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    When the Empire calls : patriotic organisations in New Zealand during the Great War : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1979) Hucker, Graham
    One noticeable feature of theses completed in New Zealand in recent years has been the absence of studies dealing explicitly with aspects of the Great War. Some thesis writers have used the War years as convenient departura and initiation points for their particular topics of study. Others have spanned the war years using a wider chrohological context with the result that a limited number of studies have been presented on the watershed years 1914 to 1918. Upon researching this topic, maps were constructed to plot the location of patriotic organisations and kindred bodies active during the War in an attempt to achieve some sort of illustrative perspective. The ensuing result virtually left no corner of New Zealand untouched. The situation is quite different today however. At present there exist fourteen provincial patriotic councils which focus primarily on the Second world War. The only exception being the Otago Provincial Patriotic Council which has retained files covering the Great War. These files have recently passed into the possession of the Hocken Library
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    The Home Front : aspects of civilian patriotism in New Zealand during the First World War : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in history at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1975) Johnson, Simon
    As yet, little concerted research appears to have been done on New Zealand society during the Great War. Some topics concerned with the period have either been covered in books on more general topics, theses, or historical articles, The position of the Labour movement during the war, for instance, is dealt with in Bruce Brown's The Rise of New Zealand Labour, B.S. Gustafson's thesis The Advent of the New Zealand Labour Party, and more closely examined in O.J. Gager's The New Zealand Labour Movement and the War, 1914-1918. However, no New Zealand equivalent of Britain's Arthur Marwick has emerged to provide a more comprehensive social history of the war. This thesis must, unfortunately, follow the former practice, and deal with only certain aspects of the effect of the Great War on New Zealand society. Hopefully this limitation will be partially compensated for by the fact that the themes explored in the following chapters are fundamental to an understanding of civilian behaviour during the First World War. As contemporary observers such as H.G. Wells (particularly in his novel Mr Britling Sees it Through) and the patriot/sociologist W. Trotter noted, many civilians, denied any active participation in the war, felt a desperate need to be of service. Although no corresponding New Zealand intellectuals appear to have commented on the subject, there is every reason to believe that New Zealanders felt a similar need, since they responded in virtually the same fashion. These effects were magnified by the gravity of the war, coupled with a propaganda campaign felt in New Zealand equally as in Britain, and this ensured a high level of emotional involvement on the part of civilians.
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    Remembering seafarers : the (missing) history of New Zealanders employed in the Mercantile Marine during World War 1 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2014) Lascelles, Philip R.
    The story of the New Zealand men and women who were employed in the Mercantile Marine during World War 1 is absent from the historiography. This thesis contends that this workforce of New Zealanders existed, was substantial in number and that their human stories are missing from historiography despite there being extensive wartime stories to tell. A workforce of New Zealand merchant seafarers existed during World War 1 and is definable and recognisable as a group. Each individual within this group is not easily identifiable because detailed and completed records of their identity and service were never centrally maintained. New Zealand maritime and World War 1 histories have not addressed the seafarers’ intimate human stories and have instead focus on either Naval or industry stakeholder’s organisational history of the war period. This is clearly evident from a detailed review of relevant material published during the century since the declaration of World War 1 in 1914. The crew employed on the Union Steam Ship Company’s twin screw steamship Aparima provide a small but enlightening example of the human stories that are absent. Their individual stories encompass many aspects of everyday experiences such as the ever present danger of enemy attack and the impact of the war on the crew and their families and loved ones. A microhistory of New Zealanders employed on Aparima refutes by example, the argument that World War 1 New Zealand merchant seafarers did not have a unique story to tell and therefore they are absent from historiography. The history of New Zealand maritime and World War 1 historiography provides possible reasons for the missing history, as does the demographics of this workforce. The primary rationale identified include government and military editorial influence, a sense that merchant seafarers belonged to the British rather than New Zealand Mercantile Marine, and a belief that they did not fit alongside the ANZAC legend of the heroic soldier sacrificing all for King and Country.
