(BOLD, MARTIAL ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) Captions by James Brown. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2024 (BIRDSONG) - Hi, I'm Andrew Mehrtens. I was All Black number 944. What you're told in the All Blacks is you're just a custodian of the jersey. And you want to try and leave it in a better place, but you also get to build on the success and the history of those who came before. And when we're talking about the All Black history, there were 13 All Blacks who gave their lives in the Great War, World War 1. Now, the All Blacks' sacrifice, of course, was no greater than any other soldier who died in these conflicts. But that's my connection with them ` the rugby connection. And we've come here to Northern France and Belgium to have a look at some of these All Blacks who are laying here among all these thousands and thousands of graves of young men who made the ultimate sacrifice. So we're going to have a look at some of the stories behind these men. - There were 52 All Blacks that served. And out of that 52, 13 were killed in action. That's a death rate of one in every four. We wondered why so many All Blacks had died. Perhaps they were just a little bit too brave. (MILITARY DRUM BEAT) - The disastrous military campaign at Gallipoli in 1915 would claim the lives of our first two All Blacks. 'Doolan' and 'Norkey' had consecutive All Black numbers, debuting together in 1913 and then touring the USA. They died just one day apart. (INSPIRING ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) - New Zealand's role is to take one of the critical pieces of high ground, Chunuk Bair. Nowhere are you safe on Gallipoli, because you're always under potential sniper or artillery fire. And those two soldiers, who held that piece of ground, die on Gallipoli. - Gallipoli is evacuated. And after a period of rest and reorganisation, the New Zealand Division is formed in March 1916. And the surviving veterans, built up with reinforcements, move to France. The Western Front will be where 12,500 New Zealand soldiers would die before the war would end. Dotted all around Northern France on these old battlefields, there are an extraordinary number of Commonwealth war grave cemeteries that contain row after row after row of headstones. These are mostly young men who faced an atrocious reality and ended up here, far from home. But the number is just incredible. - The Somme in 1916 is where New Zealand makes its name, as far as the British are concerned. Here they have a division that becomes known as the Silent Division, because it's told to do a job, and it gets on and does it and shows it's potentially one of the best divisions on the Western Front. - And it's here at Dernancourt that we find the first All Black casualty of the Western Front. And that's 2nd Lieutenant Frank Wilson of Auckland. Frank is one of many who perish in a very short space of time. - 15th of September through to early October ` 7000 casualties. - Auckland Grammar School has been New Zealand's biggest generator of All Blacks. Frank was in the fourth form when he made it into the first 15 in 1900. The current team have something poignant for Frank's grave in France, the coveted first 15 jersey. It's already passed through another set of hands, those of Grammar old boy Benson Stanley, who's now based at Montpellier Rugby Club in the south of France. Receiving your first 15 jersey ` can you remember that? - Yeah, I tentatively took it and just thought about the All Blacks that had played. You know, you build it up ` you're a young man, you come to this school, you set your goals, you wanna play for the first 15, and you get the chance, and so it's a pretty emotional time. And so there's something deep inside that comes out in those games on the weekend. And so that's why it was just a phenomenal time. - Feeling that jersey now? - I am, actually, and it's a privilege to be able to hand over the jersey to you. It's changed a wee bit. She's a bit lighter. There's no collar on it any more. But there are some things that don't change, and that's the lion. - I'm a bit hesitant to touch it, almost, being a Christchurch Boys High School old boy. - Don't worry, I'm reluctant to give it. We're very respectful, though, so thank you. And it will certainly find a good home with Frank. - Go well. - Cheers, Bens. Thanks, mate. Frank, all-rounder doesn't really do you justice as a term. You were cricket, rugby, tennis, swimming, a track athlete, gymnast, champion florist, a singer, a musician, and you eventually became a teacher. You got plucked by Dave Gallaher, that favourite New Zealand son, into the Auckland team and eventually played for