
WW1 through place names
The stories behind New Zealand’s First World War place names.
Websites
WWW
International Encyclopedia of the First World War
Contains everything you need to know about First World War.
Articles
World War One (experiences of war)
World War One (experiences of war)
World War One was an international conflict that took place from 1914 to 1918, and was also known as The Great War. It began in Europe and involved over thirty nations around the world. Over thirty...
Articles
World War One (causes and impacts)
World War One (causes and impacts)
World War One was a major war fought between 1914 and 1918 which caused widespread destruction. More than 20 million people lost their lives. It has also been referred to as 'The Great War' and 'Th...
Articles
New Zealand at war timeline
Contains a timeline showing New Zealand’s involvement in the First World War.
Articles
World War I
Information about the role of the Red Cross during the First World War.
Articles
The First World War and New Zealand’s involvement
Contains information about New Zealand’s involvement in the First World War.
Websites
WWW
New Zealand military nursing
This web site has been established to recognise the nurses of our military force, past and present.
Images
The First World War
Images from or about the First World War.
Images
War art
War art Online brings together a diverse collection of about 1,500 artworks covering major conflicts from the First world War onwards.
Videos
100 Years of Anzac uniforms
A special video showcasing 100 years of Anzac uniforms from Gallipoli to the modern day.
Articles
Online cenotaph
Auckland War Memorial Museum’s cenotaph database allows you to search for information about New Zealand men and women who served during the First World War.
Articles
War and campaign medals awarded to New Zealanders
Provides information about the medals awarded to New Zealand First World War soldiers.
Articles
New Zealand soldiers’ war stories
Real war stories of our Kiwi soldiers as they served New Zealand around the world, including both world wars.
Images
Postcard of Sling Camp
Postcard of Sling Camp
Postcard of Sling Camp, often seen as “a harsh, remorseless, soulless military system.” One New Zealand soldier recorded in his diary that: “No! I’ll never get to like this place.”
Images
Christmas greetings from NZ
Christmas greetings from NZ
New Zealand troops found themselves spending Christmas 1914 in Egypt. They had left New Zealand expecting to sail to Europe, but were diverted to Egypt after Turkey joined the war on the side of Ge...
Images
Patriotic tableau by school students
Patriotic tableau by school students
Prior to 1914 children were seldom taught about war. For years however they felt its effects as their fathers, brothers and even older sisters left for the front. Patriotism was encouraged. Childre...
Images
Burial of Sapper J F Haynes
Burial of Sapper J F Haynes
Sapper J F Haynes died when the hut he was sleeping in was destroyed by shellfire and burst into flames. Badly wounded Haynes was rescued by Company-Sergeant-Major Woodhall, and Sergeant J S L Deem...
Images
Soldiers at Tapawera military camp
Soldiers at Tapawera military camp
These soldiers were photographed at a military camp at Tapawera in the Marlborough area. The photo is dated April 1914, so was taken before the outbreak of war. Military training had been compulsor...
Images
Women knitting socks for soldiers
Women knitting socks for soldiers
Some care has been taken to present this rather formal image, possibly posed in a photographic studio, of a group of young women working together for the war effort. The men in the trenches suffere...
Images
Great War Certificate of service
Great War Certificate of service
Every returned New Zealand soldier who served in the First World War received this certificate of service. It recorded the soldier’s name, rank(s), where he served (theatres of war) and medals rece...
Images
New Zealand artillery
New Zealand artillery
More New Zealand soldiers lost their lives to shellfire in the First World War than to enemy bullets. Often it was a question of where you were standing at the time. Shells could and did often fall...
Images
Crowd at a patriotic demonstration, Stratford
Crowd at a patriotic demonstration, Stratford
The pace of events in Europe leading up to the outbreak of World War One meant that it came as a shock to some New Zealanders. However, public reaction in the days following was largely of great ex...
Images
An unidentified New Zealand soldier outside his dug-out
An unidentified New Zealand soldier outside his dug-out
Shelter from the enemy and from the weather is a top priority for a soldier. Away from the front line trenches at Gallipoli, the men dug into the steep hillsides to create a place where they could ...
