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ISSUE 107 (June 2015)
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New Zealand Postcard Society (Inc.) Directory
Patron | Geoff Potts | pottsfamily00@hotmail.com |
President | Jeff Long | jefflong@xtra.co.nz |
Vice-Presidents | Barry Longstaffe | barry.longstaffe@xtra.co.nz |
Diane McKoy | diane.brian@xtra.co.nz | |
VP Research | Bill Main | wmain@paradise.net.nz |
Secretary | Gerard Morris | gerardmorris_nzkiwi@hotmail.com |
Treasurer | Ross Alexander | rossalexander@xtra.co.nz |
Sales Mgr/Auctioneer | Chris Rabey | ships.pubs@paradise.net.nz |
Editors | Jeff & Jenny Long | jefflong@xtra.co.nz |
Webmasters | Bruce King | blinking@vodafone.co.nz |
Ross Alexander | rossalexander@xtra.co.nz | |
Committee | Geoff Potts | pottsfamily00@hotmail.com |
John Eccles | john.eccles@xtra.co.nz | |
Bruce Isted | cartophilic@xtra.co.nz | |
Leo Haks | info@leohaks.co.nz | |
Glenn Reddiex. | grredx@hotmail.com | |
Jenny Banfield | normanb@xtra.co.nz |
Life Members: Yvonne Coles, William Main, Geoff Potts, Chris Rabey, Doug South, Evie South, Ray Staal, Diane McKoy.
Correspondence: all enquiries should be made to the Secretary, gerardmorris_nzkiwi@hotmail.com or by post to P.O. Box 20, Wakefield, Nelson 7052.
The Society Website is www.postcard.org.nz
The Postcard Pillar magazine is produced four times a year under the editorship of Jeff Long and Jenny Long. Contributions are very welcome at any time - please email or post to Jeff Long.
Membership of the Society can be obtained by sending a cheque payable to N.Z. Postcard Society Inc. to the Secretary, with your name, address, telephone number, email address and collecting interests.
The Subscription for the July 1 2015 - June 30 2016 year for a NZ individual or family member is $45, or $50 for an overseas member, in each case reduced by $5 if paid by June 30 2015. An invoice for the upcoming year is enclosed with this edition of the journal. PLEASE PAY PROMPTLY !!
Postcard Pillar Issue 107
Thanks to those who sent in articles, images or snippets. Keep sending them in, preferably in electronic format, but it is perfectly fine if this is not possible. The philosophy of the Editors is to get your words, images and research out to the membership of the Society.
The image on the cover is a Gallipoli Medal. See article on pages 9 to 14.
Included are significant research articles by Jeff Briggs, Alan Jackson, William Main, Glen Reddiex and Jeff Long.
Contents | |
1 | Directory |
2 | Society News and Snippets |
3 - 4 | Obituary Gladys Goodall |
5 – 8 | Fighting Foxes at Gallipoli by Glenn Reddiex |
9 – 14 | One Man’s Gallipoli by Jeff Long |
15 - 18 | Monuments and Memorials by William Main |
19 – 25 | New Zealand World War One Fundraising Cards by Alan Jackson |
26 – 42 | Daily Mail Official War Postcards by Jeff Briggs |
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Society News and Snippets
2015 NZ Postcard Society Convention
Yes, this is already planned for the weekend of Sept 12-13, 2015, at the Philatelic Centre, 67 Mandeville St, Riccarton, Christchurch. Best put this in your diary now!
Saturday includes displays by members of items of interest, and their other collecting interests, followed by the AGM at 4.00pm. The dinner menu and Saturday night entertainment is organised.
Sunday will be busy with our Collectables Fair. Members will have ‘first look’ from 8.30 until 10am. A number of dealers have already expressed interest in attending, including some who you don’t normally see. Further details will be sent with the next Postcard Pillar.
Showtime
Several members entered postcard exhibits in the Sydney exhibition and achieved pleasing results.
Sue Claridge NZ W W I General Hospitals 78 Vermeil
Bruce Chadderton Whakarewarewa – Living a Guide Life 87 Gold
Jenny Long Estuary to Esplanade – the Sumner Coast, ChCh, NZ 77 Vermeil
Derek Pocock The Picture Postcards of the Melanesian Mission 76 Vermeil
Jenny Banfield Mesopotamia to Iraq 81 Large Vermeil
Alma Downes Edinburgh Castle 70 Large Silver
Jeff Long W T Wilson: Photographer & Postcard Manufacturer of Auckland
90 Large Gold, Felicitations for Research, Grand Award Postcards
The Postcard Pillar was entered in the Literature class and received 81 points, a Large Vermeil medal. This is a great result for a journal since it was competing against specialized books. Our many contributors in issues 102-105 should feel extremely proud of their contributions. Keep up the good work ! Below are the comments from the judges.
The next New Zealand national exhibition is the Capital Stamp Show 2015, in Wellington on October 23-25 this year. There are special classes for postcard entries, either 1 – 2 frames (16 or 32 pages) or 3 – 8 frames (48 to 124 pages).
There is plenty of information about exhibiting postcards on the Postcard Society website. Details about the exhibition can be found at www.nzpf.org/exhibitions You should enter or at least visit to see the material on display and to browse dealer stock, of course!
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Obituary - Gladys Mary Goodall (1908-2015) - By Gerard S. Morris
Gladys Mary Goodall, QSM, JP, AMNZPPA, NZRN on her 100th birthday, in 2008. (Lawrence Eagle collection)
As postcard collectors, most of us, I think, give little thought to the original photographer, as such is the age of many images that we automatically presume the person to be deceased. That was certainly what I first thought back in 2002 when I started researching Gladys Goodall. On the off-chance that she was still alive, I looked in the Christchurch telephone book, found her surname, and phoned the number. To my great surprise Gladys (then 94) answered the phone. I soon met her and wrote an article for the New Zealand aviation magazine Pacific Wings (Sep. 2002). A slightly revised version was later published in Postcard Pillar (No. 103, December 2013). Gladys died on 23 March 2015. She was 106.
