The Western Front Today - New Zealand Memorial, Longueval
Sited nearby the South African Memorial at Delville Wood, the New Zealand Memorial at Longueval commemorates the area from which the New Zealand Division started during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette on 15 September 1916, an occasion that saw the first use of tanks in warfare (as part of the wider Somme Offensive).
Along with the British 14th and 41st Divisions the New Zealanders entered the reclaimed village of Flers in triumph, preceded by a conquering tank.
The memorial was unveiled in October 1922.
Film Footage of Longueval Memorial
References:
Before Endeavours Fade, Rose E.B. Coombs, After the Battle 1994
Major & Mrs Holt's Battlefield Guide - Somme, Leo Cooper 2000
A respirator was a gas mask in which air was inhaled through a metal box of chemicals.
- Did you know?
