item details
NameTelegram
ProductionFirst New Zealand Expeditionary Force; creating agency; 10 October 1918; England
ClassificationVisual and Verbal Communication, telegrams
Materialspaper
DimensionsOverall: 220mm (width), 138mm (height)
Registration NumberGH024215
Credit lineGift of Ian Devon and Joanne Mackay in memory of James Aloysius Devons, 2013
Overview
This is an example of the telegrams which were sent by New Zealand military authorities to the families of soldiers who were killed, wounded or became ill during the First World War. A total of 16,697 New Zealanders were killed, with 41,317 wounded. Another 507 died while training in New Zealand. New Zealand suffered one of the highest casualty rates of any nation involved in the war, and families dreaded the arrival of telegrams with bad news.