Gladys Mary Bishop was born in the small South Otago farming community of Puketi on 2 June 1908. She was the second of eight children (seven girls and one boy) born to Frank and Jane Bishop. She grew up with a love of the outdoors, and was never one to sit and watch others, as her enjoyment of horse-riding and tree-climbing testify. Her introduction to photography came through the gift of a Box Brownie 2, from her parents. But, rather than just take photos Gladys was fortunate in having a mother, who loved photography and possessed darkroom skills. She quickly learned the craft and developed her own photos. Perhaps unsurprisingly she excelled at Science, at Lawrence District High School.
Gladys later studied nursing, graduated as a Registered Nurse and worked at Waimate Hospital. It was there that she met Stan Goodall, a patient, they dated and married. After the Depression, Stan worked on the Kaikoura railway and Gladys at Lewisham a private hospital on Bealey Avenue in Christchurch. In 1943, Gladys left hospital work and became a Plunket nurse. They had no children; this Gladys put down to the many years she stood unprotected in front of x-ray machines.
Towards the end of the 1940s, she left nursing and rediscovered her sense of adventure on bush tracks and mountain slopes with other like-minded people. For the next decade, or so, they walked many of New Zealand’s tracks and climbed mountains. She took her Rolleiflex camera. At this time, she learned how to ‘make’ photos as a member of the
Canterbury Photographic Society.
Gladys and Stan, circa 1930s. (Lawrence Eagle collection)
Gladys, circa 1950s. (Lawrence Eagle collection)
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Stan, who was by now driving tour buses, showed her photos to the owner of the newly opened Pancake Rock tearooms at Punakaiki, and to tourists. Orders flowed in, and the couple’s kitchen and bathroom became their darkroom where black and white proof sheets and postcards of popular tourist spots were produced. The business expanded and, in 1952, she rented premises firstly at 73A Kilmore Street and later in Cashel Street (now a mall) in the former premises of Mannering and Associates, opposite Ballantynes.
Gladys is pictured with Stan, in 1992, when she was awarded the Queen’s Service Medal for services to photography and the wider community as a Justice of the Peace (1949 - 1999). In later life, she cared for Stan, who died in 2004, at the age 95.
She imported from Germany, Christchurch’s first automated black and white printer, and sold her postcards to Whitcombe and Tombs. She also purchased from Germany a Linhoff camera and taught herself how to use it, as it did not have an English instruction book. Progresses in technology and customer demand brought her move to colour postcards at the end of 1950s. On 1 May 1960, she signed an exclusive deal with Whitcombe and Tombs that saw her supply thousands of photos to their postcard division, Felicity Cards. She was then a youthful 52 year old. Approximately twenty-one years, during which she drove about 500,000 kilometres of mainly gravel roads, and chartered about 110 aircraft for aerial sorties, fill the eight notebooks which are an incredible legacy of her work that spans the length and breadth of New Zealand. She retired in 1982, at the age of 73, having published about 6000 postcards (colour and B&W), several books and calendars.
As New Zealand’s first female commercial photographer, she is remembered and respected for her integrity, initiative, determination and skill. Her exceptional collection of postcards and books remain popular with collectors. We will ensure that her work endures for future generations to enjoy. I’d like to think she has an immense feeling of satisfaction of a life well-lived having brought pleasure to many thousands of people scattered around the globe, who treasure her work.
Gladys, in 2002, with one of her books. (Gerard Morris).
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The Fighting Fox’s at Gallipoli - by Glenn R. Reddiex
Bob and George Fox grew up in the town of Waipukurau in the Central Hawke’s Bay. There was perhaps no better way to spend those childhood years than in the proximity of rich pastoral lands, the meandering Tuki Tuki River popular for trout fishing or close to the beautiful Pacific coastline. The Fox brothers had the great outdoors at their feet and were never far from riding horses or playing a good game of footie.
c.1891 George Douglas and Robert Pope Fox. Portrait photograph by C.H. Harris.
c.1914 George Douglas and Robert Pope Fox. Photograph possibly taken at one of their sister’s weddings.
When war broke out in early August 1914 many young New Zealand men planned their journey to the nearest army enlistment office. Bob was one of these and joined the 9th Squadron of the Wellington Mounted Rifles at Dannevirke almost one week after war was declared. By December he was with his unit in Egypt.
In mid-February 1915 George followed his younger brother Bob into military service. He was posted to the 1st Battalion Wellington Infantry Regiment and began training at Trentham Camp.
On the 25th April, a day now etched firmly into our history, the Anzacs began their attack on the Gallipoli Peninsular in Turkey. Australian and New Zealand units started landing on the beach of Ari Burnu (later named Anzac Cove) in the early hours of the morning. As Anzac soldiers set foot on the shoreline they were quickly aware of the steep cliffs and ridges surrounding them. For the ensuing months this would become their home, their battlefield and for some, their burial ground.
Bob got through the Anzac landing that day unscathed. In the weeks that followed his unit fought off the Turks, the flies, the hot days and cold nights and the dreadful smell of death.
George arrived with the 5th Reinforcements at Anzac Cove in July. Far from home, he and his brother fought an unfamiliar foe in an unfamiliar land. In the days that followed, the battles of Suvla (6 to 21 August ) and Chunuk Bair (8-10 August 1915) produced many casualties.
On 8 August after just two weeks on Gallipoli soil George took a gunshot wound to the chest. He was transported on the ship Alaunia to Egypt to receive medical treatment and was subsequently admitted to the New Zealand General Hospital at Abbassia in Cairo on 14 August 1915.