the All Blacks in 1910. After surviving Gallipoli, you came to what was a nightmare in Northern France. A friend of yours, on the first anniversary of your death, put a message in the New Zealand Herald just saying simply, 'He was indeed a man.' The current first 15 have asked if I could deliver a token of their remembrance to you alongside a poppy here, to mark our visit here today. (POIGNANT MUSIC) (INSPIRING ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) Just 15 minutes up the road from Frank Wilson's final resting place is the cemetery at Caterpillar Valley. Over 5500 graves are here, and almost 4000 of them are unidentified. There are 125 known Kiwis buried here, and on the wall there's a memorial to 1205 New Zealanders who lost their lives but whose bodies were never found. And at the top of one of these lists of names we find RS Black, Bobby Black, 1914 All Black. He played six games just before the war started, signed up immediately to come across and fight in the Great War, eventually came across in 1915 and made the ultimate sacrifice in September 1916 when fighting with the Canterbury Regiment. - An exhausting, attritional bloodbath. This meat grinder chews up the New Zealand Division. And those men are part of the cost of those attacks. - One of them, unknown, was eventually returned to New Zealand in 2004. And those who were part of his journey home gave him a name. - The boys who were there called him 'Bob' ` 'bag of bones'. We walked the attack the day before the ceremony. And you were just conscious that they were still there, and they were all around us. EMOTIONALLY: You sensed... they were standing there. - The Unknown Soldier is a poignant stop for many Kiwis, including the 2023 Rugby World Cup All Blacks squad. - We felt that we could create an experience to tap into some real special wairua that existed with people that had worn the jersey many, many years ago. - Very humbling experience being there. It's just a very, um, eerie feeling, eh? Like, looked at the names, where they were from. - We acknowledged Bobby Black, an All Black who lost his life there, a young man, just like us, that was tasked to go off to war. You know, there's only been 1200 All Blacks, and he was one of them, so there's that instant connection there. - He is recorded on this wall. He is amongst the missing. - No grave. Just seeing his name on the wall. 23 is so young. And to enable the boys to connect with and hear his story was very, very special. - CANE: We laid the jersey, and it was such an incredible experience to do that there. - The great thing about the All Black jersey is when you lay a jersey down like that, there's no one in it ` it's the jersey, and it's the person who fills it, and it's what they do in it that adds to the legacy and makes it really, really special. - It helps us appreciate how lucky we are to be living in the day and age that we do. And then to see the emotion, yeah, quite a moving experience for the team. - There was a warmth that came across the group that you can't describe. It just had to be felt. We came back on the bus and just sat there, not saying anything but understanding that they'd actually had a very, very special experience. - By 1917 the war was entrenched. But the Kiwis have good leadership. The leader of the New Zealand Division on the Western Front is Major General Andrew Russell. His mantra for winning a war is reflected in just three words. - Trust, training, thoroughness. Trust that we've done all our planning; ensuring that they're trained for the job; and what can the enemy do, and does our plan defeat it? (EXPLOSIONS, GUNFIRE) After the Somme, Russell is conscious that while we've proved ourselves as soldiers, he feels that they didn't pay enough attention to care and welfare of the men. And he says, 'I want you to forget about the Germans. 'The first priority now is the men, 'and platoon commanders must care for their men as a mother would a boy of 10.' Part of that is rugby ` a New Zealand team versus everyone else. And so we play the Welsh Division. And that's one of the first filmed games. - Rugby was played at every level, and it was hugely beneficial. - Guys were using rugby, I guess, as a way of escapism from the war. There were guys organising rugby competitions and rugby teams. They were scouting for players between units. They had a guy on a bicycle who would cycle around to other places and say, 'Oh, you've got a tall guy who's a decent lock. 