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RSA REVIEW • AUTUMN 2014
What’s New
‘A RARE INSIGHT’ INTO THE REALITY OF WAR Dion Crooks “Within a few days of the declaration of war the young manhood of New Zealand was assembling in the camps of Alexandra Park, Awapuni racecourse, Addington and Tahuna parks. From the gum fields and the timber mills, from the sheep runs and the dairy farms and the flax swamps, from mine and office and factory and school, shop hands and lawyers, labourers and university professors, a few crooks and deadbeats, and a great crowd of decent chaps – they came pouring in. There was no troubled conscience in New Zealand. The schools and the editors and the parsons had done their work too thoroughly for that. “There was enthusiasm and a haze of rather splendid feeling. A great adventure was opening up. All the humdrum of life suddenly fell away and men were like young gods in a new world of romance.” In these two paragraphs of superbly rhythmical, flowing prose that open The Silent Division – New Zealanders at the Front 1914-1919, Ormond
Burton tells you more about the New Zealand context of World War 1 than many historians have managed in thousands of words. On, goes Burton, to training: “Civilian clothes were quickly bundled up and uniform donned with a feeling akin to reverence. The various odds and ends that go to the making of the complete soldier were issued by instalments. Men gradually learned their right relationship to their sections and platoons and companies. Everyone was desperately keen because the war was bound to be over soon, and if anybody was slack they were to be left behind – a fearful fate. “Apparently the matter of greatest importance was the magic thing – discipline. It was the greatest virtue of the solider – the quality which if we could only attain we would win the war. The old regulars who seemed to spring up in the most amazing fashion as sergeant majors hinted that in all probability we would never get it. We were a little downcast, but persevered, manfully clicking our heels, casting the eyes to the left and right and saluting at all times passing authority with what precision we could muster. “The shining of brass buttons was another all-important matter. The glitter and gleam of these were evidently to cause consternation in the ranks of the Hun, who was, according to the cablegrams, growing a blacker and more unspeakable person every day. “For the rest men learned to turn to right and left, to form fours, to make proper connection between rifle and bayonet, and to march reasonably. But for the awful fear that war might not last, all went well.” As you might imagine, the subject matter gets grimmer and darker as Burton works his war through the war. But his wondrous combination of writing skill, perception, ability to encapsulate the atmosphere and feelings is unabated. He captures the nitty and the gritty, the good and the bad, the funny and the tragic moments of soldiers and war (Burton was a medical orderly
Prisoners used as stretcherbearers...one of the 56 photographs in The Silent Division & One Man’s War 1914-1919.
and stretcher bearer on Gallipoli and the Western Front, until in 1916 transferring to become a combatant infantryman). Yes, the book was written in 1935. But it’d be surprising if anything since has outdone it. Now, John Douglas Publishing Ltd is releasing a reprint, combined with Concerning One Man’s War 1914-1919, Burton’s previously unpublished autobiography, which offers his individual account of his front-line service. The new publication will be launched for Anzac Day. Historian John Gray, who has edited the new publication, provides notes on what was happening the war as a context for Burton’s narrative. The text is unchanged, but photographs and maps have been incorporated. The two works are complementary and provide a rare insight of the same events, from the historical and from the personal points of view. If you want to know about World War 1 through the eyes, hearts and minds of the front-line combatants, make sure you read them. Burton was decorated by both the British and French for his bravery, but afterwards became
an implacable convert to Christian pacifism. He had fought because he thought the destruction of Prussian militarism would usher in a new age of peace and freedom, but was horrified by the Treaty of Versailles. His unyielding commitment to Christian pacifism, his intolerance to non-Christian pacifism (an “armchair” philosophy) and his rigidly conservative theological dogma led him into strife with the Methodist church (he was expelled in 1942) and with lay authorities (he was imprisoned more than once for condemning World War 2), He explained his position this way: “The condemnation of war lies not in the sacrifice of life, but in the fact that the sacrifice is wasted as far as the attaining of any good end is concerned. Sacrifice is essential of all development toward higher levels of life...But to be availing, sacrifice must be directed into profitable channels.” Few could argue successfully with that. • The Silent Division & One Man’s War 1914191, by Ormond E.Burton, 464pp, 56 photos, 22 maps, hardback, dust jacket, $75.
