Cartoon by George Prain. From project by Simon Shuker: World War One and its effects on Shannon. 1989

They formed groups such as the Patriotic Committee, who were active in providing servicemen serving overseas with Red Cross Parcels, containing clothes, food, and small sewing kits. The women were also the ones who sent letters to sons and relatives serving overseas.

The main, and indeed sometimes only, outlets for female patriotism were the traditional ones. Apart from the parcels, they organised most fund-raising, and knitted for the troops.

The women with men at war would have found little boy in keeping the home fires burning with little money or leisure for an indefinite time. Casualty lists formed a new cloud over their lives, waiting and wondering whether it was their husband or son whose name was present on the lists.

Mothers, sisters and sweethearts of soldiers, usually wanted all other mother's sons to share the same risk of injury or death. This could lead to bitterness between those whose son was at war and one whose son wasn't. An example of this is a West Coast widow with her only two sons at war faced a family over the road with all six sons at home.

The war also meant that women did a greater amount of work - they not only had to continue with their traditional jobs, they also often had-to help out to a large extent with the farmwork, and even getting jobs in the shops and post office to keep their family going.

• Ernest Henderson 10/1256 of Shannon W I B. N-O-K is R S Henderson (brother) Shannon. Not on memorial.
• Murdock W. is probably Murdoch, W, a settler.
• HAPOKA, H ikamate should be H I KAMATE , Hapoka, as per Shannon Rugby Jubilee Booklet and 1935 RSA records.
• William Henry Venn, Cpl. Occup. Wireless Engineer appointed to Wireless section. Left 15 October 1916. Probably from Shannon's Post Office. A replacement would have been required.
• Charles Vaughan, Occupation Printer. Next of kin: Clifford O'Regin (friend) Shannon, left 1916. Hard to get a replacement for him.
• Leonard Alfred Howe (2nd Vol 23/2000) Labourer.
• Robert Ephraim Selby (2nd Vol) N-O-K mother in Scotland.
• John Swanney (2nd Vol) Labourer. Died at Pahiatua camp.
• Archibald Hunter Yates (2nd Vol) Flaxmill hand. left 15 Nov 1916.
• R. Sands (2nd Vol) Bushman Sister at Port Awanui.
• J.Gardiner on. the Memorial, but the " I " is minus it's 1ead Aug. 1989. There were Gardiner & Gardner families in Shannon 1912, so the lead might have been removed because the name was
  wrong, or just fallen out.

The dark side of the celebration of the Armistice was the faces of those who were awaiting no returning hero - of the one hundred and fifty-two who went overseas, twenty had died.

For those who returned, life wasn't the same as it had been when they left. They returned to find the town they knew, altered by the demands of war, and fitting back in to the life they had known, not as easy as they had expected. The lack of employment opportunity was a source of discontent to the returning servicemen. Many returned men sought work as flax cutters, but had difficulty adjusting to the contract system, which required individual effort, after years of being part of a team in the trenches. By 1919 the Potu mill had closed down, and by 1922 so had two others.

Others decided to try farming, but although the Government put many people on farms, the development advances which were available, were only a fraction of what was needed. Land values soared with the "Rehab" boom. It has been calculated that half of New Zealand's rural land changed hands between 1916 and 1924, and of course all of these new farms needed stock. This increased stock prices, thus also disadvantaging established farmers.

One lot of land that was available was the Heights Settlement, which, with the good sense which always comes after the event, people considered greatly over-valued. A soggy basin of cutover bushland, it was perched at the summit of a steep road, totally cut off from the lowlands below. The four farmers that took it, like many others, had barely enough money to pay for necessities such as livestock, fences and food, thus county rates seemed to be something that could wait. The matter was brought to a head at the Heights Settlement, where, it was decided, to pay the county the men would have to work on the road up at the settlement, their wages going towards their rates.

So the farmers, Peach, Hook, Bendiksen and McFarlane, at the same time as trying to make a living from their bleak paddocks and unproductive land, also had to clear water tables, dig drains and fill ruts in the road. Each season however, the arrears mounted, until in June 1924, when the land was let for grazing,- the four men having given up the struggle.

Many men left the district after returning from the war, both because of the lack of work, and because they found it hard to fit in where they had once belonged.