'Perhaps he could come along and play for our unit.' - With talented provincial players and former All Blacks to call on, the New Zealand sides were strong. But always the priority was war. - In 1917 the emphasis shifts from the Somme into Belgium. (BUGLERS PLAY THE LAST POST) - More than 200,000 soldiers of the British Commonwealth died in the Ypres Salient. And the local Belgian population have never forgotten them. (BAND PLAY 'GOD DEFEND NEW ZEALAND') Every night since 1928 a service is held at Menin Gate in Ypres which attracts people from all over the world. - Ka maumahara tonu tatou ki a ratou. - It's the eve of Anzac Day, and I'm here honouring our 13 All Blacks who never made it home. When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today. Anzac Day morning is the annual service at the New Zealand Memorial at Messines Ridge. - # ...onbevreesd moogt spreken ` # voor vorst, voor vrijheid en voor recht. # - It is here that some 700 New Zealanders died in just 48 hours in June 1917. - The Battle of Messines Ridge is always known as the Battle of the Mines. - The critical point on that ridge is Messines itself. And that's the New Zealand role. - It's a peaceful landscape now, but in the preceding two years before 1917, the Allies tunnelled under the German front lines and packed them with thousands of pounds of explosives. - In June, before dawn, the mines blow. And in the New Zealand case, their front line is so close to the German line there is no possibility of having mines in front of them. They do it the hard way. - That shows how big their stamina was, how big their efforts were here in the Western Front, especially here in Messines. - ARCHIVE: There was flashing and noise going, and shells dropping. You'd keep up as close as possible to your own barrage. And while Jerry was dazed, you would hop in. - It's an outstanding success. - But at the same time, so many casualties. Hence why we're remembering the New Zealanders here, despite the fact it was a victory. - It's the only victory that Allied forces had at that time. - The Battle of Messines would cost the lives of four of our 1913 All Blacks. This monument at Messines Ridge British Cemetery commemorates fallen New Zealanders whose bodies weren't found. And among that number is a certain George Sellers. (INSPIRING ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) Here he is here. George Sellers. George, you were a proud Ponsonby man and a proud New Zealand Maori rugby player and All Black, of course, from 1913. And while there's no known grave, we do know some of the details, and that you gave your life saving a wounded comrade that you were carrying to safety. And just as a very small token of the visit today, let's make a little makeshift cairn here to mark your memorial alongside all your fallen colleagues. And we thank you. George had only been on the front for five days when he was killed the day the mines blew at Messines. He was part of the All Blacks squad that toured the USA in September 1913. Our three other Messines men were part of a second All Black squad that stayed home to play against Australia. The first of these men is buried across the border in Bailleul, France. Here you are, Private Baird, your resting place a long way from home, from Otago, and a teenage prodigy in rugby. You joined the Zingari Richmond Club and were playing for them at age 18. Then you were in Otago at 19 and made your Test debut at the same age, one of the youngest ever with the All Blacks. It must have been incredibly exciting, particularly on your home patch in Dunedin. And you had it all ahead of you, and then this conflict happened, and you put your hand up and came all the way around the world to liberate a country you'd probably heard not much about. So just from one All Black to another, Jim, in honour of your sacrifice, just a little poppy in the hopes that you'll keep resting in peace. James was not killed outright on the 7th of June, but his injuries took him by the day's end. Another All Blacks seriously wounded on the 7th was Jim McNeece. But he would battle on for another two weeks before succumbing to his injuries on the 21st of June. - If they were capable to be transported, they were transported to the official hospitals in France. And there he died, and that's the reason he is buried in France and not here in Messines. - I wonder if, before his death, Jim had received the tragic news that a third All Black teammate had died Back in Messines. Well, Lance Corporal Reg Taylor, you played an instrumental role for the Taranaki team which took the Ranfurly Shield off Auckland in 1913. And that was a massive year for you. Played your first Test, you scored a try against Australia in Dunedin and backed up against Australia again in Christchurch. Then this war came along, you got sent off via Gallipoli and found your way here to Northern France, where you and your