THE REAL ORMOND BURTON STANDS UP PROUD IN PRINT Dion Crooks What you read is what you got with Ormond Burton. A man of strong intellect and strong will not easily swayed from his opinions and beliefs, but a man of compassion, intellect, perception, affinity with the common man, and superb prose. That’s the impression you get from his books, and his nephew, Geoffrey Burton, who lives in Auckland, confirms that was him in real life. “He was a very Christian fellow. He was brought up in a Christian household and his mother had had large influence on him. She read a lot to him when he was young. Geoffrey Burton says his uncle’s Christian upbringing had a huge influence on what he became. Ormond’s father was 50 and his mother
23 when they married, and he was one of five kids. Geoffrey believes Ormond had some fierce arguments with father.” But, he says, he was “very compassionate and kind”. “He never said a bad word about anybody; he saw good in people. He didn’t hold grudges. He never wavered from the truth and he had huge respect from those who were his opponents. “On the other hand, if he believed in something he saw as right, he would not deviate. If he saw something he didn’t think was right, he was not afraid to say so, and he had the skills to do it very well. “He would get up on his soapbox and debate with anyone.” It was a trait that eventually landed him in trouble with the government and the authorities
because of his opposition to World War 2; he ended up in prison on trumped up charges, arrested for saying ‘Ladies and Gentlemen’. There’s a strong argument that prime minister Peter Fraser organised that the judiciary inflict a jail sentence well beyond the scale of the charge solely to put him behind bars and keep him quiet. “It started with protests and opposing the war, but developed into the issue of freedom of speech,” says Geoffrey Burton. Amazingly, years later Ormond stopped to help an old man on a Wellington street. It was Judge Blair, who had issued that farcical sentence. Ormond Burton’s account of World War is unusual in that it is written from the viewpoint of the ordinary soldier rather than from those in authority.
Korea War veteran designs ‘little souvenir in a caring sort of way’ A New Zealand Korea War veteran has designed and produced a commemorative mug (pictured, right) to mark the 100th anniversary of World War 1. Roger Stanley – a former president of the Hamilton branch of the New Zealand Korea War Veterans’ Association and current patron of the New Zealand/Republic of Korea Friendship Society – says he likes “doing a little bit of design”. He designed a similar mug for the K Force anniversary and felt he would like to do “a little souvenir” for WW1. Don’t worry, he’s well aware of the moral issue and will not be making any money out of it...most likely “it’ll cost me a little”. “I lost two uncles in World War and I went to Gallipoli with one
of Helen Clark’s government parties. I’m doing this in a caring sort of way, with remembrance the main thought.” During his time as Hamilton KVA president, he was instrumental in involving the Korean community in Anzac Day commemorations. • The dishwasher-proof mugs cost $14 each (including packaging and freight) or $12 if you pick them up in Hamilton. A minimum order of 10 is requested to cover costs. Orders, with cheque made out to Lunabase Ltd, to: Roger Stanley, 99 Grandview Rd, Hamilton 3200. Ph: 07 8479061.
In fact, says Geoffrey, when Ormond wrote the history of the Auckland battalion, some poo-pooed it because it was too much about ordinary soliders and not enough about officers. This, he says, reflects the affinity Ormond had with his fellow men. “He would never pass by an old solider he knew. He always had time to stop and talk to people.” Geoffrey also recalls that when Ormond Burton left teaching at Wesley College and became a Methodist minister at the Webb St church in Wellington during the Great Depression of the early 1930s, he was appalled at finding men living on the street. He converted the wash-house at his home, which was fairly basic itself, into a refuge and looked after them.