Images
Departure of Expeditionary Force reinforcements
Departure of Expeditionary Force reinforcements
This photolithograph is an artist’s impression of a departing troop ship. It shows a scene that was repeated many times during the war years, as reinforcement troops were sent overseas at two month...
Images
Returning to Wellington, New Zealand
Returning to Wellington, New Zealand
These four album photographs show the ship Tainui arriving in Wellington on the evening of September the 21 1919. On board were almost 400 New Zealand troops returning from fighting in Europe. News...
Images
The gymnasium at Hornchurch Convalescent Hospital
The gymnasium at Hornchurch Convalescent Hospital
It’s a world away from today’s fitness gyms and equipment, (who would wear a shirt and tie to a gym today?) but this is what the inside of a gymnasium looked like 100 years ago. This gym was part o...
Images
Soldiers firing at an enemy aircraft
Soldiers firing at an enemy aircraft
New Zealand soldiers are seen operating a Vickers machine gun against an enemy aeroplane in the Middle East. Despite having the ability to fire about 450 bullets a minute, the gun did have its limi...
Images
Ettie Rout with her volunteers
Ettie Rout with her volunteers
Ettie Rout (in the middle, without a hat) poses with members of the volunteer sisterhood, which she organised to provide care to New Zealand soldiers overseas. In 1915, without government approval,...
Manuscripts
Letters to Leslie by David Grant
Letters to Leslie by David Grant
These letters were written from Trentham, Featherston, Sling Camp, (England), and somewhere in France. Grant frequently mentions his friends in his letters. Even this short excerpt provides readers...
Images
What will he do with it?
What will he do with it?
The British bulldog making fun of Germany was a popular symbol in war cartoons. Sometimes the bulldog was shown chasing the Kaiser, or biting the Kaiser’s rear! The German sausage was also used to ...
Images
Fundraising poster for soldiers
Fundraising poster for soldiers
New Zealand communities large and small threw themselves into supporting the war effort. Patriotic societies and charities were established early in the war and kept up an enthusiastic pace of fund...
Images
General Alexander Godley
General Alexander Godley
General Alexander Godley was appointed to help set up a New Zealand territorial force after a recommendation by Field Marshal Lord Kitchener, who visited New Zealand early in 1910.
Images
Horses killed by bombs
Horses killed by bombs
In this German bombing raid in France, 94 horses were killed. German bombs often exploded low destroying the horse’s legs. The animals would be treated if possible but more often than not they woul...
Websites
WWW
Since writing about you last...
Presents the transcribed and digitised war letters of 4 Southland soldiers.
Images
New Zealand soldiers below trench signs
New Zealand soldiers below trench signs
New Zealand soldiers below trench signs at Gommecourt Wood August 1918.
Manuscripts
War diary
War diary
Alfred Cameron’s Gallipoli war diary
Images
Peace celebration parade, Queen Street, Auckland
Peace celebration parade, Queen Street, Auckland
Peace celebration parade on Queen Street, Auckland, 19 July 1919.
Images
Captain Anderson and his gun crew
New Zealand soldiers on horseback led by Captain Anderson in Samoa during World War I.
Websites
WWW
EPIC
Find more information about New Zealand and the first World War on EPIC. Databases recommended: Australia New Zealand Reference Plus, New Zealand History Collection (BWB), Britannica School and Wor...
Audio
9: The First World War
It’s the war that claimed more New Zealand lives than any other. It’s also the event that’s often claimed as the "foundational moment” where we “became a nation”. But is that really true? In this e...
Videos
The World War I Collection
A collection of World War One videos about Anzac battles fought and wartime stories.
Images
Evans, Malcolm Paul, 1945- :At the eleventh hour. 11 November 2013
Evans, Malcolm Paul, 1945- :At the eleventh hour. 11 November 2013
Captioned 'At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month...', the cartoon shows an upturned rifle with a soldier's helmet on it. Marking the burial of a dead soldier, the cartoon ...
