<I>

  <&>Wellington Corpus of Spoken New Zealand English Version One</&>
  <&>Copyright 1998 School of Linguistics & Applied Language Studies</&>
  <&>Victoria University of Wellington</&>

  <&>side two</&>
  <&>4:16</&>
  

  <WSC#DPH005:0005:BK>
      our division <,> was given the task <,> of defending the
      bridgeheads on the river <,> <.>k</.> on the river RHINE <,>

  <WSC#DPH005:0010:BK>
      er the aussies were excluded from it they weren't taken

  <WSC#DPH005:0015:BK>
      it was a great <,> a great trip to <.>be</.> to be able to go
      into germany <,> and do that job

  <WSC#DPH005:0020:BK>
      it was one of the outstanding parts of the war you know what i
      mean <,> but the poor old aussies who by virtue of their <,>
      fact that they were <,> undisciplined

  <WSC#DPH005:0025:BK>
      in fact actually they'd mutinied <.>someo</.> i don't know which
      <.>ba</.> which division it was they had five divisions <,>

  <WSC#DPH005:0030:BK>
      <.>w</.> one of them er <,> caused quite a bit of trouble had
      quite a bit of trouble <,,>

  <WSC#DPH005:0035:BK>
      well that <.>was</.> that don't know <.>whe</.> that worthwhile
      bringing in but you can see

  <WSC#DPH005:0040:BK>
      where were we

  <WSC#DPH005:0045:BK>
      we left it we were going to the somme weren't we

  <WSC#DPH005:0050:XI>
      you were going to the somme

  <WSC#DPH005:0055:XI>
      could you tell us about your involvement in the somme
      <&>5:00</&>

  <WSC#DPH005:0060:BK>
      yes <,> er <.>th</.> this as i say we left the <.>s</.> we left
      left armentieres and we marched

  <WSC#DPH005:0065:BK>
      it was in autumn it was beautiful weather and we billeted

  <WSC#DPH005:0070:BK>
      it were good to get away from the trenches and to <.>b</.> be
      billeted in these places <,> along the line and the people there
      are a different type of people to the ones up north <,>

  <WSC#DPH005:0075:BK>
      they were more friendly to us <,>

  <WSC#DPH005:0080:BK>
      er we were given <.>a</.> the the i put it down here so i can
      jog my mind <O>voc</O> we were <.>given</.> <.>the</.> the new
      zealand division was given the task of taking the village of
      flers <.>an</.> and we had to advance three thousand yards <,>
      on a front of eight hundred

  <WSC#DPH005:0085:BK>
      now that's a long way three thousand yard

  <WSC#DPH005:0090:BK>
      one thousand seven hundred and sixty yards is a mile isn't it

  <WSC#DPH005:0095:BK>
      it's <,> it's not <.>qu</.> it's about a mile and a half it's a
      long way to go and we were given that task and it was cut up
      into various er objectives

  <WSC#DPH005:0100:BK>
      there was the switch trench that was the first one that was the
      <O>voc</O> trench immediately in front of us then there was the
      brown trench and the blue trench and <&>6:00</&> things like
      that <,>

  <WSC#DPH005:0105:BK>
      the er <,,> <.>b</.> <.>b</.> before we went into the line we
      stayed the night in in high wood

  <WSC#DPH005:0110:BK>
      there was high wood delville wood and er high wood delville wood
      <,> that's right high wood delville wood and er <,,><&>3</&>
      fricourt wood all woods

  <WSC#DPH005:0115:BK>
      we stayed the night in there and then we went into the <.>sw</.>
      into the trench um <,,>

  <WSC#DPH005:0120:BK>
      the <.>sh</.> the thinking of some of the troops was quite rare

  <WSC#DPH005:0125:BK>
      we had a chap <.>ca</.> we <.>all</.> everybody every unit had a
      sanitary man who was responsible for <,> the sanitary conditions
      in the show and <.>th</.> he <.>th</.> the bloke that was in
      that was generally the most illiterate or the most er the most
      backward sort of soldier of the lot <,> but this chap's name was
      thom t h o m

  <WSC#DPH005:0130:BK>
      he <.>was</.> <,> wouldn't say he was illiterate but he wasn't
      very BRIGHT and i remember <.>n</.> the night before we went
      over the top before we went over the top in the morning standing
      on one of his lavatory <&>7:00</&> tins turned upside down and
      giving us a lecture on patriotism and loyalty and the job we had
      to do

  <WSC#DPH005:0135:BK>
      this was a private just the old sanitary man <O>laughs</O>