Later that month the Anzacs tried to seize Hill 60 or Kaiajik Aghala on the Sari Bair Range. The first attack on Hill 60 occurred on 21 August. The major attack was planned for 5pm on Saturday 27 August and it is on about this date that George’s brother Bob Fox was wounded in gunfire.
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Postcard of the landing at Anzac Cove Dardanelles, 25th April 1915 by L.E. Tatton.
Postcard of dug outs at Anzac Cove Dardanelles, by L.E. Tatton.
News of Bob’s wounds was printed in the Hastings Standard on 22 October:
“Mrs Fox has received letters from her sons Bob and George, who are at the front. In his letter, Bob says: "First I was struck in the right hand and nearly lost my little finger. Of course, that wasn't enough, and I got it in both thighs, breaking the left just above the knee. I don't think I will get out before Xmas but am getting on fine now." More light is thrown on the matter by George, who writes: "Bob is doing really well and keeps all alive with his "barrack." He made his own way to the dressing shed, after being wounded; not a bad performance with one leg and one hand, considering it was nearly a mile away. He was attending a gun covering the charge when he got wounded. Bert Twist and Jack Fogarty are doing well. I often see Joe Simpson. Bill McGrath was also here, but Tom McIntyre is away from the Dardanelles having a spell. I don't think Bower Grosvenor will get away from here. Donald Lindsay "broke" and got away with the Mounteds, but was identified and sent back.”
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It’s unknown whether Bob and George saw one another on the Gallipoli slopes but they did meet in hospital back in Egypt as they both recovered from gunshot wounds. On 11 September in Zeitoun George sent a postcard to his Aunt Jennie (Janet Ann Buck nee Fox, a sister of George's father) mentioning his brother’s health and that of Bert Twist, a friend from Waipukurau who received a serious shrapnel wound to the head:
"Zeitoun. Sept 11th 1915.
Dear Aunt Jennie,
Just dropping a line to let you know how the Boys are all getting on. Bob is going on very well but of course he has suffered a lot of pain, he makes it very light always got a joke or a laugh ready. Bert Twist is doing well, his will be a long job. I think the two of them will be invalided home when they are well enough to travel. I hope to go on duty Monday and then I will get back to the Peninsula in 2 or 3 weeks’ time. Kind regards to Uncle & Ida. Very little news. Hope you are all well. Huray.
From your loving Nephew, Geo. D. Fox, Kia Ora."
George’s prediction rang true and for both Bob Fox and Bert Twist, their war wounds brought an end to any further active service. Bob was sent back to New Zealand on the hospital ship ‘Maheno’ on 29 November 1915.
After about 5 months of convalescing George re-joined his Battalion at Ismailia (located between Port Said and Suez) on 17 January 1916. In April he was off on the next “big adventure” bound for the battlefields of Belgium and France. On 8 June 1917 Private George Douglas Fox, age 29, was reported ‘killed in action’ at Messines near Ypres in Belgium. His body was never found.
In remembrance of two Anzacs from Waipukurau, Bob and George Fox (the author’s great great uncles). Lest We Forget.
Private George Douglas Fox, Wellington Infantry Battalion, reported wounded in the Auckland Weekly News on 9 September 1915.
Trooper Robert Pope Fox, Wellington Mounted Rifles, reported wounded in the Auckland Weekly News on 18 November 1915.
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A real photographic postcard of Private George Douglas Fox produced at the Lyceum Studios, 358 Strand, London, W.C. (c.1916/1917.)
On the reverse he writes: “Somewhere in the trenches. To Auntie Ann, from George, with best wishes.” This was possibly the last ever photograph taken of George. He was killed in action at Messines on 8 June 1917.
A patriotic postcard commemorating the Anzac’s of 1914-1915.
This was produced in Winchester, England and entitled “War Letters Design F.”
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One Man’s Gallipoli - by Jeff Long
My grandfather, George Turner Long, was born on 26 March 1892. His family lived and worked a farm at Kyle, near Rakaia in South Canterbury.
He enlisted in the Army on 13 August 1914, the first in his family to do so, but two other brothers enlisted later and served on the western front. Herbert was killed in West Flanders in June 1918, and Alfred was killed on the Somme in August 1918.
George was taken into camp the very day he enlisted, first at Addington and then at Sockburn. After training he was sent overseas as part of the Canterbury Infantry Battalion. He sailed from Lyttelton on the TSS Maori and onwards to Egypt on board troopship No 4, the SS Tahiti.
The men arrived on 3 Dec 1914 and ‘enjoyed’ further training, much of it alongside Australian and Indian troops. At that time, the local enemy was largely made up of Turkish troops, and there was much skirmishing before boarding troop ships for the island of Lemnos en route to Gallipoli.
At Gallipoli, he was part of a machine gun crew which was hard hit by Turkish artillery shells. Shrapnel hit most parts of his body and equipment, but the only serious wounds were to his arm. He was evacuated to the beach, and after some delay, on board a ship for Alexandria.
Egypt Feb 20th 1915
Dear Mother, Just a line to let you know I am well, and that we cannot send any news just yet but will do so at the first opportunity.
We have been in the trenches under a little shell firing, but no harm was done. I got your last letter alright, and hope you have been getting mine as well. Excuse such a short note.
George Long.
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Much of George’s Gallipoli story was printed in the Ashburton Guardian of June 24, 1915, and then in the Lyttelton Times of June 28. It was actually a letter to his mother. It doesn’t say so in the newspaper article, but one of George’s postcards sent home notes the conditions aboard were not good; “there was no food except biscuits and no orderlies to deal with wounds.” This would help explain why many died en route to Alexandria. Upon arrival, because the hospital was quickly filled with wounded soldiers, 700 men were sent on to Malta. His wounds had not been dressed for ten days.