mates assaulted Messines. A lot of your compatriots rest here with you in the Underhill Farm Cemetery. Reg, your deeds on the battlefield earned you a promotion to lance corporal. You were also the vice-captain of the New Zealand Divisional 15, the Trench Blacks, who won the Somme Cup in Paris against France in 1917. Away from the battlefield, rugby was always a great escape, particularly after the horrors of Gallipoli. - We were all in a very sorry state. The flies affected the food ` as soon as we opened a tin of jam or anything like that, they were right into it. There was a lot of dysentery. - After nearly eight months, without let-up and without gain, the mutilated units silently, skilfully departed from Gallipoli. - They were evacuated to Lemnos for recovery. And that was the first time they'd had flat land and were able to play a game. The New Zealand team had three All Blacks in it. And they recorded the score 33 points to nil against Australia. So, yeah, a game on the beach, after Gallipoli. - And your referee that day was a former Taranaki teammate, Lieutenant Sydney Paul. And this is what he wrote in a letter to friends about you. He said, 'It was very hard luck about poor old Reg Taylor going west, as he was a real good sort. 'I don't know his people, but you can tell them from me 'that he was one of the best and keenest soldiers in our forces, 'always ready to do anything at any risk, 'and that he was of the sort that New Zealand could ill afford to lose. 'The death caused quite a gloom among the boys, as they all thought so much of Reg.' So you were missed, Lance Corporal Taylor. You haven't been forgotten. You never will be. I've brought a little poppy as a token of our visit today. Thank you. Well, this seems an appropriate place to lay this wreath. We're at Messines, the monument to the men of the New Zealand Division. A really good victory for the Allies. However, even then, a lot of lives were lost ` and among them, of course, our four All Blacks. (SOMBRE MUSIC) - 1917 ` particularly, uh, from Messines on, is... hard yakka. - The death toll continues to mount. - Someone said that for every week of the war, 90 New Zealanders died. (SOMBRE MILITARY MUSIC) - In Belgium, the area around Passchendaele on the 4th and 12th of October 1917 takes an extraordinary number of New Zealand lives, including that of 1905 Originals captain Dave Gallaher. - He's a casualty of the 4th, which is a day of great success for the New Zealanders, because the 4th is the first time that all the Australian and the New Zealand Divisions attack side-by-side. - It's Anzac Day morning, and I'm at Nine Elms Cemetery in Belgium. And right here is probably the most visited war grave, certainly by New Zealanders. It's that of Sergeant Dave Gallaher, famous as the captain of the 1905 New Zealand rugby team, which ultimately became called the first All Blacks. He played 26 games on tour, four out of the five internationals ` he was injured for the Irish game, unfortunately, playing against the country of his birth. And he volunteered for two different major conflicts, the Boer War and the Great War. And each time, he took three years off his age to make sure he came under the threshold and was able to join the conflict. And he grew up in Katikati. And we've been lucky enough to link up with a few Katikati Primary School pupils of today to see what they know about their former student. Good morning ` well, good evening, Katikati. How are you guys? - Good. - Yeah, we're good. - Now, we've got Monty, Scarlett and Blake there from Katikati Primary, haven't we? - Yep. - And you've got a very famous old student from Katikati that's over here in the Nine Elms Cemetery. What can you guys tell us about him? - He played wing forward. - He did. So that's one of the stars, isn't it? That's like a Richie McCaw, right? He played a lot of games on that Originals tour. Do you know that that was when they first got called the All Blacks? - Oh. - Oh. - Have you got anything else on him? - His mum was a teacher in Room 2. - Room 2? I'm astounded. I didn't think that Katikati Primary, 120 years ago, would have had two rooms. So that's pretty cool, isn't it? It was bigger than I thought. Dave Gallaher's grave is very, very special to Kiwis ` particularly, I'm sure, to those of you in Katikati. But he's one of so many here from all those different countries, huge numbers. They didn't call it World War 1 at the time. They called it the Great War, because they didn't know there was going to be World War 2. 