Articles
World War One
World War One
World War One, also called the First World War, took place between 1914 and 1918. New Zealand fought as part of the Allies (the British Empire, France, Russia and others) against the Central Powers...
Articles
World War One
World War One
Use Many Answers to find information about World War One.
Images
Troops on board ship, departing for World War I
Troops on board ship, departing for World War I
Troops on board ship, departing for World War I. Photographer unidentified. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Glass negative Processing information: The collection desc...
Images
The Empire Needs Men!
The Empire Needs Men!
The imagery and text of this British First World War poster indicate a parent-child relationship between Britain and its dominions. Australia, Canada, India and New Zealand are the 'Young Lions’ he...
Images
Unidentified Maori soldier in military uniform
Unidentified Maori soldier in military uniform
Unidentified soldier in military uniform with his kit and rifle photographed by an unknown photographer Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s).
Images
Armistice ceremony notice
Armistice ceremony notice
When news arrived that the armistice had been signed on 11 November 1918, some New Zealand soldiers on the Western Front reacted with little enthusiasm - many thought it just another rumour. In New...
Audio
The Trooper’s farewell
The Trooper’s farewell
'The Trooper's Farewell' (1914) - Words by W. W. Boyes, music by Frank Wolfgang. Performed by Alexandra Foster and Lachlan Craig with Rosemary Barnes (piano).
Images
NZ hospital ship Maheno
NZ hospital ship Maheno
Shows two-funnelled ship with masts at each end, and red crosses painted along the side, on funnels and on flag. Gives information below: Length, 400 ft, breadth 50ft 2". Captain D McLean. One ope...
Images
Never hagen!
Never hagen!
Shows an abandoned German tank stuck in a depression or trench. It has two German crosses on it and the Roman numeral IV, and has the word Hagen at its left end. The title is probably a play on the...
Articles
First World War in maps
All our First World War maps in one place. Includes maps that show where New Zealanders served and who they were fighting with and against as well as where they were buried.
Newspapers
Somme battle
Private E.J. Maddams describes some of the scenes at the Somme, in a letter to his family.
Images
Military Service Act announcement
Military Service Act announcement
Text announcing requirement to enrol, and the consequences of failure to do so. Employers were forbidden to employ those who had not enrolled; nor were they permitted to employ deserters. Other Ti...
Images
100 years on
100 years on
Cartoon referring to the centenary of the Allies landing at Gallipoli.
Images
New Zealand troops in the trenches.
New Zealand troops in the trenches.
Two New Zealand soldiers shown leaning over a trench wall in the Messines Sector during World War I. One is taking sights with his rifle. Photograph taken May 1917 by Henry Armytage Sanders. Inscri...
Stories
First World War Postcards including embroidered
First World War Postcards including embroidered
"Embroidered silk postcards, expressing sentiments are distinctive tokens of World War I. The tradition of postcards, inserted with embroidered flowers on silk, predates World War I. During the con...
Images
This Poppy needs you
This Poppy needs you
An elderly man holds out an ANZAC Day poppy. He has a tray of poppies in his other hand, with "Lest we forget" printed on the side. Behind him is the famous World War I recruiting poster featuring ...
Images
Engineers resting in a large shell hole
Engineers resting in a large shell hole
World War I New Zealand Engineers resting in a large shell hole at Spree Farm, Ypres Salient, 12 October 1917. Photograph taken by Henry Armytage Sanders. Inscriptions: Inscribed - Photographer's t...
Images
No 3 General Hospital, Wiltshire, England
No 3 General Hospital, Wiltshire, England
Photograph of the interior of a ward at No.3 New Zealand General Hospital, Codford, Wiltshire, 1917 sent as a postcard by one of the patients pictured. Photographer unidentified. Quantity: 1 b&w ...
Articles
First World War: impact of the war
Of the First World War’s many consequences for New Zealand, the human cost was the most traumatic. Among the dominions of the British Empire, New Zealand had the highest percentage (5%) of its mili...