There really is no better way to describe events at Gallipoli, so I have included the article verbatim. It reads:
I suppose you are wondering how I am getting on with my wounds; but you need not worry, as we are getting treated very well. I will tell you from the start, so you know what we have been doing. After we left Egypt we sailed to an island about fifty miles from the Dardanelles, called Lemnos, where we stayed about ten days. On Sunday, April 25, we went to a gulf opposite the Narrows, getting there about daybreak.
The Australian force landed first, and then the New Zealanders. The Turks had all the ground, and we had to drive them right off the beach and up a scrub-covered hill, which meant death to hundreds of us. The battleships helped us by bombarding their forts, which were playing havoc with us, as they were killing our soldiers before they got out of the boats. We forced them off three ridges, but their reinforcements and big guns drove us back again to the last one, which we held. I was in the machine gun section, which I had joined about a week before, and they gave us a terrible time.
It was about three o’clock on the Sunday afternoon, and the bullets were screeching around us in thousands, but we did not notice them; it was then shells that had our attention just then, as they had got the range of our machine gun. We scattered and lay down, when a shell burst near me, wounding two or three in the section. It was an awful explosion, utterly impossible to describe. When I got my senses again, I shifted a few yards to the right, and lay flat in a little hollow. I had no sooner squatted down when another screech came, and then an explosion a thousand times worse than the other. At first I thought my head was split in half, and there was a smart sting or two in my left arm. Half dizzy, I scrambled a few more yards to the right, but there was no need to do so, as the Turks thought they had fixed us up, and altered their range. I knew some of my mates had been knocked out, and I would have been killed myself if I had not shifted and got under cover.
On looking about I saw two Australian chaps behind some packs, so I told them I was winged, and they said they would stop the blood running. They took my coat off and cut away my shirtsleeve, and bandaged the wound up for me. One of the Red Cross chaps came along just then and took me down the hill, all the time bullets flying around us. It was two pieces of shrapnel that went through my arm and over my head as I was lying full length with my arms holding my rifle up in front of me. There are six shrapnel holes in my coat, and a big hole ripped through my haversack, which was full of biscuits. If I had been standing up at the time I would have been ripped to bits. I saw several of the Australians killed, and when I got down on the beach there were over 1000 wounded lying there. It was a terrible sight. They put us in boats and sent us out to the ships, which were soon full up. Even as we left the shore the Turks tried to shoot and shell us. We had to leave our gear behind, so all we possessed was what we had on. They made us comfortable on the boat, which left there on Tuesday for Alexandria, getting their on Friday. A lot of the poor chaps died on the voyage from their wounds. At Alexandria they put all the worst cases in hospital, which was full up, and then sent about 700 of us to Malta, where we arrived on Tuesday.
At Malta we were put into barracks, with nice beds ready for us, twelve in a room. I had my wounds dressed once in the ten days, so it is not healing up too well. But we will soon get right here, as we are well treated; the public will give us everything. When we landed the people crowded round some of us, crying when they saw the state we were in. Everybody is very sympathetic here; they give us cigarettes, chocolates, flowers, biscuits, and handkerchiefs.
This is the best place I have been in since I left New Zealand. Nearly all the people can speak English, except a few of the Maltese. Our badges are the same as the Maltese badge, only we have the kiwi in the centre, so they are very interested in us.
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All Saints Camp. August 4th 1915. George’s message reads;
Dear Mother, Just a line to let you know that I haven’t yet forgotten home. It is a year ago today since England declared war and things are no further ahead now than they were that day, but I hope it will soon finish or there won’t be any men left.
It wasn’t unknown for troops to have cameras with them at Gallipoli. Photos were taken from day one, and messages written about what was happening. Presumably, the photos were developed later in either Egypt or England. No postcards were mailed by George from Gallipoli, at least not without cover, and this seems to be general. There were Gallipoli Post Office services, but not until a little later.
George’s message reads; This was taken the day we landed at Anzac April 25th about midday.
There are a few dead and wounded on the beach, but about three or four hours after this there was hundreds along the beach waiting their turn for the hospital boat. I landed at the nearest corner where the crowd is.
Postcard by Phillip O. Hunt & Co 332 Balham High Road London SW.
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George’s message reads;
This is a spell camp behind the firing line.
Card by Phillip O. Hunt & Co
Gaba Tepa, Gallipoli.
Unused.
No information about the photographer
As with many wounded ANZAC troops, the next stop was England for much-needed medical care, and recuperation. There were a number of visits to local attractions, and George was even granted a week’s furlough, which he spent in Glasgow.
However, adjudged fit for further duty, one of his postcards home from Hornchurch dated April 14, 1916 baldly stated “I am leaving for the front tonight, and have to make haste to pack up. I would have wrote (sic) more but haven’t time so remember me to all with love.”
The Western Front was George’s home right through the rest of 1916, all of 1917 and much of 1918.
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Mail to George from family in Kyle dated May and June 1915 took a long time to be delivered. A number of the envelopes were endorsed “killed in action” and/or “wounded” and forwarding markings suggest mail had been sent to Gallipoli, then Egypt before eventual delivery in England. His diary entry for Sept 19, 1915 reads “received 28 letters, the first mail for 6 months.”
Readers will no doubt be familiar with the large certificates awarded to NZ Expeditionary Forces in World War One. They are usually badly damaged because of their size and age, but George’s certificate records that he served 132 days in NZ and 4 years and 8 days in Egypt, Gallipoli and Western Europe, a total of 4 years and 140 days.
That he survived at all was a small miracle. He finished his war in hospital in England, met and married a local woman and set sail for NZ on the SS Remuera on 7 Sept 1918, arriving in NZ on 23 Oct 1918, and was formally discharged on 30 Dec 1918.
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A special ‘welcome home’ ceremony was held for South Canterbury men in Ashburton on 3 June 1919.
Toasts were proposed for the King, the Army and Navy, the Returned Men and their Overseas Wives, and the Unreturning Brave.
For years after the war, George suffered from shell shock, and even as late as 1921 he was recuperating in the Hanmer Sanitorium.