20 million people died in this war. It went for four and a bit years. Oh my goodness. - That's four times New Zealand. - That's exactly right. It's pretty daunting standing here looking at all the headstones. And we're just focusing on one today, but there are so many. And you're all wearing these poppies as well, which is fantastic. It's only a small gesture, but we've got the little poppy here that we're going to leave for Dave Gallaher. And there's a little shield there ` people do come and visit these graves and leave things. So we're going to leave this one on behalf of you guys in Katikati and the rest of New Zealand. I'll just put it down here, OK? Now, do you do any special waiata you'd like to show us? - Yeah. - Yeah. - Well, you can go for it whenever you like. Direct from Katikati. - # Tutira mai nga iwi. # Aue! # Tatou, tatou e. # Tutira mai nga iwi. # Aue! # Tatou, tatou e. # Whaia te maramatanga # me te aroha # e nga iwi. # Kia ko tapatahi. # Kia kotahi ra. # Tatou, tatou e. # Tatou, # tatou e. # Tahi, rua, toru, wha! Kss, hi-aue-hi! # How awesome was that? Ha-ha! Well done. Hey, guys, awesome chatting to you. It's been great to have you guys joining us. Thanks very much. Ka kite. - Bye. - Bye. - Dave Gallaher's death on the 4th would soon be followed by the highest number of New Zealand deaths on a single day ` 846, on the 12th of October 1917. - After the 4th, it starts raining. It brings on the mud. - ARCHIVE: Ghastly. Hell. Just mud, mud, mud. Trenches half full of mud. - And that single road leading up to Passchendaele can't take the artillery, which are stuck. Instead of pausing, getting the engineers in to get it right, so that the guns can be in position ` because artillery is everything ` (GUNS BOOM) Godley convinces Haig that one more push will do it, and the New Zealanders have never failed. The 12th of October is a black day. The guns sink in the mud. So their shells, instead of landing on the German wire, which is uncut, land in the New Zealand assembly area. The attack fails. Brave men trying to do the impossible and dying and drowning in the mud. Morale slumps. It's a winter from hell. - In fact, it is the coldest winter of the entire war. Some of the men who survived this trying time would return a few years later. - The 1924 Invincibles went back to the battlefields. 11 of those forwards were ex-servicemen. And the captain, Cliff Porter, laid a wreath on Dave Gallaher's grave. It must have been a strange feeling for them coming back. - Dave Gallaher, the epitome of a great leader on both the sports field and the battlefield. (GUNS BOOM) - ARCHIVE: The whole of the artillery all opened up, and away she went. - 1918, in every respect, is a year of amazing success. But, as always, at a cost. - Part of that cost would be our 10th All Black, a fellow Canterbury man. So I've found another Cantabrian at Montpellier Rugby Club in Southern France, who has his own connections with the Great War ` All Black number 1178, George Bridge. - My great-grandfather was a child of nine, and four of them went away to World War 1. Only two of them came home. - A man alone can't survive. And teamwork is everything. Surviving in war is how close you are to your mate. The citizen army was totally professional in its approach, in the same way that they played rugby. You would train in the mornings and you play rugby in the afternoon. It was in our blood. - Nowadays, within our rugby environment, we talk about having your brother's back and putting your body on the line for your mate that's next to you. And you think about what they actually did in the trenches ` they were literally doing that. And if they hadn't done it, things could be a lot different to what they are now. - Although rugby was the first love of Hubert Turtill, a one-Test All Black for a home game in 1905, he changed codes and countries before the war started, playing rugby league and enlisting with the British in 1915. Well, unlike most other military cemeteries in Northern France, the Brown's Road Cemetery at Festubert has had a town grow up around it. But having residential properties here in no way takes away from the sombre and poignant nature of a place like this. Jum Turtill, the little 4-year-old chubby boy who got the nickname Jumbo, who went back to England after his years in New Zealand, where he played for the All Blacks and Canterbury at fullback and the All Golds, the first New Zealand rugby league team. Jum's death left a wife and child alone in England, thousands of miles from their home in Canterbury. But your family's passion for Canterbury was undiminished, and your wife and son came back out soon after to make their lives in Christchurch. And unfortunately, your son, like you, lost his life in the next great conflict, in World War 2. - It's a testament to the Canterbury community that