Series: Kiwis at War

It’ll be over by Christmas... Young Billy Bowman and his mate Jack get caught up in the excitement when war is declared in August 1914 and leave their jobs on the farm to rush off and enlist in the Mounted Rifles—because the war would probably be over by Christmas. We follow their journey from the Awapuni training camp to more...

As we Otago lads have only enough men for two squadrons, the General has decided that we are to be merged with the incoming Māori contingents to form a new battalion. Our new battalion will be ‘Pioneers’, doing behind-the-lines work: building barracks, railroads, roads, and trenches. As you can imagine, Father, we’re not happy–we want to fight, not dig holes....

Mel and her cousin Harriet couldn't bear the thought of brave Kiwi boys being cared for by some bumbling, poorly trained person while the Great War raged on, half a world away. When these nurses joined the NZ Army Nursing Service and boarded ships headed for Egypt, Anzac Cove and beyond, they had little idea of the horrors they would...

Four Christmases have passed since the world went to war in 1914. Struggling to survive in the trenches, close to enemy lines, amid the terror of gunfire and the whine of warplanes, Kiwi soldier Henry Hunt rescues a shaken little dog. He has no idea he’ll soon be facing a disciplinary hearing. To Henry’s relief, the Major allows the little...

17-year-old Bob Sunday has stolen his brother’s identity to enlist in World War I. Keith was killed at Gallipoli, so doesn’t need it any more, anyway. But Bob is keen to join the Royal Flying Corps, and soon finds himself flying patrols over the front line in France, up against the likes of the Red Baron – Manfred von Richthofen....