Although he lived to 90 years of age, the effects of the war stayed with him, with bad head-shakes for the rest of his life.
RIP George
Queen Mary Hospital in Hanmer, 27th July 1921.
George is in the back row, second from the right.
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Monuments and Memorials - by Bill Main
Towards the end of my tenure as editor for the Postcard Pillar, I prepared a series of articles on those areas of my postcard collection which began when I attended our AGMs and was confronted with boxes of cards from various dealers. What attracted me were New Zealand postcards that reflected our social and cultural development from the beginning of the 20th century. I restricted myself to views which were moderately priced at a dollar or two with an occasional purchase going as high as five dollars! After a year or so, I'd built a pile of about 300 postcards which stood proud from the more specialised collections of more costly cards by photographers like Zak, Radcliffe and Smith.
As a lead up to my retirement from the editorial chair, I prepared a series of articles which relied entirely on my low cost purchases. These began to appear in 2007 and carried on until my last issue in November 2008. They involved topics from Government Buildings to Band Rotundas. Unfortunately, I did not get my timing right and I was left with one article which remained unpublished, which essentially covered Memorials for significant New Zealand events, wars and Prime Ministers. To make amends, I now present this chapter from my New Zealand postcard collection.
Hokitika War Memorial & Clock Tower
This centrepiece of civic pride in Hokitika is a memorial to soldiers from this district who gave their lives in the Boer war 1899-1902. It also commemorates the coronation of Edward V11. The memorial was officially unveiled by Premier R. J. Seddon and his wife on the 3rd June 1903. Postcard from the J. Ring Series.
Seddon Memorial
Richard John Seddon’s 1851-1906 Memorial is located on the site of Wellington’s first Time Service Observatory at the Bolton Street Cemetery. It contains his remains and his wife Louisa as well as their son Richard who was killed in France in 1918. The Memorial was designed by Government Architect, John Campbell. A Tanner Bros. postcard
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Joseph Savage Memorial
Located at Auckland’s Bastion Point, the memorial to Michael Joseph Savage, New Zealand’s first Labour prime minister from1935-1940, overlooks the Waitemata Harbour. The design stems from a competition announced by the Labour Government in February 1941. Tibor Donner and Anthony Bartlett, Auckland architects, won the prize for the memorial’s design with a sunken garden and a reflective pool marked off by hedges and flower-beds. The memorial was opened in March 1943.
Massey Memorial
Overlooking Wellington Harbour, the Massey Memorial is a unique reminder of Prime Minister William Ferguson Massey 1856-1925. Completed in 1930, it located on Point Halswell, a site long associated with defence. In 1885 the site was used for a battery and barracks, as part of coastal defences to protect Wellington after the Crimean War from the threat of a Russian seaborne invasion. The marble structure was designed by Samuel Hurst Seager, well known as a designer of memorials, and Auckland architects Gummer and Ford. It cost over £15,000, much of which was contributed by public donations. The main feature is seven columns arranged in a semi-circle and built over an ammunition chamber which was refurbished to house the caskets containing the Prime Minister and his wife.
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Wairau Affray
This monument marks the scene where the Wairau “massacre” occurred on the 17th June 1843. Twenty two Pakeha and four Maori lost their lives, with others badly wounded. When Governor Fitzroy gave judgement on the matter in 1844, upholding the Maori case, settlers never forgave him for his upbraiding the Europeans for their impudent behaviour.
Wellington Cenotaph
Construction of the Cenotaph began on ANZAC Day, 25 April 1929. Upon its completion on the 17th April 1932, the Cenotaph was dedicated as a Citizens’ War Memorial. This Tanner Bros twilight photo makes the white granite memorial stand out in the early evening twilight. New Zealand’s National Memorial for our fighting forces is the Carillon situated in Buckle Street.
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The Samuel Marsden Cross
This monument is situated at Oihi in the Bay of Islands, where Samuel Marsden was invited by Ngapuhi chief, Ruatara, to set up a mission station.
The cross marks the spot where the first Christian Service was held in New Zealand on Christmas Day, 1814.
This granite Celtic Cross was erected in 1907.
JB 113
Bust of Te Rauparaha & Jubilee Memorial - Otaki
This memorial was made from a large Totara tree, 12m (40 feet) high, and 2.7m (nine feet) across at the base, tapering to around 15cm (six inches) at the top. Starting at the base were the carved numerals for each year between 1840 and 1880. These symbolised 40 years of Christianity at Otaki. The pole was painted white with the dates painted black.
This location eventually saw a memorial erected for Te Rauparaha, who had died 31 years earlier. This consisted of a marble bust on a plinth.
The postcards producer, J. L. Parrant, Hairdresser, Bookseller, Stationer & Newsagent, was born in Wellington in 1875. This may well have been his first and last venture into the postcard business?
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First World War Fundraising for Patriotic Purposes - by Alan Jackson
The following is adapted from a Powerpoint display to members of the postcard group of the Christchurch Philatelic Society on 13th January 2015.
Zak Series Welln 12.002. “Ambulance Saturday.” Joseph Zachariah was active as a photographer in Wellington from 1907 to 1915.
During World War One many war charity funds were established. Some of these were used to raise funds to pay for ambulances used by NZ troops in Great Britain and France, or funds for military hospitals (soldiers’ comforts etc).
This card may be a WWI card. William Main’s book on Zachariah suggests this range of card numbers dates to about 1910, but I doubt this card is as early, as the first street appeals in Great Britain didn’t take place until the Queen Alexandra Rose Day in London in mid-1912.
Another Zachariah postcard, possibly taken at the BNZ corner, Wellington.
I feel sure this is a WWI postcard. The card inscription has faded but the label on the collection box reads “Hospital Saturday and Sunday.” Collectors were all women. I wonder if an appeal souvenir was given in return for a donation.
