Tag Archives: WW2

Ready for the Party 1941

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First of all, apologies for the brief absence on the blog front.  I’ve been rather busy lately with the exception of an uncharacteristic migraine which waited until Otago’s regional holiday before ambushing me and rendering me useless, but I can’t complain, at least I’m not off to war like these guys…

Soldiers wearing gas-masks in the Western Desert, 1941Lemuel Lyes Collection

Soldiers wearing gas-masks in the Western Desert, 1941
Lemuel Lyes Collection

I came across this snapshot in a secondhand bookshop and fell in love with it.  It appeals to me for a number of reasons.  First of all, if any of my friends were sent off to war then this is exactly the kind of Facebook profile photo that I’d expect to see show up within 24 hours of their first gas mask drill – it screams “social media profile shot”.  Similarly, if Instagram was around in 1941 then I like to think that this would be the kind of image that would’ve been uploaded.  It is a photograph I can relate to.

It also reminds me of my first foray into collecting militaria.  At the age of about 14 I bought an original WW2 ‘Brodie’ helmet as seen in this photo.  I found it in a local antique shop and thought it incredible that my paper-run pay could purchase a genuine (not to mention wearable) antique from the Second World War.

A few months later in an army surplus store I found an even more appealing piece of military head-ware – a gas mask circa 1970′s/80′s.  Fortunately it was never called upon to protect its owner during times of war or apocalypse, but it proved its worth merely for its entertainment value at dress-up parties and on at least one occasion at the dinner table after a sibling engaged in a particularly offensive flatulence campaign directed at yours truly.  The gas mask was faulty and did little to improve the quality of the air but it was an extremely effective way to make a protest at the use of such an inhumane weapon.

In my opinion the sight of adults dressed up in full anti-gas kit in the middle of the desert is always going to be amusing.  If you enjoy this snapshot then I can recommend the movie Jarhead.  My favourite scenes in that movie combine the comic gold that is military desert camps and gas-masks.

The message on the back of the photo suggests that the photographer was also amused by the scene, unless “Ready for the Party” was meant as a euphemism for “Going to War” in which case it is a little bit depressing.

"Ready for the Party" 1941Lemuel Lyes Collection

“Ready for the Party” 1941
Lemuel Lyes Collection

I like to think that there was humour behind this comment but even if it was a euphemism then there is at least solace in knowing that while the use of gas was feared by many it didn’t repeat the horrific role that it had played on the battlefields of the previous world war.

The two soldiers are likely members of the 2NZEF and the photograph was taken somewhere in the Western Desert in 1941.  It was a busy year in the Mediterranean; the New Zealanders saw action in Greece, Crete, Egypt and Libya.  Some time in-between all that fighting two soldiers dressed up in gas-masks and had their photo taken.  Seventy-three years on and even if it is a little wrong, I can’t help but be amused at the sight.  What do you reckon?

© Lemuel Lyes

Snowball Fight in Jerusalem

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This evening a good friend of mine shared this beautiful photo of a snow-covered Dome of the Rock.  It is the first time in four years that snow has fallen in Jerusalem and it looks like the locals are enjoying the novelty.  According to this article it is the heaviest snowfall there since 1992.

To be honest I’d never really given the topic of Jerusalem’s snowfall statistics much thought except for a bit of a coincidence.  Earlier this evening I’d been looking through an album of photographs taken by a New Zealand serviceman in the Second World War when I came across this snap.

Kiwi Soldiers enjoying the snow in JerusalemLemuel Lyes Collection

Kiwi Soldiers enjoying the snow in Jerusalem – January 1942.
Lemuel Lyes Collection

Often when I find an album of old photographs in a second-hand bookstore or at an auction they are lacking provenance or any information to help identify the context.  I’m lucky that in this instance the original owner had written on the back of the photo.

“Here is snow in Jerusalem.  This was the heaviest fall for 25 years”

The rest of the album is all of New Zealanders at home and in the Middle East, so it seems likely that the snowball wielding figures in this snap are New Zealand soldiers.  Also if you look closely at one of the soldiers in the background you can see what is almost certainly the distinctive Kiwi lemon squeezer hat.

There was no date for the photo but after a bit of searching I found this article in a digitized newspaper collection at the National Library of Australia.

Cairns Post (Qld. : 1909 - 1954), Thursday 15 January 1942, page 1http://trove.nla.gov.au

Cairns Post (Qld. : 1909 – 1954), Thursday 15 January 1942, page 1
http://trove.nla.gov.au

Also this article here

The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Tuesday 6 January 1942, page 1http://trove.nla.gov.au

The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 – 1954), Tuesday 6 January 1942, page 1
http://trove.nla.gov.au

I love that digitized newspaper collections are making it easier to placate my insatiable appetite for historical trivia and am thoroughly amused by the concept of Australian soldiers having snowball fights with Arabs in Jerusalem.

