Soldiers were not the only people that the war affected, their families and communities were as well. around 103, 000 went overseas for the war and thousands never came back. During this time New Zealand's population was only around 1 million so in many communities an entire generation of men went to war and a large amount of them never came back. Families lost father, sons, brothers and husbands. The men who returned home were not the same as the ones who left. They came back different, changed and distant from what they had experienced. Families fell apart but communities united.
This video link shows the video of the first videoing of the war ballot in 1916 in new Zealand.
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/video/first-ballot-under-the-1916-military-service-act
This video shows the how easy the gamble was on families lives. Their loved ones could be sent away from them at an instant and their lives be changed.
Out of the 100, 000 New Zealanders that went to war, 60% of them either died or were injured. Around 18, 000 of these men died from disease and injuries alone. New Zealand statistics gather that one in four men between aged 20 to aged 45 either perished in battle or came back injured. This caused a huge impact on families. The amount of men in communities decreased. Situations in schools and work laces change. During the 1900s men were seen as the main bread earners for the family and work placers were mostly male dominated.
In 1915 when demand increased for more man power conscription was introduced. In 1916 around 69% of men able for military service did not volunteer. Conscription is the compulsory enlistment in the military. This put an obligation for men to enlist for the war despite not wanting to go and were imprisoned if they did not comply. Families were forcefully separated either way. Around 2600 people were imprisoned for their objection to it. Large amount of disapproval came for the conscription of married men especially. Conscription caused an outrage in communities and freedom of speech was highly doubted. Exemption,Because of the national registration act thousands more men were sent overseas and mothers, daughters, sisters, wives were left to cope alone.
This video link shows the video of the first videoing of the war ballot in 1916 in new Zealand.
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/video/first-ballot-under-the-1916-military-service-act
This video shows the how easy the gamble was on families lives. Their loved ones could be sent away from them at an instant and their lives be changed.
Out of the 100, 000 New Zealanders that went to war, 60% of them either died or were injured. Around 18, 000 of these men died from disease and injuries alone. New Zealand statistics gather that one in four men between aged 20 to aged 45 either perished in battle or came back injured. This caused a huge impact on families. The amount of men in communities decreased. Situations in schools and work laces change. During the 1900s men were seen as the main bread earners for the family and work placers were mostly male dominated.
In 1915 when demand increased for more man power conscription was introduced. In 1916 around 69% of men able for military service did not volunteer. Conscription is the compulsory enlistment in the military. This put an obligation for men to enlist for the war despite not wanting to go and were imprisoned if they did not comply. Families were forcefully separated either way. Around 2600 people were imprisoned for their objection to it. Large amount of disapproval came for the conscription of married men especially. Conscription caused an outrage in communities and freedom of speech was highly doubted. Exemption,Because of the national registration act thousands more men were sent overseas and mothers, daughters, sisters, wives were left to cope alone.
in 1915 conscription was introduced in New Zealand as the demand for man power increased. Seen here is the official war census to the New Zealand public in 1915.
During that time Wellington college was a very small school and community. When conscription was introduced 1643 Wellington College old boys went to fight overseas, 222 of which died and more than 350 injured. The participation and the death of young men and boys caused great pain and heartbreak in this small community.
Here is a graph to show the death of Wellington Colleges ex pupils at the Western Front. This gives an indication of the large amount of deaths for New Zealand. On a world stage this falls dull to the millions that died in other countries such as France and Britain but for a small community in Wellington the number was huge.
The loss of life of one was unbearable, but in some situations more than one died in a family. A very famous example is of the Newlove family where three brothers died within one week, two of which on the same day as shown below. All three of their bodies were never identified and they were part of the 322 unidentified New Zealand soldiers at the Tyne memorial.
Such devastation was brought upon families. The loss of life was a shock across the country as no one had imagined that consequences of the war. If the continuous hundreds of deaths every few months through the war period wasn't enough, a liberty loan propaganda was released in New Zealand.
"Liberty loan. Men and money. Both are needed to win the war. War loan certificates enable all to do this."
New Zealand was addressing the cost of the war for their soldiers. Money was needed for men to adequately be able to participate in the war. Families were already struggling, men being bread earners were sent away from home and the n most houses women were making ends meet and feeding their children. During this time liberty loan was introduced which is a war bond sold to citizens in a country. These bonds or loans were not compulsory but they were highly encouraged. People in the communities who weren't physically apart of the war were pushed to get this war bond in order to aid the men overseas. Propaganda was used as shown by the lines "Help your country-help yourself" and "I am relying on every man, women and child to do their best". This brought an indirect obligation on communities to take a liberty loan to fund the war. By getting this liberty loan communities felt like they were helping their fellowmen and felt like they played a part in New Zealand's battles.
The effects of World War 1 are still recognised and remembered in New Zealand today. Every year on ANZAC Day on 25th April families and commnites come together to recgonise and celebrate the sacrifices made by each and every New Zealand soldier who fought in not only World War 1 but also World War II.
The red dots on this New Zealand map represent the memorials for World War I and World War II. A majority of these memorials are World War I memorials. This shows the massive impact world war I still has on families and communities as it is still remembered today through these memorials.
The impact on families and communities still remain today. Memorials are located in almost every part of the country but the heartache of losing a loved one still remains. From conscription to Liberty Loans, a lot was imposed on communities. Opinions were divided. On one hand there was grief as men had to be separated from their families and on the other hand exemption from the war was looked down upon. Over a thousand New Zealanders died and many more came back wounded, not only physically but mentally as well. This caused a huge impact on families as the wounded and ill had to be nursed and many veterans were so scarred mentally that they never returned the same. Families were separated and communities lost many of their fellowmen. These families and communities still gather today on ANZAC Day every year, almost a hundred years later to remember the heroes of the war.