New Testament, 'On Active Service'

This New Testament was published by Oxford University Press for the British and Foreign Bible Society during World War I. By 1915, the Society had sent more than a million and a half New Testaments in 20 languages to 12 countries. They were for sick and wounded soldiers, sailors, prisoners of war, refugees, and troops preparing to go to the front, including New Zealanders. The cover of this New Testament has been stamped with 'On Active Service N.Z. 1915' for local soldiers.

A personal keepsake
This particular copy was acquired by Lance Corporal Percy Kirkby, 22nd Reinforcements Wellington Infantry Regiment (serial number 39541). He gave it to his 13-year-old daughter Sybil on 20 December 1916, a few weeks before he embarked from Wellington for England on the Aparima, 16 February 1917. It would have been a personal keepsake and may have brought comfort to her as she waited for her father to return from the battlefields of France.