Johnny Enzed the NZ soldier of the First World War 1914-15

Professor Glyn Harper will share insights into the New Zealand soldier in World War One at the Hastings War Memorial Library on Wednesday 4th March at 6pm.

A well-known military historian and Massey University Professor of War Studies, Harper will explore the experiences of Kiwi soldiers in his presentation titled Johnny Enzed: the New Zealand soldier at war 1914-15.

Harper says he will talk about who the Kiwi recruits were, where they came from and what motivated them to enlist and follow their training and experiences through to Gallipoli 1915.

“In my research for a new book, I have reviewed more than 2000 letters and diaries, most of which have not been accessed before. They included accounts of what the soldiers saw, where they slept, what they ate and what they felt,” says Harper.

Professor Harper will share his research which includes images and the soldiers accounts of their experiences.

Glyn Harper is Professor of War Studies at Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand. General Editor of the Centenary History of New Zealand and the First World War and former teacher, he joined the Australian Army in 1988 and after eight years transferred to the New Zealand Army, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Glyn was the army's official historian for the deployment to East Timor.

He is the author of numerous history books which include Kippenberger: An Inspired New Zealand Commander; In the Face of the Enemy: The complete history of the Victoria Cross and New Zealand; Dark Journey: Three Key Battles of the Western Front; Images of War: World War One: A Photographic Record of New Zealanders at War 1914-1918 and his most recent Letters from Gallipoli: New Zealand Soldiers Write Home. He has written a number of children's books, of which Le Quesnoy and Jim's Letters are the most recently published.

Tickets to this WW100 commemoration event are $5.00 each and available from Hastings District Libraries.

4 October 2017

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