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1914 Map

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'Poor little Belgium'

When war broke out in 1914 New Zealanders rallied to the aid of 'poor little Belgium'. By early 1915, more than £37,000 had been sent to the British and Belgian Relief Fund in London. Mayors in towns and cities set up relief funds to handle donations of goods and money. Auckland's Belgian Relief Fund raised over £10,000 within a few weeks.

See enlarged version of this map here. You can also download a hi-res copy as a pdf (3 mbs).

This map shows the boundaries and major cities of the Kingdom of Belgium at the time it entered the First World War in 1914.

British recruitment poster focusing on atrocities committed by the German Army in Belgium during 1914.

Belgian soldiers with dog-drawn machine-gun carts move up to oppose the advancing German Army at the start of the First World War.

Introduced into the French Army in July 1915, the 'Adrian' Pattern steel helmet was later adopted by many other countries, including Belgium, during the First World War. The helmets worn by Belgian soldiers were painted khaki and featured a lion-faced crest attached to the front.

New Zealand soldiers living in the misery of trenches in Belgium in 1917 could be certain of a few comforts from home. Hand-made socks, balaclavas, scarves and gloves were included in the parcels women sent them. New Zealand women had always knitted, but the craft took on a new meaning during the war. ‘Sock day’ was held in May 1915 after soldiers reported that a pair of socks only lasted a fortnight when the wearer was on active duty.

Her Excellency’s knitting book appeared in August 1915. This 193-page book, produced by Lady Liverpool, was New Zealand’s first locally published knitting book. It contained patterns for socks, balaclavas and gloves and was designed to fit snugly into a woman’s knitting bag. There was even a rousing song, Canadian in origin but popular in New Zealand:

Members of the Otago Women’s Patriotic Association are photographed at one of their many fund-raising events for Belgium.

An appeal to the women of New Zealand

At this moment of our Empire’s needs I appeal to the women of New Zealand to assist me in trying to provide any necessaries which may be required for … the citizen army … My suggestion would be to start a fund in every centre under a small committee of ladies.

Annette, Lady Liverpool (whose husband was New Zealand’s governor), made this plea just one day after the outbreak of war in August 1914. She urged women to provide useful items for soldiers: shirts, underclothing, socks and darning kits (known as housewives).

Tyne Cot Cemetery in Belgium is the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery on the Western Front. It also contains the graves of more New Zealanders than any other cemetery beyond our shores. Tyne Cot occupies part of the strategic high ground from which the Germans looked down across the Allied forces and is a historic site from the Battle of Passchendaele.