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“Hospital Saturday” can be read on the collection boxes. Card published by London Bookstall and Photographic Depot, Dunedin and Queenstown.
Patriotic fundraising stall, Dunedin. Real photo with oval rubber handstamp of C. C. Armstrong, Princes St Dunedin (a local photographer) Undated, but First World War period. Photo probably taken in Princes St (the main thoroughfare).
The name of the body collecting is not visible, but the lady collectors appear to be offering small artificial flowers (in exchange for donations to the fund).
Children from a World War One patriotic procession. This is a privately printed postcard.
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Children’s patriotic procession in Havelock, Marlborough circa 1915. Real photo with rubber handstamp “Akersten’s Postcards, Havelock, Marlboro NZ”. “No 3” has been inscribed on the negative, so in theory, other photographic postcards may exist of this event.
The children (who all appear of primary school age) are dressed as nurses, ambulance men, or representatives of the allied nations. There is one “wounded” patient.
Otago Wounded Soldiers’ Fund, 1915. This one of a set of five cards sold in Otago probably late in 1915 (prior to the withdrawal from Gallipoli late in December 1915).
There was one card for each of the four companies of the Otago Infantry Battalion. This one commemorates the Southlanders (B Company). The fifth card showed a map of the Gallipoli Peninsula and the Dardanelles.
These cards may have been available over a period of several weeks in Otago and Southland or they may have been sold as a part of a patriotic street appeal. The selling price is unknown. No printers imprint appears on the cards. All profits were donated to the Wounded Soldiers’ Fund.
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This card was published in Christchurch during the Public Services Queen Carnival contest from 10th – 15th April 1916.
To raise money for patriotic purposes, various organisations put forward a female candidate, who was allotted a voting number. The public voted for their favourite and at the same time made a donation.
At the end of the week the votes were counted and a winner was then crowned at an elaborate ceremony.
This card shows Nurse Maude, who established the first free public nursing service in Christchurch.
She was No 10 in this contest. Her popularity was such that she won.
The service she began still exists.
Otago Queen Carnival Coronation, 27 August 1915. Printed card, published by Armstrong.
This was clearly a major local event, and to have used a commercial printer, Armstrong must have been expecting substantial sales after the event.
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Real photo card of the same event, possibly also published by Armstrong but without his imprint.
A handwritten message on the back states “This is a photo of crowning Queens Dunedin”. The event involved a full orchestra!
Uncaptioned real photo card, with rubber handstamp of C. C. Armstrong. The young girl was chosen to depict Britannia on a float in a patriotic street procession. (“Year 1915 Procession” is written on the back).
There is another card showing her actually in the procession.
National Patriotic Fund 3d postcard. Fund for wounded soldiers and their dependants. Stated to be hand coloured.
What was “Peter Pan Pirate”?
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Countess of Liverpool Fund (for soldiers’ comforts), a World War One overprint on a 1907 Tourist & Health Dept. card.
Daffodil Day, Nelson 11/9/1915 (a Saturday), probably the first daffodil day.
Published by Fred Jones who produced many real photo card of the Nelson area. Message reads “To raise funds for soldiers Christmas Gift Fund. Big community effort . . . . guess the weight of the sheep . . . (was also held in London)”
Note the children are dressed as daffodils (then in season). The London Daffodil Day event referred to equivalent would have been held in April 1915.
At this time, NZ troops were mostly engaged on Gallipoli.
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Also Daffodil Day in Nelson, but dated a year later, on Saturday Sept 16, 1916.
World War I patriotic procession held in Dunedin.
Published by W Forsyth about 1916.
Note the pun on the phrase “tanning a hide.”
These processions were generally to raise money for war charities.
Another similar procession, with an anti-Kaiser and anti-German theme, probably 1916 or 1917.
Note the clown with the collection box.
The sender sent a message on the card, which accompanied a gift parcel to a NZ soldier.
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Daily Mail Official War Post Cards - by Jeff Briggs
The Daily Mail Official War Post Cards (Crown Copyright Reserved) were produced from photographs taken by official war photographers based on the Western Front. They did not show the true horror of trench warfare, but they did provide a pictorial record for the public.
The cards were released between 6th September 1916 and April 1917. There were 176 cards in 22 sets, each of 8 cards. Within this total of 176 cards, 105 different photographs were used, mostly of images from the Battle of the Somme which raged from July through November 1916.
The cards were printed in three finishes:
- colour – 56 cards
- silver print – 32 cards
- photogravure – 88 cards
Seven photographs were produced in all three versions, 53 in two different versions, and 43 in one version only. The Daily Mail did not explain why it reproduced some of the photographs two or three times, but it did say that the repeated pictures were in different types of printing to satisfy all tastes.
It has been reported that there were four postcard printers used. I contacted Tony Allen, author and producer of the e-book “The Daily Mail Official War Postcards”, and he replied “I tried for some time to find out who the four printers of the cards were – but with no success. Neither did I find out the number printed for each set.”
So there were four printers, but a record of who they were has yet to be found! Did each of the four printers print all 22 sets? Can four different versions of each set be identified? When a set has both Roman and Hindu numeral versions, were they printed by two different printers?
My own interest began through series 20 (cards 153 – 160) featuring New Zealanders, and series 19 (cards 145 – 152) featuring Australians. Both sets have a secondary title “ANZACS IN FRANCE”. For the Empire minded, Australians also feature on cards 40, 113 and 117, with the same images duplicated on cards 80, 137 and 141, respectively. Canadians only feature on card 25, duplicated on card 50, and Indians on cards 18 & 110, duplicated on cards 78 and 134.
When I decided to collect other cards in the complete series, I discovered that there were obvious variations in the printing. Some of them are touched on in Tony Allen’s e-book, but I have been unable to locate any other reference to the variations I have observed. This article is, therefore, a consideration of the card’s printing variations I have found.
