Passchendaele contest winner named

Whangaparaoa College student, Eve Bain, 17, has won the inaugural Battle of Passchendaele Multi-Media Competition, Veterans’ Affairs Minister Judith Collins announced today.

The annual competition was launched by Ms Collins to commemorate the Battle of Passchendaele which was fought in Belgium as part of the Allied offensive on the Western Front in 1917.

During the battle New Zealand suffered its greatest loss of life in a single day in New Zealand history.

“The battle, in which 2700 New Zealanders were listed as killed, wounded or missing in just two hours, was a monumental loss to this country. This competition was to help ensure that we never forget the sacrifice by these soldiers on that terrible day,” Ms Collins said.

“Eve’s entry, entitled For The Cause Of The Empire, is a powerful tribute to those that sacrificed their lives during the battle.”

Ms Collins will present Eve with a $2000 education grant at a commemoration ceremony marking the 94th Anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele, at the Auckland War Memorial Museum on 12 October 2011.

The judging panel for the Battle of Passchendaele Competition included Neill Atkinson, Chief Historian, Ministry for Culture and Heritage; Matt Gauldie, New Zealand Army Artist; Rick Ottaway, General Manager Veterans' Affairs New Zealand; Steve Russell, Director Corporate Service, New Zealand Film Archive; Professor Glyn Harper, Historian Massey University and member of the Passchendaele Society of New Zealand, and Mrs Margaret Snow, representing the Chief Executive of the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services’ Association.