On October 12, 1917, 845 New Zealand men were killed in the second attack on Passchendaele.
One of those was Private James Cooney, the uncle of Dunedin woman Edna Cogger.
Mrs Cogger said her father had told her that ‘‘the whole battle of Passchendaele was illconceived and badly planned’’.
Soldiers were used as ‘‘cannon fodder’’, he had said.
But her father did not often speak about his brother at home because ‘‘the hurt was so much’’, Mrs Cogger said.
Rifleman Pte Cooney was reported ‘‘missing’’ before his death was confirmed a month later.
The battle on Bellevue Spur where Pte Cooney was killed incurred the highest death toll for New Zealand forces in a single day in New Zealand military history.
Pte Cooney was born in Oamaru and worked for his father, also named James, as an engine driver and chaff cutter.
James Cooney sen ran a wheat and grain store, Cooney’s Corner Store, in the town.
The store closed after his death in 1938.
Mrs Cogger was born in 1937 so never knew her uncle but she said it was hoped that, had he lived, the store would have continued to trade.
‘‘He was still young, had a business head for that,’’ Mrs Cogger said.
Plaques on the corner of Towey St and State Highway 1 in Oamaru commemorating soldiers killed in the World War 1 include a memorial to James Cooney.
Mrs Cogger said she remembered her father taking the family to clean the plaque before Anzac Day and Christmas Day every year.
That started her interest in her uncle.
She became more interested after a visit to Belgium in 1990, although she missed out on visiting the Tyne Cott Cemetery, where he is buried.
She would still like to visit it one day should the opportunity arise, Mrs Cogger said.
‘‘One doesn’t know what’s ahead. If I was going overseas or near Belgium, well, I certainly would.’’
This year’s centennial of the Battle of Passchendaele had renewed her interest.
The centenary made one ‘‘ponder more about the atrocity of the whole event’’, she said.