SHANNON WAR MEMORIAL - ANNOTATED VERSION* Memorial unveiled April 25th 1924 by W. Murdoch, Mayor of Shannon. THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE DIED FOR FREEDOM AND JUSTICE IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 -1918 IN MEMORIAM Vol. 1 Enrolled by * RugbyFamily S=Single 31 Dec 1915 # Shannon RSA member 1935 UPPER FRONT PANEL * BUTLER William Joseph Ignatius S Private Vol 1 P100 FATHER DORE (M. C.) Patrick S Chapl Capt. Vol 1 194 GARDINER James S Cpl-Vet Corps Vol 1 255 HENSMAN Albert S Rifleman Vol 1 324 HOWE Leonard Alfred (Labourer) S Roll 26/28 JONES Percy Raymond KNYVETT Edmund Charles S Private Vol 1 400 LAW Edward Henry (farmer) S LanceCpl Vol 1 407 MILLAR James Grewar S Pte Flax Vol 1 503 McNAUGHTON William Alexander MITCHELL William John Vol 1 510 MILLIGAN Edward Noel S Private 49/16 PROSSER J. PICKENS Joseph George Alfred S Trooper SAMMETT John * SMITH John Ernest S Private Flax Vol 1 675 STEVENS/STEPHENS Arthur Francis Noble Private Vol 1 690 * WOODS/Wood Norman Harold S Private Vol 1 797 * POOLE Mostyn McDONALD A. RIGHT SIDE AT THEIR COUNTRY'S CALL SERVED IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 ALLOWAY C F * EAGLE C L ANDERSON R B * EAGLE A E Vol 1/207 # BELL Thomas [flax] V.1/48 FELL W BOVIS J T FINLAY S BOHANNA T FREEMAN F S BRIDLE C J GRAHAM A BRETTEN R G A # GARDNER K C BUTT E S # GRIFFITHS J BARCLAY J GRAHAM T * BURKE F *# GUNNING E (grocers asst.) BURTTON J J HYDE M Vol 1/355 CAMERON W * HEMMINGSEN G F(teacher) COLEY J B (MM) Vol 1/139 HINCKSMAN G COLEY R Vol 1/139 HARVEY W # COLEY D Vol 1/ ? HAYCOCK G W CURRAN * HOOK R " CARTER W A * HOOK C CASSERLEY J HANSEN A CREEDY T HOLDEN A C DUNCKLEY G HANNIFIN 0 DOYLE J JUDD L LEFT SIDE JACKSON A W Vol 1/360 NEWSON H Vol 1/537 JENKINS R J Vol 1/367 *# NEWTON W W *# JOHNSON C * NEWTON J W (settler) *# KING T H (rdmn) Vol 1/395 *# NEWTON C (farmer) * KING F NICHOLSON A D * KING J (eng. Driver) * OSBURNE J Vol 1 KIRBY E OAG W KNIGHT L H * PRAIN G G Vol 1 * LENIHAN J * PRATT G LIVINGSTONE D PORT E LAW A M RYRIE J L Ro1143/35 LAW W T # RYRIE JOHN MURPHY J * ROWLANDS R Vol 1 MILLAR W (MM) Vol 1 * STRATFORD H J Roll 38/36? MITCHELL S * STRATFORD R C Vol 1 1 MITCHELL K SAUNDERS N # MITCHELL J.Allan Vol 1/509 # SECORD A # MARTIN J [butcherl # SECORD L * MOYNIHAN R Vol 1 SECORD C * MOYNIHAN J SUGREI P * MOYNIHAN W J SYMES A MURDOCK W (settler) # SIMPSON Joseph * McKENZIE J A (Chapl .)Vol 1 SULLIVAN E McCONVILLE J STAPLES G (farmer) McINTOSH H W SELBY R E (clerk) Roll 33/3 McCARTHY J J Vol 1 (Flax) SWANNEY J Roll 28/9 BACK STERN J F C * WOODS E G (Wood) Vol 1 STERN J H WOODS J J # STERN W C # WHITE A J H *# SMITH P Ay[farmer] WICKENS H *# SPRING E C R # WRAGGE F SPEIRS W WILLS A # SCOBIE W M Vol 1 *# WILKINSON George TOMLIN Harry Vol 1 (Vet) WICKLIFFE L TURNER J R WALTON J T * THOMPSON A F Vol 1 (Vet) * WILSON H * TERRY R J * WILSON C TREMEWAN M * WILSON A VENN W H # WOODMASS K VAUGHAN C YATES ArchibaldHunter Roll 45/33 WOOD G RANGI WIARI TOPIA KOPERU J MOWBRAY H (farmer) SENK W SINCLAIR J H THOMPSON P R SANDS R (MM) HARDI E C G *# HAPOKA H I KAMATE

This project was done by Simon Shuker for his sixth form certificate.

This was included in Simon Shuker's project.

A copy of the Shannon entry in a Wise's Directory was included in the project.