I also found another amazing photo here on flickr of what looks like not just a snow fight but a FULL ON SNOW WAR!  I’m wondering if that photo was taken during the same snowfall.

it is funny how some human reactions never change.  I imagine that two thousand years ago Roman soldiers in Jerusalem would’ve dropped their weapons and thrown snowballs at each other just as eagerly as the Allied servicemen did in 1942 or as the locals are doing now in 2013.  Some simple pleasures are timeless.

© Lemuel Lyes

What to do if New Zealand is Invaded

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A while ago I shared some advice on how to survive an air raid and another post on what dangers you should watch out for in the aftermath.  I’m pleased to let you all know that so far none of my readers have had the opportunity to use any of the advice.

However one reader did ask about the availability of cheesecloth so they could air raid proof their windows.  The good news is that air-raid preparation products such as cheesecloth are readily available on TradeMe.

The source of my advice on air raid safety was my original 1943 copy of the NZ Civil Defence Wardens’ Handbook.  I thought I’d return to this invaluable resource once again, this time to look for advice on what to do in the event of a full-scale enemy invasion… Continue reading →

What to do after an Air Raid

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Congratulations, you have just survived your first air raid!  But as you emerge from the dust and rubble you realize that your world has changed forever.  Few people know how to survive an air raid and even fewer know what to do in the precious minutes once the bombing subsides.  The decisions that you make will be the difference between life and death.

In my last post I shared some advice from my 1943 copy of the NZ Civil Defence Warden’s Handbook.  Today I’m going to share some more original wartime tips, this time on how to cope with the aftermath of an aerial bombardment.  Specifically, I’m going to cover some of the dangers that you might face and the immediate precautions you should take.

Here are some of the dangers you should watch out for after an air raid:

Unexploded Bombs (Known as UXB’s) – Enemy bombs or our own anti-aircraft shells may fall without exploding.  All these are removed or destroyed by the Bomb Disposal Unit of the Army, members of which wear on the right cuff a badge with a flaming bomb on a blue background.  Red flags are displayed on this Unit’s vehicles.  Personnel and the vehicles must be given unhindered passage.

The signs of an unexploded bomb are – Continue reading →

How to Survive an Air Raid

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Being caught in an air raid is something that most of us don’t usually need to worry about, but that is no excuse for not being ready.  If you know what to do in the event of an earthquake, tsunami, cyclone/hurricane and other similar hazards then you owe it to yourself to learn how to survive an air attack.  So here are some handy air raid survival tips from my personal copy of the NZ Civil Defence 1943 Wardens’ Handbook.

Lemuel Lyes Collection

During the Second World War this handbook would’ve been tucked into the back pocket of your friendly community warden (or district warden, building warden, school warden, shelter warden or farm warden).  They had a lot of wardens back then and there was a good reason – they were preparing for the possibility that New Zealand might be attacked by the Japanese.

A lot has changed since then.  Planes are faster, explosions are bigger and it isn’t as easy to tell who the baddies are.  But this advice about air raids is just as relevant today as it was then: Continue reading →

From Russia with Love: The T-34

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Russian T-34 tank

© Lemuel Lyes collection

This snapshot from my personal collection shows a knocked out tank somewhere on the Eastern Front during the Second World War.  Unfortunately the context of this image has been lost and I don’t know exactly where it was taken, who took it or when.  What I do know though is that is shows one of the most influential tanks of the twentieth century.  A tank that was made in Russia – the T-34.

As a Westerner having grown up in the hangover of the Cold War means it’s sometimes difficult to not be biased against Russian technology.  When I was a teenager in the 1990’s I had a good friend who’s family car was on the receiving end of a lot of ridicule.  It performed well for them, didn’t seem to have any more problems than other vehicles of similar vintage and economically it was a brilliant choice.  What was wrong with it then?  It was a Lada.

The Lada Classic was a highly successful vehicle.  Internationally only two other automobile platforms have sold in greater numbers – the Model T Ford and the VW Beetle.  The Lada was affordable, easily produced in large numbers, cheap to fix and had a long life.  Just last week I read the announcement that production of the Lada is finally coming to an end.

The Russians seem to have a knack for designing simple cheap machines that get the job done.  This is even truer on the battlefield.  The Russian designed AK-47 is arguably the most prolific weapon of the last fifty years – there are even rumors of some American forces favouring them over their own weapons in Vietnam.  Even in the 21st century the AK-47 is often the weapon of choice for soldiers, criminals and terrorists.  Its use is so widespread that it has jokingly been referred to as the Windows Operating System of guns – only much more reliable!

So to get back on track, why was the tank in the snapshot above so influential?  I’m not very mechanically minded so would struggle to discuss the technical strengths and weaknesses of the T-34 compared to its adversaries.  What I do know though is that the T-34 played a pivotal role during the Second World War. Continue reading →