Personalising Arrowtown’s war dead

Denise Heckler with Arrowtown’s new WWI memorial panel on Soldiers Hill. PHOTO: PHILIP CHANDLER

There’ll be an extra poignancy to Arrowtown’s Anzac Day service at The Cenotaph on Soldiers Hill tomorrow — a memorial panel was recently unveiled featuring 18 soldiers from in and around Arrowtown who died in Europe during World War 1. Philip Chandler speaks to the Arrowtowner who’s chronicled the lives of these 18 men.

A passionate Arrowtowner, Denise Heckler got the idea for a memorial panel remembering Arrowtown’s WW1 victims when she saw a panel beside the Glenorchy Hall several years ago.

"This panel seemed to personalise these men more than mentioning a name on a monument.

"I very much wanted to do it because I thought Arrowtown has given my family so much that I have no problem doing something like that to help."

With the support of the Queenstown & District Historical Society she belongs to, and particularly Marion Borrell, Heckler spent two years learning about these 18 soldiers, 14 of whom died in battles — including four within a few days at Passchendaele in 1917 — and four who succumbed to disease.

Contrary to what she’d expected, there wasn’t a hurry to enlist, possibly because many menfolk were needed on local farms.

That changed after the Military Service Act 1916 introduced a conscription ballot for men between 20 and 46.

Heckler’s research took her to the Auckland War Memorial Museum where she even found the soldiers’ medical records.

"I noticed they were quite short, 5 foot 8 [173cm], 5 foot 10 [178cm]; they commented on John Boyd Hunter as he was 6 foot 2 [188cm].

"And their teeth were terrible."

She also had great help from the archivist at Arrowtown’s Lakes District Museum, Jo Boyd, and found photos of nine of the soldiers.

She also included for the panel a photo of mainly Arrowtown soldiers taking a break from training at the Featherston Military Camp.

"Many went to those camps and got influenza and measles and it wasn’t an easy road before they even left."

Heckler notes Arrowtown’s population in 1916 was only 308 so the impact of losing so many people, as for many other small towns, would have been widespread.

"I discovered the churches, regardless of the denomination of the soldier who had been killed, acknowledged that soldier at their [next] service."

She also got an insight into the degradation of war — "it surprises me we keep doing this".

After the panel was unveiled she gave a talk to the historical society.

"I quoted John Smith, who had been fighting in the Somme, describing how they didn’t have tea for four days, had 10 days without a shave and when they slept it was in a foot of mud.

"He said it was the next best thing to Hades."

Heckler says Arrowtown’s Returned and Services’ Association sponsored the project and Print Central produced the panel at a very reasonable price.

She admits she’ll probably also have to research Arrowtown’s eight WW2 casualties for another panel.

Anzac Day commemorations

6.30am: Queenstown Dawn Service, Memorial Gates, Marine Parade (service sheet accessed by QR code), followed by march to Queenstown Memorial Centre for wreath-laying
10am: Parade from Arrowtown Athenaeum Hall to Soldiers Hill
10.30am: Arrowtown service at The Cenotaph, Soldiers Hill (Arrowtown Athenaeum Hall if wet)
Noon: Bagpiper Graeme Grass plays The Lament for Edith Cavell on the Edith Cavell Bridge

Roll of honour