1

Alphabetical Roll NZEF, Volume One

2

The Centenary of Shannon, 1887 - 1987. (booklet)

3

From Bush & Swamp. M. Law

4

Horowhenua County and It's People. A.J. Dreaver

5

Inheritors of a Dream. Scott

6

King and Country Call. Paul Baker

7

The Manawatu Daily Times

8

New Zealanders at War. M. King

9

NZ Book of Events. Bryce Fraser

10

NZGS Cemetery Transcripts.

11 NZ Encyclopedia, Vol III

12

NZ Post Office Directory, 1912, 1914

13

New Zealand's Yesterdays. H. Keith

14

Our Yesterdays, 1860 - 1940. Harvey

15

Oxford History of New Zealand. Oliver & Williams

16

Shannon Football Club Diamond Jubilee Booklet - 1959. R. G.Vinsen

17

The Shannon News

18

St Mary's Church, Foxton 1881 - 1981. (booklet)

19

Voices of Gallipoli. M. Shadbolt

20

Voices of War

21

Women in Wartime. L. Edmond

Another in which Shannon remembers the War is through the RSA and the yearly service on Anzac Day.

The War Memorial was unveiled on Anzac Day, 25 April 1924 (as shown in the photo on the left), after several years of planning, considering proposals and yet more planning. The War Memorial Hall was also several years in the making, being built in 1954, after much fundraising and many hours of voluntary labour. When opened, the celebrations were spread over a full week. The decision to build it came because of two different reasons - the Druids Hall was privately owned, and thus not a community amenity, and the desire to erect a suitable memorial to those who had lost their

lives in the wars, especially the Second World War. The section in Grey Street, upon which it is situated, was donated by Mr and Mrs John Roach, a subsidy was received from the Government War Memorial Committee, and the Shannon RSA raised almost £400 in one week.

The Shannon Returned Services Association was formed soon after the conclusion of World War One, for the welfare of returned serviceman, and as a way of keeping in contact with wartime friends. The Shannon RSA was formed in 1919, as a sub-branch of the Levin association, with 25 members. Unfortunately, in 1933 the RSA records were lost in a fire, but the later records are still intact. The RSA have been responsible for the rehabilitation and settlement of returned servicemen after WWII, with the post war years bringing membership to a peak of 228 in 1946. With no global conflicts for over forty years, the membership of the RSA is understandably dwindling. Members meet every Friday evening for a chat, but Anzac Day is still the highlight of the year.

Anzac Day, which originally commemorated the fallen Australian and New Zealand troops at Gallipoli, has now widened to become a national day of remembrance for those who have served in all wars. Early Anzac days consisted of a street parade of ex-servicemen, the laying of wreaths at the two war memorials, followed by a service in the Renown Theatre and a lunch provided by the Women’s Institute, but the format for recent years replaces the indoor service and luncheon with a short open air service and a light lunch at the club rooms. The annual sale of poppies in the week before Anzac Day provides the funds for welfare services.

In total, New Zealand sent over 100,000 men overseas who saw action - almost 10% of the total population, and 42% of males between the ages of nineteen and forty-five. One hundred and fifty-two men from Shannon served overseas, and twenty died there.

Shannon had been extremely involved in the war - volunteers, of whom there were many, food production for the allies and the controversy over conscription. The Manawatu Flaxmillers Union joined the unions resolved to strike the moment conscription was introduced and were fined £75 for sedition, but over-all, the farming community welcomed conscription as long as it only took men from cities, and without jobs, and left the farmers alone.

Patriotism in Shannon was very high, with whole-hearted involvement in the concerts and other events designed to raise funds, such as the rugby games and dances.

The Industry in Shannon, mostly dairy farming and the flax industry was affected by the war through the loss of labour, but exemption allowed "last men" on farms to remain, and almost all flaxworkers, their efforts deigned to be as vital to the war effort as the sending of soldiers.

The Shannon community was also affected by the war, with the local sports teams being short of players, families losing a father or brother, and women being made to assume more responsibility for the welfare of themselves, their family, and Shannon.

Even after the war finished, everyone didn't live happily ever after, or at least not at once. The land sold to returning men was often of poor quality and couldn't be made profitable. The men themselves had been affected by the war - those who had not been physically injured, were often psychologically affected, and it often took years for them to return to their former condition.

Overseas, many men's only source of comfort was the thought of returning to their families back home. However, on returning they often found the family was different to the one they had left. The women were used to running things and were reluctant to relinquish their independence. Children didn't know their father and the father didn't know his children. The father came back thinking that everything would be back to normal, and he would fit straight back into the life he had left, whereas in reality it often took years, and things could never revert to pre-war conditions. Indeed, many New Zealand marriages broke up as a direct result of the war and the strain it placed on marriages, which would otherwise have probably never have broken up.

In addition to all the social problems around at the end of the war, there was the huge impact of the 1918 influenza epidemic, which killed more people than the war had, and from all walks of life. The influenza epidemic had an even greater effect on life in New Zealand for that reason - the epidemic directly affected everyone in New Zealand, not just those who volunteered.