post his death, his family actually moved to Christchurch. So there's definitely a certain correlation, in terms of me growing up in Gisborne and making my way down to Christchurch when I was 17 and spending 10 years of my life in Christchurch. - George gave me the perfect memento for our fellow Cantabrian's grave. - Here's a Canterbury hat for you to place on top of it. - It's an honour to do that, and I'm sure he'd be honoured to receive it, mate. Thank you. Appreciate your time. - Thank you. (POIGNANT MUSIC) - Jum, you made the ultimate sacrifice, for which we are eternally grateful. You were around in the early days of New Zealand and Canterbury Rugby, helping to build what has become an incredible legacy. From one Canterbury man to another, here's a token of this visit, and a little bit more red and black for you as well. Three weeks later, we'd lose another Cantabrian All Black. Eric Harper was part of the 1905 Originals team that toured the United Kingdom, skippered by Dave Gallaher. Eric played for the All Blacks in the 1904 match against the British and Irish Lions in Wellington. He also represented Canterbury in cricket, held national track athlete titles and was a highly regarded mountaineer. In 1908 he was in the first climbing party to cross Dennistoun Pass in the Southern Alps, where Eric Stream is named after him. After the 1905 tour, Eric felt the time was right to start concentrating on his legal career as a solicitor. A decade later, at 38, even though he was exempt, Eric volunteered for war duty, leaving a wife and two children in Christchurch. - The New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade serves in Palestine from 1916 through to the end of the war. And they're one of the finest bodies of soldiers that New Zealand has ever raised. And Harper is part of that success story. Even in the infantry division, there were 3500 horses. The greatest problem, both in Sinai, with the Mounted Rifles Brigade, and the New Zealand Division, is fodder for the horses, farriers ` the vets. If you want to understand New Zealanders in battle under the most trying of circumstances, don't look at the trenches on the Somme or Passchendaele, look at the horsemen in Sinai. - ARCHIVE: Driving the Turks before them, they recaptured Palestine, pushed on through the Sinai Desert to Gaza and on to Jerusalem. - At Jerusalem in April 1918, Eric's unit came under Turkish artillery bombardment at night. And while trying to calm his beloved horses, he was killed by an exploding shell. They had already lost 45 horses that day. It's been estimated that of the 16 million horses serving the various armies during World War 1, over eight million died. - We send 10,000 horses to war. Only four come back, because of quarantine restrictions. They're the forgotten heroes of New Zealand. - In six months' time, the war will finally be over. But there are many more lives still to be lost before the armistice in November 1918, including our last two All Blacks. - (PLAYS REVEILLE) - If you want to see a citizen army that is totally professional and on top of its game, look at the New Zealand Division in 1918. - From August to November 1918 the Allies mounted a series of massive attacks across Northern France. This push would eventually see the end of the war. - The last hundred days, the New Zealanders are leading the advance. And it's not easy. And it's heavy casualties. (GUNFIRE) But an outstanding performance. - Our 12th All Black to die is buried here at Metz-en-Couture Cemetery. Like so many others resting around him, he found himself in a bitter battle to the finish line. And it's here that we find a product of another famous Kiwi school, Wellington College ` one Earnest Dodd. Ernie, you'd spent 12 months over here. You found yourself hospitalised twice, the first time narrowly avoiding tragedy from a sniper's bullet that grazed your scalp, and the second time getting scabies, which was a result of the horrific conditions that you and your fellow soldiers endured in the trenches. - You can't put your head above the parapet, or you'd be sniped. You're on tinned food. Every man is lousy. You get trench foot. Your toes start rotting and dropping off. - ARCHIVE: You've no idea what it was like. You lived in dugouts and you were pretty well over your ankles in mud all the time. You had no protection ` you just had a ground sheet over you. You'd wake up in the morning with snow over your feet. And you were everlastingly in dampness. - You'd been through your fair share of tragedy already, having lost a first and a second wife, both to different illnesses. Losing your own life just two months out from the end of the war meant that the