Room 21 (The Green Dragons) held an ANZAC ceremony last week. Below is some of their writing.
World War 1
103,000 New Zealand Soldiers served in the First World War including 2200 Māori and 550 Pacific Islanders thinking it was a big adventure but men weren't just fighting in the war in fact 550 Woman joined to be as Nurse's to look after men that would get injured.
Then the shock of war came as there was more than 41,000 casualty's was recorded at the end of war, about 18,500 New Zealander died, that's why we have Anzac Day to remember them.
- Ten Nurse's died when a German U Boat sunk their ship.
- World War Started in 1914 when people assassinated Franz-Ferdinand and his wife Sophie in Serbia
- It ended in 1918
- Gas was introduced as a weapon
- The New Zealand soldiers fought at Anzac Cove Gallipoli
- A Soldier wrote a poem called in Flanders Fields
- Poppy's are used to remember them as the only thing to grow between the Chaos
By Brendan
Passchendaele
The battle of Passchendaele started at 12 October 1917 was New Zealand’s darkest day. 846 young men were killed or mortally wounded in the first 240 minutes of the battle.
Men volunteered and thought it would a fun adventure and they would be back for christmas but unfortunately they were wrong.
Instead they stayed there for months and months (actually years).
By Renee
The Poppy
Have you ever wondered why we have to wear a poppy on Anzac day? Well read this and I will tell you.
People have been wearing poppies for a long time but its not because the flower is beautiful, its because in 1915 a lieutenant named John McCrae saw Poppies growing on Flanders Field. It was the first time he had seen Poppies growing on the battlefield. John McCrae thought the poppies were beautiful so he wrote a poem about the poppies growing on the battlefield. Once the poem got let out to the world, it was very popular. The poem became so famous that now people on Anzac day wear a poppy to remember the soldiers.
By Hollie
Flanders Field Poem
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
se Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
The End of the War
Our New Zealand Soldiers walked through the cheering crowds when they returned. Over time the Soldiers who fought in the war didn't talk about their experiences. The Soldiers who were left behind will always be remembered.
On the gravestones of the soldiers who couldn’t be identified are the words “known unto god.” These crosses are the memory of those who risked their lives for our country that couldn't be found or couldn't be identified.
By Ellie