Return of Great War Stories

The popular series, Great War Stories returns to TV3’s Newshub in the week leading up to Anzac Day with a raft of New Zealand stories.
There’s our first and only West Indian All Black who played rugby in France near the end of WW1; love letters from the front; a nurse’s story and the tragic sinking of the troop-carrying ship, the Marquette told by actor Antonia Prebble; and a character in a children’s book, a tortoise. The author’s great aunt brought a tortoise back from Gallipoli.
Anna Cottrell the originator of the Great War Stories series says she was moved by Alexander Aitken’s story. “We’ve filmed the Anzac service at Otago Boys’ High School where they honour Aitken’s musical and mathematical prowess. He played his violin in the trenches of Gallipoli and on the Western Front.”
His violin is now at the school. It was returned to Dunedin by the grandfather of Wellington Oral Historian and journalist Alison Parr.
The best known New Zealand character to feature in the series is Katherine Mansfield, one of the world’s most acclaimed short story writers. She was devastated when her brother Leslie Beauchamp was killed in WW1.
There’s also a story about a ship. We didn’t have a navy but the Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward bought a ship at great expense to give to Great Britain! Apparently it wasn’t paid for until after World War 2, says Cottrell.
“We have some intriguing and moving stories and are constantly grateful to support from historians and archivist.”
“As a documentary maker, it’s heartening to be able to get a series of mini documentaries about New Zealanders on TV in prime time. I’m grateful to those at TV3 MediaWorks and NZ On Air for making it happen,” she says.
Using archive film, old photos, letters and diaries the editor Peter Metcalf describes these stories as “handmade”. Cottrell describes the archives at the Alexander Turnbull Library as a treasure trove, says Cottrell. “We are so grateful to the help and support we receive from the staff there.” The stories will be posted on the Ministry for Culture and Heritage's NZHistory.net.nz website.
Hilary Barry the TV3 Newshub presenter will again narrate the stories.