Stories
Featherston Military Camp
Featherston Military Camp
In January 1916 the biggest army training camp in New Zealand opened in Featherston. The camp occupied the land on both sides of the main road between Featherston and Tauherenikau. In 1916 the camp...
Images
NZ soldiers around a billy
NZ soldiers around a billy
New Zealand soldiers in a strong post, near Mailly-Maillet, France, during World War I. Shows men grouped around a steaming billy and one alongside a Lewis gun that is ready for immediate action. P...
Stories
Doctors & nurses in WWI
Doctors & nurses in WWI
A selection of images and newspapers articles about New Zealand doctors and nurses who served in the First World War. All of this content is open and reusable for digital storytelling.
Images
German prisoners captured by New Zealand soldiers
German prisoners captured by New Zealand soldiers
A column of German prisoners captured by New Zealanders during the second Somme offensive walking down a road near Louvencourt. Photograph taken 31 March 1918 by Henry Armytage Sanders. Inscription...
Articles
First World War – origins of the war
As part of the British Empire, New Zealand was formally involved in the First World War (often referred to as the Great War) by the declaration of war on Germany by King George V on 4 August 1914.
Videos
New Zealand: The First World War
New Zealand: The First World War
This video focuses on New Zealand's involvement in the First World War.
Images
To my dear wife from your loving husband.
To my dear wife from your loving husband.
Embroidered message on recto: "To my dear wife from your loving husband" in pinks, greens, yellows and blues, with a garland of flowers Quantity: 1 curio(s). Physical Description: Hand-embroidere...
Articles
First World War diary
First World War diary
John Duncan McLeod starts his diary with details on his enlistment at Rockhampton on 4 Jan 1915. He also includes his thoughts on the men enlisting and meditates on how "many of us, no doubt, not c...
Images
A bakshee. Blighty at last!
A bakshee. Blighty at last!
An English soldier in the trenches in France, with a battle ranging beyond him. He has just received a flesh wound in the buttocks and is looking delighted because he can now be invalided out to En...
Images
It's first anniversary. Can we ever forget it?
It's first anniversary. Can we ever forget it?
Shows two women wearing helmets, swords and togas (Australia and New Zealand). They have their arms around each other and one of them (New Zealand) is placing a wreath on an ANZAC memorial. Refers ...
Images
The spirit of his fathers
The spirit of his fathers
Shows a cartoon relating to Maori soldiers in the First World War. A Maori soldier charges two Turkish soldiers with a bayonet. The ghost of a Maori warrior wielding a patu rears behind him. Quant...
Images
Arawa
Treatment of German prisoners by New Zealand soldiers
Extract: "Some prisoners recently taken by New Zealand troops were singularly depressed, and shrank from all manifestations of kindliness on the part of their captors, especially refusing cigarette...
Images
Group portrait of the first nurses to leave for the First World War
Group portrait of the first nurses to leave for the First World War
Group portrait of the first 69 nurses and 11 staff to leave for World War I. Taken on the steps of the General Assembly Library, Wellington, by an unidentified photographer for The Press newspaper ...
Images
Final leave
Final leave
Final leave
Images
Full marching kit painting
New Zealand soldier with marching equipment
Full marching kit, Corporal J.W. Cahill ARTIST: George Edmund Butler MEDIUM/SUPPORT: Oils DIMENSIONS: 540 x 340mm Dated 16 October 1918 Archives New Zealand Reference: AAAC 898 NCWA 496
Images
Hell', by Georges Leroux
Hell', by Georges Leroux
Painting by French artist Georges Leroux depicting a First World battlefield.
Images
Poster, 'And they thought we couldn't fight'
Poster, 'And they thought we couldn't fight'
Advertising the Victory Liberty Loan This First World War loan poster, which features a tattered and wounded yet smiling soldier carrying a rifle and souvenired German helmets, was created by the U...
Images
Ballot box from 1916
Ballot box from 1916
The original wooden drum used to draw names for the First World War conscription ballots
Images
Conveying sympathy
Conveying sympathy
Condolence letter written during the First World War
Articles
Conscription, conscientious objection and pacifism: Conscientious objection
Objecting to conscription First World War When conscription was introduced in 1916 the views of conscientious objectors –people who refused military service on political, religious or philosophical...