  <WSC#DPH005:0140:BK>
      in another case a sanitary man <,> er he <,> and the sergeant
      major got hold of a a jar of rum army rum <,> went down into a
      deep dugout and drank it with the <.>consequen</.> result that
      the poor old sanitary man he died er <,> he was asphyxiated <,>
      with rum and the sergeant major got away with it <,> and <O>voc</O>
      <.>we</.> <,> any rate the morning came of the morning of the
      fifteenth of september <,> we were all set to go <,> and this
      was the first time that the division as a division had ever
      fought together all together

  <WSC#DPH005:0145:BK>
      they'd fought on gallipoli we'd fought in <,> as a battalion in
      egypt <,> er we'd done the trench warfare <&>pronounced worfor</&>
      but this was the first time this was going to be <,> a testing
      time <,> and <.>a</.> as you your reading would tell you that
      the <,> <.>th</.> <.>b</.> the <&>8:00</&> english the british
      er er we were still referred to as colonial troops and they
      didn't have a very high opinion of us the <.>th</.> <.>th</.>
      and they were very doubtful when they gave us this TASK of
      taking flers whether we were capable of doing it <,> um <,> but
      we proved otherwise and <,> so that we were given this this task

  <WSC#DPH005:0150:BK>
      it was the first <,> time as i say the division'd ever been
      together <,>

  <WSC#DPH005:0155:BK>
      the morale of the division was really high cos we'd worked
      together <,> as some we'd been together for months and months
      together <,> and apart from then we had the influx of the <,>
      gallipoli blokes they have a steadying effect <,> and we of the
      rifle brigade <,> <.>h</.> had to prove ourself

  <WSC#DPH005:0160:BK>
      <.>we</.> we were still <,> a bit offside with the others
      because you know er what they thought our superior style <,> so
      we had to prove ourself <,> and then this was the first time too
      that they'd ever had what they call a creeping barrage <.>y</.>
      you'd know what that would be <,> and that was all a question of
      timing <,> and it was the first time <O>voc</O> <&>9:00</&> too
      that we'd had the tanks <,> and we had FOUR allocated to the
      division <,>

  <WSC#DPH005:0165:BK>
      er two <,> i don't think one ever got past the starting line and
      i don't know what happened to second one

  <WSC#DPH005:0170:BK>
      i know the third one followed us up and we took the brown line
      which was the second objective <,> and we were <,> very nicely
      <,> situated there doing <,> quite well minding our own damn
      business when this tank <,> stopped about a hundred yards <,>
      behind our <,> trench <,> with the consequential result that the
      germans <O>sniffs</O> er set to work to plaster it with <.>t</.>
      er artillery fire <.>an</.> <.>in</.> an attempt to knock it out
      <,> but you know how artillery fire is like it was over and
      unders and we really got strafed

  <WSC#DPH005:0175:BK>
      the fourth one went on <,> went <.>o</.> <.>round</.> down our
      left flank <O>sniffs</O> and on our left was a <,> machine gun
      nest in <.>a</.> in <.>a</.> some WILLows and been giving us a
      lot of trouble it was firing at us and giving us a lot of
      casualties then <,> er they went down and cleaned it up

  <WSC#DPH005:0180:BK>
      er the barbed wire as as in the case of the first somme <,> was
      never cut <,> just in this intact place <,> they tried to cut it
      with shrapnel shrapnel'd never cut barbed wire <,> and this
      <&>10:00</&> trench <,> tank went down <,> and and cleaned up
      the er the <.>cl</.> mowed them barbed wire down <,> and
      finished up ultimately at at the village of flers <,>

  <WSC#DPH005:0185:BK>
      <.>we</.> er going on our our er going over the top for the
      first time <,> er <,,> it <.>requir</.> <.>knew</.> nobody <.>n</.>
      knew what to expect but once it got over the top and in that
      exposed position you had <,> german fire coming at you machine
      guns and shrapnel <,> you had your own <,> er barrage

  <WSC#DPH005:0190:BK>
      the big thing about the barrage was <,> that it fell there and
      you had to keep up to it as close as you could <,>

  <WSC#DPH005:0195:BK>
      in fact while we were when we were doing <,> exercises <,> to
      <,> familiarise us with the barrage we had flags and things like
      that <,> the instructor said what you should do you should try
      to do is to lean on the barrage <,> er <.>th</.> keep up as
      close as you can because as soon as the barrage lifted <,> er
      the germans <.>w</.> if we didn't <&>11:00</&> keep up to it as
      soon as <.>you</.> <,,> the barrage lifted it went on to another
      sector the germans were able to come up <,> and command the
      position so we had to keep up to the barrage as much as we could
      <,> but then there's always the <,> sort of the fog of war you
      know how how things get mixed up <,> and the timing gets mixed
      up and when <.>we</.> first of all when we went out this switch
      trench was taken by our first our second battalion