Due to this lack of written guidance I have made the assumption that if at least two different cards show the same type of variation, then both cards were printed by the same printer, whoever that may be. Validation of this is eagerly sought, so I would love to hear from anyone who has been studying these cards and can provide me with additional information and/or agreement.
The first major variation is the actual designation used for each series, using either Roman or Hindu-Arabic numerals:
- Series 2 & II, 13 & XIII, 14 & XIV, 15 & XV, 20 & XX, use both symbols,
- Series 1, 4, 5, 6, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22 I’ve only found with Hindu-Arabic symbols, and,
- Series III, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIX I’ve only found with Roman symbols.
Series 1 (cards 1 – 8) the name of the card on the front is printed in capitals. On the reverse side, full stops are printed after the series number and the card number, and the “Passed by Censor” box is fixed in the corner. There does not appear to be a Roman numbered series. Refer to “Highlanders Pipe Themselves Back From The Tranches.”
It seems that the location of the words “Series” and “No” may in fact indicate a variation as I found this on four cards of Series 1, and also in Series 5 and Series 6. These variations are also accompanied by a distinct difference in the colour of the front image, see “Church Service Before Battle”.
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There also seems to be a variation in the size of the “Passed by Censor” box, 21mm x 20mm, or 25mm x 21.5mm.
Series 1, Card 2 Highlanders Pipe Themselves Back From The Trenches
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Series 1, Card 3 Church Service Before Battle
This church service for the British 89th Infantry Brigade took place on 29 June 1916 in Carnoy Valley, Flanders.
Series 2 (cards 9 – 16) and Series II not only have the difference in the numeric symbol, but also on the picture side.
Series 2 has the heading “Daily Mail WAR PICTURES”, and has the name of each card printed in 3mm high black capital letters.
Series II, however, has the heading “OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH, CROWN COPYRIGHT RESERVED.”, and has the name in 5mm high white capital letters.
Series 2 & II, Card 9 Ypres After Two Years of War
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Major variations continue on the reverse, with Series 2 being called “OFFICIAL WAR PICTURES” but Series II are called “BATTLE PICTURES”. Series II shows postage details, and has the series and No. details printed in a different place to Series 2. Both use different fonts, so the explanatory text is set out quite differently on both cards. I have found instances of distinct colour variations, but have not seen enough cards to draw any conclusion.
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Series III (cards 17 – 24) has not provided me with any variations, to date. Like Series 1, all cards are printed in colour, there is no front heading, and the title is printed in capitals. On the reverse side, there are full stops after Series III, and after the card number. There may be a variation in the reverse side text being printed in a grey shade on some cards, and a bluish shade on others, but I would need to see more cards to confirm this. There does not appear to be a Hindu-Arabic numbered series.
Series 4 (cards 25 – 32) variations appear to be only on the reverse side. The majority of cards show Series number (no full stop) No (full stop) numeral (no full stop), and the location of “Passed/ by/ Censor” box mainly tied to the corner. However, I have found two cards with variations in Series 4 (full stop), No (full stop), and the numeral (full stop), with the “Passed/ by/ Censor” box floating quite freely. The lettering on the “stop” cards is smaller and thinner.
Series 4, Card 25 Decorating A Canadian On The Field Of Battle
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Series 5 (cards 33 – 40) and Series 6 (cards 41 – 48) are similar to Series 4 in that all three series have the same full stop or no full stop variations. I have assumed that as Series 4, 5, and 6 exhibit these same stop/ no stop variations, they were printed by the same two printers. It is interesting that these three series were printed in sepia brown on both sides. Furthermore, the three series do not appear to have a Roman number series. The variations with the stop also show the different position for the S in Series and the N of No.
Series 5 Card 40 Australians Parading For The Trenches
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Series 6, Card 45 Helping An Ambulance Through The Mud
Series VII (cards 49 – 56), Series VIII (cards 57 – 64), Series IX (cards 65 – 72), and Series X (cards 73 – 80) only appear to have a Roman numeral series. On the reverse side they are all headed “Daily Mail BATTLE PICTURES”, and there is a set of each Series printed in a blue colour, and a set of each printed in black.
For Series VIII, IX, and X, but not VII, there are cards with a front heading of ‘Daily Mail” WAR PICTURES, but this may not prove to be consistent
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Series IX, Card 70 British Infantry Practising An Attack
Series VII, Card 51 STAR SHELL BURSTING NEAR BRITISH LINES
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Series XI (cards 81 – 88) and Series XII (cards 89 – 96) both have an overall title of “THE KING AT THE FRONT” with the former series in colour, and the latter in photogravure. Both series use the same eight photographs, but the coloured series, to various degrees, were touched up prior to printing. Both of these series only seem to appear with a Roman series number.
Series XII, Series XI THE KING AT THE FRONT. King George and King Albert enjoy an amusing anecdote
Cards 90 and 82 show several instances of being amended – leg & foot on the left deleted; the number of windows on the house reduced, chimneys removed altogether; and the post to the right removed. It was later discovered that the figure to the right was not a post, but in fact was a sentry box.
With the issuing of the King’s visit series, the first half had been released. The second series of 10, series 13 to 21 were issued in October 1916
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Series XI, Card 84 THE KING AT THE FRONT. The King meets a hospital matron
Card 84 is the first to show one of the nurses: at Lapugnoy (west of Lille)
Series 13 (cards 97 – 104), Series 14 (cards 105 – 112), and Series 15 (cards 113 – 120), are all printed in colour, and all have the front title in mixed upper and lower case letters. On the reverse side the text is printed in brown, the main title is printed with serifs, and “PASSED/ BY/ CENSOR.” is printed in three lines. Series XIII, Series XIV, and Series XV use similar coloured images, but with variations, and have the front title printed in capital letters. On the reverse the text is printed in black, the main title is printed without serifs, and “PASSED BY/ CENSOR” is printed in two lines.