Articles
New Zealanders in the First World War
A guide to information about the men and women who served during the First World War.
Websites
WWW
Passchendaele society
Website dedicated to the battle of Passchendaele.
Articles
WW1 through place names
The stories behind New Zealand’s First World War place names.
Websites
WWW
International Encyclopedia of the First World War
Contains everything you need to know about First World War.
Articles
World War One (experiences of war)
World War One (experiences of war)
World War One was an international conflict that took place from 1914 to 1918, and was also known as The Great War. It began in Europe and involved over thirty nations around the world. Over thirty...
Articles
World War One (causes and impacts)
World War One (causes and impacts)
World War One was a major war fought between 1914 and 1918 which caused widespread destruction. More than 20 million people lost their lives. It has also been referred to as 'The Great War' and 'Th...
Articles
New Zealand at war timeline
Contains a timeline showing New Zealand’s involvement in the First World War.
Articles
World War I
Information about the role of the Red Cross during the First World War.
Articles
The First World War and New Zealand’s involvement
Contains information about New Zealand’s involvement in the First World War.
Websites
WWW
New Zealand military nursing
This web site has been established to recognise the nurses of our military force, past and present.
Images
The First World War
Images from or about the First World War.
Images
War art
War art Online brings together a diverse collection of about 1,500 artworks covering major conflicts from the First world War onwards.
Videos
100 Years of Anzac uniforms
A special video showcasing 100 years of Anzac uniforms from Gallipoli to the modern day.
Articles
Online cenotaph
Auckland War Memorial Museum’s cenotaph database allows you to search for information about New Zealand men and women who served during the First World War.
Articles
War and campaign medals awarded to New Zealanders
Provides information about the medals awarded to New Zealand First World War soldiers.
Articles
New Zealand soldiers’ war stories
Real war stories of our Kiwi soldiers as they served New Zealand around the world, including both world wars.
Images
Postcard of Sling Camp
Postcard of Sling Camp
Postcard of Sling Camp, often seen as “a harsh, remorseless, soulless military system.” One New Zealand soldier recorded in his diary that: “No! I’ll never get to like this place.”
Images
Christmas greetings from NZ
Christmas greetings from NZ
New Zealand troops found themselves spending Christmas 1914 in Egypt. They had left New Zealand expecting to sail to Europe, but were diverted to Egypt after Turkey joined the war on the side of Ge...
Images
Patriotic tableau by school students
Patriotic tableau by school students
Prior to 1914 children were seldom taught about war. For years however they felt its effects as their fathers, brothers and even older sisters left for the front. Patriotism was encouraged. Childre...
Images
Burial of Sapper J F Haynes
Burial of Sapper J F Haynes
Sapper J F Haynes died when the hut he was sleeping in was destroyed by shellfire and burst into flames. Badly wounded Haynes was rescued by Company-Sergeant-Major Woodhall, and Sergeant J S L Deem...
Images
Soldiers at Tapawera military camp
Soldiers at Tapawera military camp
These soldiers were photographed at a military camp at Tapawera in the Marlborough area. The photo is dated April 1914, so was taken before the outbreak of war. Military training had been compulsor...
Images
Women knitting socks for soldiers
Women knitting socks for soldiers
Some care has been taken to present this rather formal image, possibly posed in a photographic studio, of a group of young women working together for the war effort. The men in the trenches suffere...
Images
Great War Certificate of service
Great War Certificate of service
Every returned New Zealand soldier who served in the First World War received this certificate of service. It recorded the soldier’s name, rank(s), where he served (theatres of war) and medals rece...
Images
New Zealand artillery
New Zealand artillery
More New Zealand soldiers lost their lives to shellfire in the First World War than to enemy bullets. Often it was a question of where you were standing at the time. Shells could and did often fall...
