People dreaded looking at the long lists of the dead printed in the daily newpapers. Worse still was the sound of telegraph boys ringing their bells. They brought news of the dead loved ones.
I hated the sight of them. One came to us with new of Erics Death – He was my eldest brother: I always remember the empty house, dark, the sound of my aunt crying. The only sound in the house was wailing.
The School Journal was used to encourage children to be patriotic and obedient and support for the war effort. At times they were forced to raise funds for causes such as the Ambulance Relief Fund and the ‘poor suffering’ children of Belgium and Serbia. They were also used against the opposition for artillery and munitions, killing thousands of soldiers and innocent people, putting families in strife and famine.
Children Bullied Into Attending Patriotic Ceremonies.
By the third anniversary very few were supporting the war effort. But school children were still forced to attend ceremonies fighting for victory by patriotic teaching staff.
Children of church schools were bullied into attending the anglican cathedral to hear Bishop churchill Julius say 'the attacks on turkey and germany were christian'. On another occasion others were forced to hear Presbyterian minister John Paterson say, 'Christians were fighting for god'.
Newspapers, Magazines and club bulletins were monitored tightly. All printing presses had to be registered by the state. Anyone wrote anything likely to interfere with the recruiting, training, discipline, or administration of the army or spoke words disloyal to the state would be convicted. Chemist William Hamer, was one of many arrested for owning an unregistered press and printing pamphlets protesting against the war. The state had all control and New Zealand was far from a free democratic society.
In WWI, the psychological distress of soldiers was attributed to concussions caused by the impact of shells; this impact was believed to disrupt the brain and cause “shell shock”. Methods of treatment included shaming, the inflicting of pain, and electroshock therapy. Hypnosis and psychotherapy were also used, but were often frowned upon for taking too long.
The Christmas truce was a series of widespread, unofficial ceasefires that took place along the Western Front around Christmas 1914, during World War I. As well as joint burial ceremonies, several meetings ended in carol-singing. Troops from both sides were also friendly enough to play games of football with one another.
Sculptors and artists designed lifelike masks for gravely wounded soldiers. With an unidentified assistant, Ladd fits a French soldier with a paper-thin metal mask, secured by earpieces from spectacles and plated from a plaster mold of the man's face. Ladd made a point of befriending "those brave faceless ones."
Sergeant Stubby (1917 – 1926), was the most decorated war dog of World War I and the only dog to be promoted to sergeant through combat. Many animals died while serving on the front lines of battle. Horses, mules, dogs, pigeons are the most notable. Even glowworms were used by the British to dimly light trenches.
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