My armistice day esaay

Armistice day

They shall grow not old,as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

(fourth stanza of Laurence Binyon's For the Fallen) 

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918 was the saddest day of the war for some but the happiest day of the war for many. It is said that the Great war from 1914 to 1918 was one of the most disastrous events in history.

In the little town of Rethondes, Compiegneu France, Nazi Germany, Great Britain and their Allies signed the armistice to signal the end of world war 1 and peace to all countries involved.

New Zealand got the news a day later due to poor communication between Allies. At that time there were still 58,129 troops in the field and 10,000 in training. On the declaration of the armistice New Zealand had a total 52,123 troops still overseas, including 24,115 in France 23,541 in England and 4451 in Egypt.
As recently as a week before the signing of the Armistice, on November 4th 1918, New Zealand troops had been involved in the successful recapture of the small town of Le Quesnoy. The attack cost the lives of about 90 unlucky New Zealanders-virtually the last of the 12,483 New Zealand soldiers who fell on the western between 1916 and 1918.

Despite the difficult circumstances of the influenza pandemic thousands of New Zealanders attended  or took part in armistice parades on the 12th of November. Public officials gave earnest speeches and crowds gathered to celebrate the end of four long years of war.

One exception was in Auckland where the acting Chief Health Officer, Dr Frengley, in a bid to stop the further spread of the influenza, postponed all official Armistice day celebrations (They were eventually held in the mid-1919s). He had been alarmed by the large amounts of crowds which had gathered for the Armistice day celebrations on the 12th November. Despite these precautions, 1128 Aucklanders died of from the awful influenza pandemic.

World War 1 had a massive impact on New Zealand as 16,700 men and women died and over 40,000 men and women were wounded a higher per capita casualty rate than any other country involved. So it had a massive impact on New Zealand but not many people recongise what Armistice Day is, so that is a huge shame,  all those men and women dying serving their country and few people observe it. It should be one of the most important days in New Zealand history because those men and women died so that we may live a free and peaceful life that is why it is importent to New Zealand.  

In addition to observing Armistice day, Remembrance Sunday has become a universal time of commemoration when all men and women who have died in the service of their country are commemorated in church services throughout New Zealand. Army regulations allow the wearing of a small rose on the uniform of current service men and women which is similar to the poppies service men and women wear on ANZAC Day. The story goes that, following one of the bloodiest battles of World War I, in the fields of Flanders in western Europe,when the ground was completely churned up and muddied, thousands of red poppies sprang up. The seeds had lain dormant in the soil and, after being aerated with the churning of the soil from the soldiers' boots and fertilised with their blood, the poppies grew abundantly, springing forth new life from death.This is why poppies are worn on Remembrance Day (commemorating Armistice Day) as well as ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand, and other solemn occasions when we remember the soldiers who fought or even gave their lives for our freedom.Another reason poppies came to such prominence in association with World War I is because of how they were immortalised in that most famous poem of WWI, In Flanders Fields, written by John McCrae, a Canadian surgeon attached to the 1st Field Artillery Brigade. This poem is spoken at memorial services everywhere on both ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day, and remains one of the most famous Australian War poems ever written

The period of silence was first proposed by a Melbourne journalist, Edward George Honey, in a letter published in the London Evening News on 8 May 1919.  His letter came to the notice of King George V, and on 7 November 1919 he issued a proclamation that called for a two minute silence.


Biblography:

www.nzarmy.mil.nz
www.nzhistory.net.nz