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Thread ID: 135254 2013-10-12 22:59:00 Passchendaele kenj (9738) PC World Chat
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1355821 2013-10-12 22:59:00 On this day 96 years ago, my late uncle who died in 1997 (101 yrs old) was probably lying in mud taking cover from machine gun fire, at a small village in France called Passchendaele. The NZ Division was there from the 4th to the 18th October, the blackest day being when 800 of our fine young men died in the 12 October attack on Bellevue Spur.

www.nzhistory.net.nz

My Dad said Uncle Russell hardly ever talked about the war but one of the things he told him was..."it wasn't the machine guns, the artillery fire or the gas that was the worst part. It was the mud and the rain. Men and horses drowned in the mud"!

God help us that this ever happens again.

RIP all you Kiwis.

Ken
kenj (9738)
1355822 2013-10-12 23:28:00 My uncle, my Dad's only brother, died at Passchendaele on 12 October 1917. I have the telegram that informed his Mother of his death. What a way to learn your elder son will never be coming home. His grave is at Zonnebeke in West Flanders. He was 25 years old.

Some of his story I am finding out just recently, being in the process of compiling a family tree on Ancestry.com. It is fascinating learning about my ancestors, so far, back to the middle 1700s.
Richard (739)
1355823 2013-10-13 03:17:00 My Dad said Uncle Russell hardly ever talked about the war but one of the things he told him was..."it wasn't the machine guns, the artillery fire or the gas that was the worst part. It was the mud and the rain. Men and horses drowned in the mud"!


Some did. Some wrote books too.

Mud and the foot rot and things they got. And the diseases.....
pctek (84)
1355824 2013-10-13 04:27:00 Some of his story I am finding out just recently, being in the process of compiling a family tree on Ancestry.com. It is fascinating learning about my ancestors, so far, back to the middle 1700s.

I don't know if it was at Passchendaele or somewhere else during World War 1 but I have recently found out from my father that his father fell asleep during sentry duty after three days without a break as he was so tired. He was sentenced to death by firing squad for treason and his mother (my great grandmother) even received a telegram informing her that he was to be shot the next morning. For some reason, however, it didn't go ahead and his war duty ended soon after upon his admittance to hospital with serious barbed wire leg injuries.

On the other hand Mr FoxyMX's great uncle, an army driver, was blown up by a tank in Northern France just two months before WW1 ended. :(
FoxyMX (5)
1355825 2013-10-13 05:14:00 Lets not forget Germany, Austria and Hungary started it and we gave them an ass whipping. When ever you hear or see these countries mentioned never forget the heart break they caused us here. prefect (6291)
1355826 2013-10-13 19:47:00 My uncle, my Dad's only brother, died at Passchendaele on 12 October 1917. I have the telegram that informed his Mother of his death. What a way to learn your elder son will never be coming home. His grave is at Zonnebeke in West Flanders. He was 25 years old.

Some of his story I am finding out just recently, being in the process of compiling a family tree on Ancestry.com. It is fascinating learning about my ancestors, so far, back to the middle 1700s.

I didn't know maori had records that far back.!
Cicero (40)
1355827 2013-10-13 19:49:00 Lets not forget Germany, Austria and Hungary started it and we gave them an ass whipping. When ever you hear or see these countries mentioned never forget the heart break they caused us here.

That over the top business gets me, how ridiculous can our leaders be?
Cicero (40)
1355828 2013-10-13 19:54:00 I didn't know maori had records that far back.!

I will have you know we are proudly British sah! Take that you old Roman, or brief your seconds and we will have a duel.

Spaghetti at 50 paces is it?
Richard (739)
1355829 2013-10-13 20:01:00 I will have you know we are proudly British sah! Take that you old Roman, or brief your seconds and we will have a duel.

Spaghetti at 50 paces is it?
How did you know I was a Derbyshire Roman?

I prefer you take a knife to our gun fight.
Cicero (40)
1355830 2013-10-13 21:10:00 Behave yourselves you two!!

Ken:p
kenj (9738)
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