Of these, thirty-seven had enlisted by 31 December 1915, and were thus listed in Volume One of the Nominal Roll. (See annotated version of the War Memorial transcript, over-leaf). Those who had enlisted by the end of 1915, left with the Main Body, and served in Gallipoli.
Of the twenty Shannon men who died in the war, twelve were among those who went to Gallipoli, a much higher death rate than among those who went later, to serve in France or other places.
Farewell functions were organised as each soldier left for active service, and the Shannon railway station was full of people farewelling departing servicemen when they left.
The conditions in Gallipoli, France and the other battlegrounds New Zealanders served at were appalling. There was also very little to do, thus the eagerness with which the parcels from home were awaited is understandable. Letters were also a godsend, and were often read over and over. One man from Shannon who found something to do to keep the boredom was George Prain, whose cartoons were published after the war in a book containing examples of New Zealand war-time writing and drawing. After the war he moved to Sydney, where his cartoons continued to be published, in the Sydney Gazette.
Everyone in Shannon was affected by the loss of those who went, not only as a husband, son or brother, but also because of their loss to the industries of Shannon. Many of the men who went were farmers or farmer's sons, and others ranged from grocer's assistants, clerks and teachers to bushmen and flax-cutters. C. Vaughn was a printer, which was quite a loss for The Shannon News, and W.H. Venn was a wireless operator, which was also a specialised profession affecting the Shannon Post Office quite seriously.
