Gallipoli exhibition opens at Army Museum

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 1, Issue 45, 1 May 1984, Page 1

Gallipoli exhibition opens at Army Museum

About 100 distinguished guests attended the official launching of a hook and the opening of an exhibition which share the same title — "Gallipoli ... the New Zealand Story" — at the QE1I Army Museum last T uesday evening ... on the eve of ANZAC Day. Among those present were Lieut General Sir Leonard Thornton forme,r Chief of General Staff who officially opened the exhibition. Other military personnel T^gsent included Major General Williams current Chief of ^^Keral Staff, Colonel Bruce Meldrum, Commander Army Training Group in Waiouru, Lieut Colonel Russ Martin, Chief of Staff, A.T.G. Waiouru, Lieut Cmdr Ross Sanson RNZN, officej- commanding HMNZS Irirangi and Major Chris Pugsley author of the hook "Gallipoli ... the New Zealand Story." Other guests included Dennis McLean, secretary of Defence,

Alan Martin, Director General Television New Zealand, and Michael Duffett representing Hodder and Stoughton, publishers of "Gallipoli ... the New Zealand Story" which was being launched that evening. Major General Williams welcomed guests to the opening of the exhibition and the launching of the hook ... "both long overdue but certain to make a significant contribution to our understanding of New Zealand's growth to nationhood." Mr Michael Duffet said that his company was proyd to be associated with Chris Pugsley's "timely hook ... before it is too late Mr Vic Nicholson spoke briefly and congratulated all those associated with the mounting of the exhibition and the publishing of the hook about the Gallipoli campaign. Major Chris Pugsley said that it had taken three years to research and write the book and during that time he had "re-

fought" the campaign all over again. When he trekked the peninsula with the TV team and Lieut General Sir Leonard Thornton, (who had compered the television programme which had been screened the previqus Sunday evening) he felt "a guiding presence" he said. Before officially opening the exhibition Lieut General Sir Leonard Thornton said that he was delighted to perform this function. He said that New Zealand had never been a militaristic country even in those days of jingoism so it is a source of surprise to find that its servicemen were as good as they were on Gallipoli. "War is an unfortunate aberration of normal civilised behaviour," he said when he reminded guests that of the 8556 New Zealanders who landed on Gallipoli, 2721 died and 4752 were wounded. He congratulated Major Chris Pugsley saying that it was over to the writer-historian to give a true and balanced account of any campaign and this had been done in the case of "Gallipoli ... the New Zealand Story." "Major Pugsley had explored all the peninsula, interviewed surviving veteransand researched the subject thoroughly and then put together the tattered fragments of history. Sir Leonard also thanked Alan Martin for his support in making the television documentary, Gary Couchman for designing the exhibition and Cable Price Downer for their donation of $15,000 towards its cost.

The only ANZAC veteran able to attend the opening of the Gallipoli exhibition at Waiouru 's QEII Army Museum last week was 89-year old Vic Nicholson. He landed on Anzac Cove with the Wellington Battalion on 27 April — "two days after the initial landing because we were left behind on the Greek island of Lemnos to tidy up aftqr the others had left." Vic was wounded by a random shot in pitch darkness on 15 August ... "probably the only shot fired that night."

He was evacuated to one Oi the troop transports lying offshore but it had no medical facilities ... in fact 15 days passed between having the field dressing applied to his back wound on the beach-head and receiving medical attention in a Cairo hospital. Vic Nicholson was one of the ANZAC veterans interviewed in the television programme "Gallipoli — the New Zealand Story" which had been screened the previous Sunday evening.