real tragedy was the three children you left back in New Zealand, who were orphaned. - Even those men who came back were in and out of sanatoriums and hospitals. Men suffering from gas, the nightmares, reliving the war. And so Mum had to bring up the family alone. And of course the '20s and '30s, the Depression ` years of cost. Men on disability that cannot work, and the benefits are cut. (ENGINES ROAR) The final irony is in 1939 they're now parents, watching their sons and daughters involved in the next war. - ARCHIVE: Night after night, these young men carried the war to the enemy. - And more cemeteries, much like Ernie's one here, would have to be built in Europe to house our World War 2 casualties. Ernie, you're All Black number 83, which makes you our earliest All Black to have been lost in war. As part of the Wellington team that won the Ranfurly Shield in the first ever successful challenge against Auckland, you'll remain part of our rugby folklore. So it's with great respect, Ernie, that I leave this poppy as a token of respect and of this visit. (GENTLE GUITAR MUSIC) And, as I've been proud to do for all our men, I'll leave a note in the visitor's book. In what should be the final push to end the war, the New Zealand Division rapidly advances to the Forest of Mormal, encircling Le Quesnoy as they do so. (CURIOUS STRING MUSIC) The town's seemingly impenetrable fortifications had secured German occupation since 1914. And the Kiwis had to find a way in. It came down to the discovery of one key spot on the innermost wall. This narrow ledge is the exact point where the Kiwis found the opportunity they needed. This elevated position above the moat is the only place around all these walls were a ladder could reach the top. It's just unbelievable to think of soldiers here putting a rickety ladder up, going into goodness knows what, having to go up here and stick your head over straight into a combat situation, with men waiting to go over behind them. The bravery is... incomprehensible. And it's outside these walls that one of our All Blacks is shot in the head. He's found the next day, barely alive, and taken to a casualty clearing station, where he died. Caudry British Cemetery, close by to the clearing station, became the resting place for many New Zealanders. And here we find Jemmy Ridland, the last of the All Blacks to die in the Great War. He met his doom just a week out from the Armistice. He was conscripted at the fairly ripe age of 35. (BAND PLAY 'IT'S A LONG WAY TO TIPPERARY') - The only division that's up to strength are the New Zealand Division, because of the very efficient conscription system. 2000 men a month, come rain or shine. And they're not just bodies, they're trained soldiers. - Jimmy, our 1910 All Black, would take a year to be fully trained and reached the front, only to die a mere five weeks later. Jimmy, you were the 13th and final All Black to be so sadly lost in this horrible conflict. And just as a small token of the visit and just to remind you that you will be remembered as well, I'm just going to leave a little poppy here and... and say thank you again. (POIGNANT ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) (BAND PLAY MILITARY MARCH) The people of Le Quesnoy have continued to be grateful to Jimmy and other men like him who paid with their lives to free their town in 1918. Every year they commemorate Anzac Day, and New Zealand flags fly proudly around the town. New Zealand street names are everywhere, and there's even a Place Des All Blacks. New Zealanders are always welcome here. - Our friendship is truly alive. It is also the tangible proof that we share a common commitment to freedom and peace. - Appropriately, Le Quesnoy is the home of Te Arawhata, the New Zealand Liberation Museum. The experience tells New Zealand's story on the Western Front, and in particular what happened here at Le Quesnoy. Our 13 All Blacks are honoured here too. It celebrates a friendship that started back in 1918. - Our fathers, Eugene and Leslie, were very good friends. And we are good friends too. - And that friendship has never vanished. But go to the Le Quesnoy. See for yourself. The Kohima Epitaph talks about those who gave their lives, having given their today so we could have our tomorrow. It's been a really sobering experience visiting these sites in Northern France and Belgium. We can't ever repay that debt, but we can be thankful, and we can always remember. Among all these gravestones, so many New Zealanders, and our 13 All Blacks. Lest we forget. (STIRRING ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) Captions by James Brown. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2024