Series 13 Card 100 The King inspecting R.N.A.S Officers
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SERIES XIII Card 100 THE KING INSPECTING R.N.A.S. OFFICERS
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I think it is safe to assume that Series 13, 14 and 15 were printed by one printer, and Series XIII, XIV, and XV were printed by a different printer.
Series 16 (cards 121 – 128), Series 17 (cards 129 – 136), and Series 18 (cards 137 – 144) only seem to appear in series with an Arabic number, but they come in two different versions:
- The front title is in capitals, but is preceded by “Crown Copyright reserved”. On the reverse side “PASSED/ BY/ CENSOR.” is in three lines, and there are stops after the series number and the card number.
- The front title is in capitals but without Crown Copyright. On the reverse side “PASSED BY/ CENSOR” is in two lines and there are no stops associated with series or number.
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In example 1 the reverse side title includes serifs, and the descriptive text is set out over three lines. Example 2 has the titles printed san-serif, and the text is set out over four lines.
Early January 1917 two new series of cards were issued, “ANZACS IN FRANCE.”
Series XIX (cards 145 – 152) is the Australian version of “ANZACS IN FRANCE”. The series title on the front is in capitals, but the card title is printed in a mixed font. On the reverse side the “PASSED/ BY/ CENSOR.” box is in three lines, and there are stops after XIX, and after No.
To date I have only seen the one set of this series, but the cards all appear to be consistent.
Series XIX, Card no 148 Hot work in hot weather
The men in this picture were supporting the attack on Pozieres on August 7, at the cost of 23,000 ANZAC casualties.
Series XX (cards 153 – 160) is the New Zealand version of “ANZACS IN FRANCE”, but there is also a Series 20.
In Series XIX and XX the series title is printed in capitals, and in Series 20 the card title is also in capitals. On the reverse of Series XX “Passed/ by/ Censor” is printed in three lines, but in Series 20 “PASSED BY/ CENSOR.” is in two lines.
Series 20 and XX have the reverse side descriptive text set out differently, and use a different font to each other.
Very few cards were postally used, but when posted, most seem to have originated in England and went to UK addresses. However, the card below was not only posted in France in 1917 but was posted to his brother, Alan Dewar, in Waimate, New Zealand.
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Series XX, Card 153 Off to the trenches
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In my opinion the best variation in the entire series of 176 cards exists in this group. Card 157 in Series 20 is titled “ANZACS IN FRANCE: BREAD AND JAM”, and shows men of the Auckland Regiment in a trench, near Fler, with the man second from the right eating a slice of “bread and jam”.
Series 20, Card 157 BREAD AND JAM
However, when Series XX was printed the photograph was incorrectly lined up, a slice of bread and jam can no longer to be seen.
Series 21 (cards 161 – 168), and Series 22 (cards 169 – 176), the final two sets, both have similar features of the card title printed in capitals, and “PASSED/ BY/ CENSOR” printed in three lines. I have only seen the one set of each series, but all cards appear consistent so they may have been printed by the one printer. To date I have not seen any of the cards with Roman symbols.
French publishers had released huge numbers of cards featuring shell-damaged towns, villages and hamlets. The cards were often in booklets of from 10 to 20 cards. The Daily Mail issued their own set, Series 21, which depict desolate scenes after the battle has passed.
The French cards show damage caused by German artillery, but the Mail cards depict damage caused mainly by British heavy artillery. Each card shows the date it was recaptured from the Germans, from July 1 to November 13, 1916
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Series 21, Card 164 THE HIGH STREET OF GUILLEMONT (captured September 3rd 1918)
In April 1917 an advertisement in the Daily Mail revealed that Series 22 would “portray the principle phases of modern attack and form a most interesting insight to life at the front. However, the Mail did not say that this was to be the last series. Of course these were all censored, so nothing highlights how murderous the Battle of the Somme really was.
Series 22, Card 169 AN ATTACK: AWAITING THE SIGNAL
This photograph was described as “British troops waiting to attack on September 25 1916… one of the most successful days in the great Somme advance.”
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As an added incentive for the collector there is also the envelope carrying details of the eight cards in the set, and the format in which they were printed.
It is known that each of the four printers designed their own envelopes, although the text for each series is similar.
Most of the cards appear to be reasonably easy to obtain, as long as you do not expect to obtain them quickly, or get them from the one source. But the original packages do not seem to be so easy to acquire. They were produced to hold the eight cards and were sold in sets at 6d per set. The envelopes were often damaged when opened, and then probably discarded by the purchaser after the cards were removed. Remember, all this happened 98 years ago, in 1916, so we are probably lucky to have any examples at all.
There is also a “Daily Mail Official War Post Card Album” that was issued in October 1916. They were “on sale at stationers and news-agents throughout the country”, cost 2/6 each, and were available in blue, red and green full cloth. They were advertised as holding 240 cards, but only 176 cards were ever issued.
By this time people were saturated with the war and hoping it would end. They were certainly buying less of the postcards than had originally done, so they were less profitable for the Daily Mail.
On 9 May 1917 the Daily Mail told its readers that the postcards “will in years to come form an interesting and historical record of the condition under which our Army fought in The Great War…”
All told there are the basic 176 numbered postcards to collect in 22 sets; there are 5 sets where there are Arabic and Roman symbol series, for an additional 40 cards; then there are 7 sets where there is at least one apparent set of variations for each, for an additional 56 cards; then two sets where there appears to be three sets of variations for each, producing a possible 32 extra cards; and two sets where there appears to be four sets of variations for each, with another possible 48 cards. In total, there are possibly 352 cards to collect, but there may be more.
I would appreciate hearing from anyone else collecting these postcards, particularly if you are chasing variations also. I can be contacted at jeff.briggs@optusnet.com.au.
Reference: Allen, Tony – The Daily Mail Official War Postcards (e-book, 2011)