Images
Crowd at a patriotic demonstration, Stratford
Crowd at a patriotic demonstration, Stratford
The pace of events in Europe leading up to the outbreak of World War One meant that it came as a shock to some New Zealanders. However, public reaction in the days following was largely of great ex...
Images
An unidentified New Zealand soldier outside his dug-out
An unidentified New Zealand soldier outside his dug-out
Shelter from the enemy and from the weather is a top priority for a soldier. Away from the front line trenches at Gallipoli, the men dug into the steep hillsides to create a place where they could ...
Images
Departure of Expeditionary Force reinforcements
Departure of Expeditionary Force reinforcements
This photolithograph is an artist’s impression of a departing troop ship. It shows a scene that was repeated many times during the war years, as reinforcement troops were sent overseas at two month...
Images
Returning to Wellington, New Zealand
Returning to Wellington, New Zealand
These four album photographs show the ship Tainui arriving in Wellington on the evening of September the 21 1919. On board were almost 400 New Zealand troops returning from fighting in Europe. News...
Images
The gymnasium at Hornchurch Convalescent Hospital
The gymnasium at Hornchurch Convalescent Hospital
It’s a world away from today’s fitness gyms and equipment, (who would wear a shirt and tie to a gym today?) but this is what the inside of a gymnasium looked like 100 years ago. This gym was part o...
Images
Soldiers firing at an enemy aircraft
Soldiers firing at an enemy aircraft
New Zealand soldiers are seen operating a Vickers machine gun against an enemy aeroplane in the Middle East. Despite having the ability to fire about 450 bullets a minute, the gun did have its limi...
Images
Ettie Rout with her volunteers
Ettie Rout with her volunteers
Ettie Rout (in the middle, without a hat) poses with members of the volunteer sisterhood, which she organised to provide care to New Zealand soldiers overseas. In 1915, without government approval,...
Manuscripts
Letters to Leslie by David Grant
Letters to Leslie by David Grant
These letters were written from Trentham, Featherston, Sling Camp, (England), and somewhere in France. Grant frequently mentions his friends in his letters. Even this short excerpt provides readers...
Images
What will he do with it?
What will he do with it?
The British bulldog making fun of Germany was a popular symbol in war cartoons. Sometimes the bulldog was shown chasing the Kaiser, or biting the Kaiser’s rear! The German sausage was also used to ...
Images
Fundraising poster for soldiers
Fundraising poster for soldiers
New Zealand communities large and small threw themselves into supporting the war effort. Patriotic societies and charities were established early in the war and kept up an enthusiastic pace of fund...
Images
General Alexander Godley
General Alexander Godley
General Alexander Godley was appointed to help set up a New Zealand territorial force after a recommendation by Field Marshal Lord Kitchener, who visited New Zealand early in 1910.
Images
Horses killed by bombs
Horses killed by bombs
In this German bombing raid in France, 94 horses were killed. German bombs often exploded low destroying the horse’s legs. The animals would be treated if possible but more often than not they woul...
Websites
WWW
Since writing about you last...
Presents the transcribed and digitised war letters of 4 Southland soldiers.
Images
New Zealand soldiers below trench signs
New Zealand soldiers below trench signs
New Zealand soldiers below trench signs at Gommecourt Wood August 1918.
Manuscripts
War diary
War diary
Alfred Cameron’s Gallipoli war diary
Images
Peace celebration parade, Queen Street, Auckland
Peace celebration parade, Queen Street, Auckland
Peace celebration parade on Queen Street, Auckland, 19 July 1919.
Images
Captain Anderson and his gun crew
New Zealand soldiers on horseback led by Captain Anderson in Samoa during World War I.
Websites
WWW
EPIC
Find more information about New Zealand and the first World War on EPIC. Databases recommended: Australia New Zealand Reference Plus, New Zealand History Collection (BWB), Britannica School and Wor...
Audio
9: The First World War
It’s the war that claimed more New Zealand lives than any other. It’s also the event that’s often claimed as the "foundational moment” where we “became a nation”. But is that really true? In this e...
Videos
The World War I Collection
A collection of World War One videos about Anzac battles fought and wartime stories.

Other resources

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