Ever since 1917 Passchendaele has been a byword for the horror of the First World War. The assault on this tiny Belgian village cost the lives of thousands of New Zealand soldiers. But its impact reached far beyond the battlefield, leaving deep scars on many New Zealand communities and families.
Why do the events at Passchendaele in October 1917 go largely unnoticed in the New Zealand calendar? Can a case be made for reconsidering the place of Anzac Day in our national calendar?
Acknowledging the sacrifices of those who served or died was an important way for communities, including schools, to make sense of the human cost of war.
The assault on Passchendaele was part of a vast Allied offensive launched in mid-1917, which, for New Zealanders, started with the Battle for Messines.
More than 14,000 New Zealanders were wounded between June and December 1917 in Belgium, and medical staff, orderlies, chaplains and stretcher-bearers worked round the clock to tend them.
Thousands of women across New Zealand supported the war effort in more than 900 patriotic and fund-raising organisations, which raised nearly £5 million for Belgian and French relief funds.
These images show New Zealand soldiers being cared for at an Advanced Dressing Station, wounded being brought in by stretcher-bearers and an ambulance being loaded at a casualty clearing station.
This slide show illustrates the vital role played by horses and mules on the Belgian battlefields. Hundreds of these animals were employed hauling field guns and delivering munitions, rations and other supplies to the front line, often in appalling conditions.
Scenes of daily life in and behind the front line. It shows soldiers sleeping and reading, having meals and hot drinks, carrying out routine tasks, viewing the ruins of Ypres, and searching through their clothing for lice.
In 1914 most New Zealanders made sense of the costs of war through the idea of the good Christian death. This form of consolation and ritual could not prepare people, though, for the scale and manner of death experienced during the war, particularly in France and Belgium.
Passchendaele was a star of the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition, and it hauled the Prince of Wales's royal train in 1920 and the Duke and Duchess of York’s in 1927.
Thirteen former All Black rugby players were killed in the First World War. The most famous of these was Sergeant Dave Gallaher who captained the All Black Originals.
