'A lot of English people, I think, were not accepted as well as they might have been because they themselves tended to think anything that was in New Zealand that was different to what they had been used to was by definition worse...'
Eleanor Fraser served in the Women's War Service Auxiliary as a Tui in the New Zealand Forces Club in Cairo. She left for Egypt in September 1941 with 29 other young women with whom she would work in the club, behind one of the counters supplying refreshments to the troops on leave. Here she describes the routine of the club
Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence Wright was a doctor in the Medical Corps. At Gerawla he helped set up the hospital, but was also sports officer, responsible for making a rugby field as he describes here
Jim Barclay fought with the 27 Machine Gun Battalion all through the North African campaign. Here he recalls going to the pictures at the infamous Shafto's cinema at Maadi Camp.
Able Seaman Joseph Pedersen, RNZN 2337, joined the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy in 1940. In 1942 he was posted to the destroyer, HMS Lookout on which he served in the Mediterranean and in the Allied invasion of Sicily in September 1943 as he describes here.
Bert Dyson was a lieutenant in 4 Field Regiment. In this extract from his interview he describes transporting ammunition up to the troops for the planned counter-attack on Maleme airfield on Day 3 of the battle, 22 May 1941.
2nd Lieutenant Peter Wildey of 7 Field Company describes shooting at German gliders and killing and taking equipment from paratroopers. He also describes several other incidents during the retreat to Sfakia.
Oral history is a method of gathering information. It is the sound or video recording of an interview with someone who speaks from personal experience about a subject of historical interest.
Blowers are an example of the ingenuity of prisoners of war. Made from bits and pieces that the men found in their camps, they were used for heating up food.
Lance Corporal Allan Robinson describes a German attack on a hospital and how patients and staff were taken prisoner and then were made to act as human shields between the Germans and the Allied troops, with tragic consequences
2nd Lieutenant Peter Wildey of 7 Field Company describes shooting at German gliders and killing and taking equipment from paratroopers. He also describes several other incidents during the retreat to Sfakia.
nd Lieutenant Peter Wildey of 7 Field Company describes shooting at German gliders and killing and taking equipment from paratroopers. He also describes several other incidents during the retreat to Sfakia.
To record oral history you will need to use the best quality equipment you can buy, borrow or hire. Poor sound recordings will be of little use to researchers in the future. Good quality analogue and digital equipment are both suitable for oral history.
Never go to record an oral history interview without a preliminary meeting with your interviewee. It is essential that you have told your interviewee enough to enable them to make an informed decision as to whether or not they wish to be interviewed.
You may want to interview war veterans but not know any in your family or community. If this is the case, you could approach your local RSA and ask them if you can put a notice in their newsletter or on a bulletin board to seek veterans willing to talk about their wartime experiences.
New Zealanders who served in the Pacific War had diverse experiences. They were involved in fighting in the jungle, some spent time in Japanese prisoner of war camps, others took part in air raids or manned ships, while others played a vital support role.
The men taken prisoner by the Germans at Sfakia were marched back over the White Mountains to a prison camp near Canea. It was hot and they were suffering the effects of lack of food and water. Conditions at the camp were very poor.
Dewi Browne was born in Wanganui in 1920 and went to sea on merchant ships in 1937. In 1944 he joined a small hospital ship, the Lady Connaught, which was sent to support the Allied landings at Normandy.
Private Denis Sampson served with the 6 Field Ambulance. Here he describes what it was like to be in the British 7 General Hospital at the time of the initial German attack It was quite a thing, you know, to hear that the Germans were actually arriving.
Lieutenant Haddon Donald of 22 Battalion was one of the men defending Maleme airfield on 20 May 1941. Here he describes the day's fighting, and his involvement in a counter-attack against German troops near the Tavronitis River.