The Holz brothers

At 1.30 a.m. on 13 June 1917, a shell fired by a German artillery unit on the far side of Messines ridge landed several miles to the west in Pont-de-Nieppe, hitting a room in which a number of New Zealand soldiers were staying. The explosion killed brothers Allan (24) and Ernest Holz (33), and left their brother William (30) with severe shrapnel wounds to his abdomen, wrist, hip and foot.

Allan and Ernest were buried beside each other in the Motor Car Corner Cemetery on the outskirts of Armentières, while William was evacuated to England for surgery. The severity of his wounds saw him classified as medically unfit for further service, and he returned to New Zealand on the hospital ship Marama in mid-July 1917.

The three Holz brothers had volunteered in Wellington in September/October 1916. By January 1917 they were on their way to England to complete their training. As sons of a German immigrant (who had become a naturalised British subject in New Zealand in 1884), it is likely that they faced some prejudice and social exclusion in the training camps in England. Reinforcement troops with German ancestry were often assigned to base details or as camp labourers. Despite this policy, the brothers spent just a month at the New Zealand Depot at Sling and Codford before heading to France on 27 May 1917 to join the 3rd Battalion, The Wellington Infantry Regiment. Within a fortnight, all three had become casualties.

After learning of the Holz brothers’ fate in early July, New Zealand’s Minister of Defence, Sir James Allen, visited their widowed mother in Wellington to deliver the sad news personally. Contemporary newspapers recorded the poignant event:

A notable example of the specially heavy afflictions which the war is bestowing on some New Zealand homes was elicited from a casualty cablegram received in the Base Records office on Sunday…. Three sons of Mrs Holz, a widow residing in Berhampore, left with the 21st Reinforcements, and of these two were killed and one wounded on June 13th, all being included in the same cable message. The facts of the case were reported to the Minister of Defence by the Director of Base Records (Major Norton Francis), and Sir James Allen at once arranged a joint visit to the bereaved mother with a view to breaking the news as gently as possible. He also cabled for the fullest particulars in regard to the wounded son. These three lads achieved a fine record in defence of their King and Country.

The Press, 4 July 1917, p. 10

Further information

• Auckland Museum Cenotaph record (Allan Holz)
• Auckland Museum Cenotaph record (Ernest Holz)
• Auckland Museum Cenotaph record (William Holz)
• Casualty details (CWGC) – Allan Holz & Ernest Holz