Name: Edward Law

Born: 6 March 1864, Near Blenheim

Age in 1914: 50

Whereabouts during war: Shannon

History: Born in 1864, by the age of nineteen Edward Law was farming for himself. He married in 1892, and arrived in Shannon in 1893, along with his wife and four children. While in Shannon, Edward and Jane Law had a further four children, making a family of six sons and two daughters.

Edward and Jane Law were very active in local affairs, and Edward was later an elder in the Presbyterian Church there. Edward Law was also a member of the Horowhenua County Council, Shannon School Committee, founded the Shannon Co-operative Dairy Company and was its first chairman. Jane Law died in 1910, aged 46, and Edward Law sold their original property and moved to a hill country farm.

Three of his sons went to the war, and although Archie and Wilfred returned, his second son, Henry, was killed at Gallipoli.

Edward, Archie and Wilfred moved to a farm in the Bay of Plenty in 1919 where he farmed for many years before moving to Whakatane, where he died at the age of 75, in 1939.

---

Name: Father Patrick Dore, S.M., M.C.

Born: 1886, Ireland

Age in 1914: 28

Whereabouts during war: Gallipoli, England, New Zealand.

History: Father Dore came out to New Zealand in 1910, at the age of 24. At first he worked in Palmerston North, then Kaikoura, and in 1913 he came to Foxton as Parish Priest.

When World War-One started, he went away as padre with the main body of the NZEF to Gallipoli where he distinguished himself by his bravery and dedication. He was seriously wounded in the back and leg while bringing in a wounded soldier, and was almost completely paralysed. He received a Military Cross for his courage and, after treatment in England, returned to New Zealand where he once again became a Parish Priest.

In 1918 he went to Auckland for an operation hoped to restore some mobility.

Although the operation was carried out successfully, the strain of his injuries proved too great and he died on July 15. He was awarded a military funeral, and recently the RSA contributed some money towards a memorial, which was spent on a new road leading to the church he preached at, and a plaque alongside the road.

---

Name: John Thomas Bovis

Born: 1887, Wellington

Age in 1914: 27

Whereabouts during war: Serving overseas.

History: John Thomas Bovis, born the same year as Shannon, worked in Palmerston North for a while before coming to Shannon in 1909 as secretary-accountant to Carter Bros, and for the next 50 years was involved in almost every organisation in Shannon. He served overseas during the First World War, and shortly after he returned, he convened the meeting which declared Shannon a Borough, and was appointed the first town clerk, in 1917. In 1918 he married Olive Minnie Laurvig, and in 1919, he resigned as town clerk, only to be re-appointed in 1923, and he kept the position for the next 45 years, until his resignation in 1958. After the war, he was also the Shannon agent for the HEPB, the secretary for the Buckley Drainage Board and representative for the New Zealand Insurance Company - both for around 40 years. He also acted as an accountant on a private basis for many others.

He was a Horowhenua representative in hockey, and also played athletics, bowls, tennis, rugby and cricket. He was also a good and sought-after public speaker, and was often an MC for various events. Olive Bovis was also highly involved in community groups, and was a member of almost all women's organisations in Shannon.

John and Olive Bovis were given a public farewell when John resigned in 1958, with almost 250 people attending. He died in 1962, at the age of 75.

---

Name: Rewi Moynihan

Born: 1895, Wellington

Age in 1914: 19

Whereabouts during war: Gallipoli, then Shannon.

History: Mr Moynihan moved from Wellington to Shannon with his parents at the age of six months. He went to Shannon School, and afterwards went to Palmerston North High School, where he began an illustrious rugby career. He left school to start farming, but enlisted when war was declared, and left with the Main Body in 1914. He took part in the landing at Gallipoli, and was wounded twice, on the second occasion being sent home in October 1915, being the first wounded man to return. On recovering enough to run the farm, he took over while his two brothers, W. and T. Moynihan, went to the front. When they returned, he took over the running of the Club Hotel, along with his brother Tom, taking over from their father.

A prominent sporting figure in Shannon, he represented Shannon both as a junior footballer, and in the senior team, where he was also selected to play for the Union. He played for the Manawatu-Horowhenua team against the Springboks in 1921, and was included in the North Island All-Black trials, and represented Wellington-Manawatu-Horowhenua against the All-Blacks before they left to go to England in 1924.

He died in 1927, at the age of 32.

---

Cut out of photo from the Horowhenua Historical Society on Kete Horowhenua.

Cartoon by George Prain.

(A hospital sketch) by George Prain.

Cartoon by George Prain

Un-named sketch by George Prain.