ANZAC Day 2026
Remembered with honour
Although I didn’t attend a memorial service the day does not pass without remembering those who have served, one in particular.
My Mum never knew her Grandfather who died on the battlefield in the last few weeks of World War One (which ended 11th November – 1918). Although born in Australia, of German emigrants, he served for NZ where he had settled and married.
He fought for King, Country and Empire against, possibly, his own distant relatives. The world is a strange place, still...
In Memory of Private ERNEST THEODORE BOCK who died age 37 on 12 September 1918
29609, New Zealand Machine Gun Battalion
Husband of Isabella Jane Bock, of 19 Russell St., Linwood, Christchurch.
Born in South Australia.
Remembered with honour; GREVILLERS (NEW ZEALAND) MEMORIAL
“At the end of any war, everyone sits around a table and comes to some agreement.
Why don't they do that before the war instead?”
Alf Razzell, Royal Fusiliers, WWI
📺
Alf Razzell's quote is heard in 'The Ballard of Bill Hubbard' from Roger Waters, Amused to Death Album
Original Source: Everyman - A Game of Ghosts: a documentary from 1991 (now Public Domain) with focus on the Battle of the Somme and interviews with surviving veterans.
I first saw this when it first aired on TV in the 90s, the words of those living with the guilt of surviving, unforgettable.
Original Source: Everyman - A Game of Ghosts: a documentary from 1991 (now Public Domain) with focus on the Battle of the Somme and interviews with surviving veterans.
I first saw this when it first aired on TV in the 90s, the words of those living with the guilt of surviving, unforgettable.
(Photo NZ War Graves at Waikumete Cemetery, Auckland)