  <WSC#DPH005:0200:BK>
      we got involved in that

  <WSC#DPH005:0205:BK>
      we had to be kicked out of there to go on and do our job <,> so
      <.>w</.> eventually as i say we <,> we struggled through that
      <,>

  <WSC#DPH005:0210:BK>
      we had a naval gun which was firing in the rear and it was
      dropping short all the way through

  <WSC#DPH005:0215:BK>
      i can remember that quite well

  <WSC#DPH005:0220:BK>
      i remember too quite well getting hit in the back with a spent
      piece of shrapnel about that size

  <WSC#DPH005:0225:BK>
      it's a most painful thing <,>

  <WSC#DPH005:0230:BK>
      i also remember <,> er arriving in a <,> in a er shell hole <,,>
      and along came um <,> a sergeant of the er machine guns who was
      HAD been with us <,> and <&>12:00</&> in this shell hole was a
      sergeant <,> i won't mention his name and he was er scared to
      death he wouldn't move

  <WSC#DPH005:0235:BK>
      when he was ON parade he was one of those <,> er arrogant <,>
      blokes you know that held tried to hold the way <,> and here he
      was shivering in his shoes and this sergeant of the er <,>
      machine guns said <,> drew his revolver and said if you don't
      move from here <.>w</.> right away he said i'll shoot you and he
      would've but anyway <.>w</.> as i say we took <.>the</.> we took
      that trench all right and we did all right until this darn <O>voc</O>
      er tank broke down and er the germans started shelling it

  <WSC#DPH005:0240:BK>
      we stayed there <,> for some time <,> dug further on <,> <.>counter</.>
      were counterattacked and then we were relieved and we came back
      through the switch trench

  <WSC#DPH005:0245:BK>
      the switch trench was that <,> <&>13:00</&> one made by the
      maori battalion

  <WSC#DPH005:0250:BK>
      it was really a work of art

  <WSC#DPH005:0255:BK>
      you could drive a horse well you could drive a motor car up it
      <,>

  <WSC#DPH005:0260:BK>
      it was really a wonderful piece of work made by the maori
      battalion <,,> and er it was going back from that switch trench
      er going back to the switch trench to the green dump <,> er <,>
      that i got gassed with <.>tha</.> <.>w</.>

  <WSC#DPH005:0265:BK>
      i was helping to carry out a stretcher bearer

  <WSC#DPH005:0270:BK>
      we had to <,> we we couldn't er we couldn't use the trench it
      was so bogged up with water and that <.>w</.> we had to be out
      on the open and <.>the</.> darn gas shells they come <.>over</.>
      you don't hear <.>them</.> no explosions it just goes plop plop
      plop <,> and er <.>th</.> <.>w</.> got mixed up in that and
      that's where i stepped out of the somme so i went back to
      HOSpital and er <,> didn't join up the unit until we were in um
      canteen corner

  <WSC#DPH005:0275:XI>
      could you describe what the somme battlefield looked like

  <WSC#DPH005:0280:BK>
      oh well it was just er <,,> er i don't know if <.>e</.> <.>i</.>
      <.>i</.> if you've ever <.>i</.> i <.>k</.> always liken it in
      some ways <.>to</.> in the old days when we used to go through
      the main trunk line and through that <,> king country where
      they'd er felled all the forest and all there were just sticking
      up were stumps and things like that <,>

  <WSC#DPH005:0285:BK>
      that was something <,> that was er something what it looked like
      but then of course it was all <.>ch</.> churned <&>14:00</&> up
      ploughed up <,> er shell holes all over the show

  <WSC#DPH005:0290:BK>
      it was really a <,> a desolate looking place <,> no life at all
      no and that was quite an extent <.>th</.> the somme was er quite
      a big area

  <WSC#DPH005:0295:BK>
      er it <.>th</.> the lot of the country was CHALK country <,,> er
      white <,> chalk you know and that sort of thing

  <WSC#DPH005:0300:BK>
      er then of course later on of course the rains came <,> left it
      too long but it was a <,> it was a bloody <drawls>affair</drawls>
      it was a disastrous <drawls>affair</drawls> and they often say
      er we didn't take enough ground <,> to bury our dead <.>an</.>
      <.>y</.> it's only a <,> couple <.>o</.> a couple of years later
      we lost the whole lot when the germans came through on that
      march offensive <,> but it WAS a terrible thing <.>an</.> <,>
      <.>i</.> in the cathedral at amiens <,> um <,> there's a <,> on
      one of the pillars there's a plaque

  <WSC#DPH005:0305:BK>
      it just says in bare words <,> to the memory of the six hundred
      thousand british officers and men who perished on the somme

  <WSC#DPH005:0310:BK>
      six hundred thousand

  <WSC#DPH005:0315:BK>
      that's a hell of a lot of people isn't it <&>15:01</&>
</I>
