ANZAC DAY

Today is ANZAC Day, a day we remember those who have fought and died in the various wars.

I have been thinking of the various members of my family and husbands' families who fought in the First and Second World Wars.

My mother's eldest brother died in the First World War and her youngest brother who was only a baby when his elder brother died was a Prisoner of War in the Second World War.  I understand that the family thought he had been killed.

Doug's uncle (one of his mother's brothers) fought in the Maori Battalion and was killed in Crete.  We recently had his duplicate Medals and a cousin collected them yesterday for today's ceremonies.

My late husband Max's uncle Everard (his mother's only brother) set sail on 18th November 1917 on the S.S. Tahiti bound for the U.K. He left behind his wife and young baby.  I have been reading the letter (more of a diary) that he sent to his wife.  It describes his trip through the Panama Canal in great detail.  I found this particularly interesting as I came through the Panama Canal roughly 50 years later.  They then sailed through the Caribbean Sea past Jamaica, and Cuba then to Newport where they went ashore.  They were at sea again on Christmas Day.   He was working as a cook and included the Christmas Day menu for both the Officers  and Troops.

Officers

Huitres Nature

Cons a la Imperial

Vol au vent - sweet bread

Timbles Blue Cod

Roast Sirloin of Beef

Roast Forequarter of Lamb

Roast Gosling, seasoning

Boiled Turkey

Asparagus a la Piencontaise

Green Peas

White vegetable

Queen Olives

Potage a la American

Pigeon a la Egyptienne

Ice Homard

Yorkshire Pudding

Mint sauce

Apple sauce

Oyster Sauce

and for desert

Christmas pudding

macedoine fruit

Swiss trifle

French Pastry

Crutes a la Indienne

Grape Nuts

Hard Sauce

Brandy Sauce

Mince pies

Almond Rock

I am copying from a copy that was typed out many years ago from Everard's handwritten letter so am not sure about some of these dishes/words but that gives a good idea of the Officers' Christmas meal.

Whereas the Troops were served

Roast pork, seasoning

Boiled potatoes

cabbage

followed by

Christmas pudding and Macedoinne Fruit.

Everard commented that he wanted to compare them and added that, of course, he had what he liked (being a cook) but there was too much distinction made.

They then sailed to Halifax in Nova Scotia where there had just been a major explosion after two ships collided and caught fire blowing, as he said, to atoms and causing a tsunami. He said he would not live in Halifax for a fortune and it was so bitterly cold with a foot of ice on our decks and all the water pipes burst.  He said the ink would freeze in a fountain pen in ones pocket and burst the pen.

From there they were escorted to England.  The letter is 4 x A4 typed pages plus the menu so I have only put some of it here.

After all that they arrived in Liverpool on January 7th 1918 he then contracted Measles and was admitted to the Military Hospital in Tidworth on the Dangerously Ill list and died on the 18th February, 1918.

His wife later re-married and we only discovered his daughter in, I think, the 1990's . She lived between us and Auckland and, we always visited her whenever we went to Auckland.  She was a lovely lady, a lot like Max' mother.