World War 1 Art
New Zealand’s World War 1 Art
New Zealanders created some fantastic art in response to the Great War. Some elaborate works were commissioned to commemorate battles or war heroes, whereas others are amusing cartoons or illustrations created by the soldiers themselves. You can view the full selection of New Zealand WWI art at the national Archives website: https://www.archives.govt.nz/search?image_category=WWI&type=image
Above Works:
1) ‘Zonnebeke’ by George Edmund Butler, c.1918 - c.1918
2) ‘Sergeant Henry James Nicholas, VC, MM’ by A. Elizabeth (Abbott) Kelly, 1920
3) ‘The last straw’ by Ernest Heber Thompson, 1916
4) ‘Bringing up the guns’ by Harold Septimus Power, 1917
Other Notable World War 1 Art:
'Pack Up Your Troubles,' by Felix Powell is an optimistic British Marching song aimed at lifting the spirits of the men.
'It's a long way to Tipperary,' by Jack Judge, a wistful British Marching song that would have surely resonated with the Irish troops as it is about a town in Ireland.
A sad but hopeful song released in 1917, when the war was at its darkest for New Zealand. ‘Keep the Home Fires Burning’ reflects the understated anxiety of heeding the call to arms and leaving home for war. This song certainly conveys the desperate yearning of the men to return home and of their families to see them again.
A catchy, irreverent, song and a soldier’s favourite; this version was recorded for the credits of ‘They Shall Grown Not Old’ directed by New Zealander Sir Peter Jackson and features the voices of members of the British High Commission in New Zealand (in order to replicate authentic British accents). The lyric ‘we’ll all be back in a few short years’ is certainly a sorrowful foreshadowing of the Second World War.
Now from the other side of the trenches, 'Argonnerwaldlied,' by Hermann Albert Gordon. A German marching song about Argonne Forest, a key battleground during the closing days of 1917 and beyond.
You can find other Māori World War 1 songs here: https://www.folksong.org.nz/te_ope_tuatahi/index.html