War behind the scenes - Soldiers' stories shared in Library's Reed Gallery exhibition

Humour in the face of horrific death and destruction is the underlying theme for the Trench and Troopship Journals Exhibition opening in the Reed Gallery, Dunedin City Library, this Friday, 19 March.

The City Library’s Troopship Journals Collection, which forms the basis of the Exhibition, was initiated by Dunedin’s first Librarian, William Barker McEwan, is arguably one of the finest in the country, with approximately 379 journals from troop and hospital ships, military camps and the frontlines, written by, and for, New Zealand’s armed services.

These periodicals served many functions including relaying official (and unofficial) campaign reports while offering satirical commentary on military life at sea or at the front. They also provided a medium within which to publish topical poems, caricatures (particularly of officers) and other artistic endeavours. For soldiers on active duty these journals provided much needed light relief from the horrors of war. To the modern reader, their impact is perhaps best summarised by Professor Graham Seal of Curtin University (Australia):

“Through this mostly forgotten literature, language and art, we can connect with the common concerns of foot soldiers and perhaps understand a little better how they endured the unendurable and why, at its end, many of the survivors experienced oddly mixed feelings of relief and regret.”

The items on display are primarily from the two World Wars. However, the earliest on exhibit date from the time of the second South African War (1899–1902). Three journals from this conflict are on display: ‘The Veldt Lyre’ (1900); the ‘Cornwall Clipper’ (ca. 1901); “a rough sketch of the First Contingent’s career”; and the ‘Mafeking Mail’ (1899–1902) “published daily, shells permitting”.

In addition to the journals, two display cases are dedicated solely to souvenirs created for early ANZAC day commemorations. One such item is unique to Dunedin Public Libraries’ “Trench and Troopship Journals Exhibition, being written by prisoners of war held in Germany’s Stalag 383. The booklet, from 1944, was posted, along with a typescript of events, directly to the Dunedin RSA by G.T. Seccombe. The envelope used to post these items rests alongside its contents complete with the Stalag ID and Red Cross seal.

The exhibition opens on Friday 19 March at 5.00 pm in the Reed Gallery of the City Library and runs until 13 June 2010.