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    Between barons and wolves : British and German tactical command in the first air war, 1914-1918 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Defence and Strategic Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2012) Shaw, Christopher James Michael
    This thesis outlines the experience of tactical command in the British and German fighter aviation branches in the First World War. It is based on primary and secondary accounts, as well as modern leadership scholarship to guide the study of command. The study considers the assessment of an official historian of the American Expeditionary Force, William Sherman, that ‘patrol leading became the most important factor in determining air supremacy’ and that tactical command was the decisive factor in British dominance in fighter aviation in late 1918. It considers the qualities of success and the systems of command between the German and British air forces, and determines that they were orientated towards very different goals. It argues that the German system elevated expert pilots into command as part of a defensive aerial effort that created a specialised, elitist organisation, while the British undertook an offensive strategy that necessitated the growth of a large conventional force. While the systems of command were very different, some traits were shared amongst the successful commanders regardless of nationality. Neither system can be determined superior as they served different purposes in pursuit of different ends. The British prioritised strategy at the expense of tactics, while the Germans prioritised tactics at the expense of strategy. While the air war developed and expanded through 1915, 1916 and 1917, the Germans were able to use their more agile and efficient organisation to retain a level of competitive parity against the Allies, even as their forces were increasingly outnumbered. By 1918 the tides had dramatically shifted and the British had managed to improve the quality of their fighter force without compromising on their over-arching policy of expansion. It is concluded that while the standards of patrol leadership differed between the British and German air forces, neither was clearly superior and that tactical command was only one of many essential elements that determined the final balance of British superiority in the air.
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    Sustained effort : the life of Sir Leonard Isitt : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Defence Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2011) Sutcliffe, Devon
    This thesis examines the life of Sir Leonard Isitt, and his contribution to New Zealand aviation, first from a service perspective, and then considers his involvement with commercial aviation. Isitt commenced his military career as a foot soldier, serving first in Egypt during 1915, and then on the Somme, where he was seriously wounded in September 1916. While convalescing he arranged a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps, where he trained as a pilot, before undertaking two tours of duty on the Western Front. After the War Isitt remained in the United Kingdom undertaking various courses, before returning in late 1919 to join the embryo New Zealand Air Force. He became the first Commanding Officer at Wigram, and then took command of the operational station at Hobsonville. When the Royal New Zealand Air Force was created in 1937, he became the first Air Member for Personnel on the Air Board, and oversaw the build-up of personnel in anticipation of the Second World War. With the declaration of war, Isitt was posted to Canada to monitor New Zealand’s contribution to the Empire Air Training Scheme, and was subsequently posted to Washington and London before returning to New Zealand as Deputy Chief of the Air Staff in early 1943. In mid-1943 he was appointed Chief of the Air Staff, the first New Zealander to hold this position, and saw the RNZAF build its strength to 20 active squadrons, equipped with over 1300 aircraft and supported by 45,000 staff. At the end of the War, Isitt was chosen to sign the Japanese Surrender Document on behalf of New Zealand at a ceremony on USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Isitt was knighted in 1946 and retired from the RNZAF to become Chairman of Directors of the nationalised airline New Zealand National Airways Corporation. He also became Chairman of Tasman Empire Airways Ltd and served as New Zealand nominee on the Board of British Commonwealth Airways Ltd. Isitt finally retired in 1963, after spending over forty years in the forefront of New Zealand aviation, and during this period arguably had a greater influence in this sector than any other person.
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    Proof of gratitude? : soldier land settlement in New Zealand after World War 1 : thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1992) Gould, Ashley Nevil; Gould, Ashley Nevil
    This thesis is a study of soldier land settlement in New Zealand after World War I. Entrenched in New Zealand folklore and historiography is the belief that the majority of soldier settlers failed and walked off their farms. This thesis, however, questions this orthodoxy and presents evidence showing that significant aspects of the soldier settlers' story have, for ideological and political reasons, been misunderstood and misrepresented by later writers who have been blinkered to the achievements of the Reform Government. Closely tied to this traditional notion of failure are assumptions about the high cost and poor quality of land involved, and the inexperience and undercapitalisation of the settlers. This study pays particular attention to the development and implementation of government policy. It shows that land purchase and its distribution, and on-going support for settlers by the Government, were based on more sophisticated and discerning policies than later writers have allowed. This study examines the expectations of the primary parties in the settlement process and shows how these expectations were both perceived and presented in the media as unfulfilled. More soldiers survived on their farms than is generally recognised. This was the result of deliberate government policy in response to uncertain economic conditions during the interwar period. This survival rate was not without cost, both in economic terms for the Crown, and in personal terms for the participating soldiers. The farming experience of the interwar period was not as the soldiers expected - faced as they were with a loss of individual freedom and the development of financial dependency. The dominating image to have survived in the historical orthodoxy is that the soldiers were betrayed. This was based upon the strength of their moral claims to recognition and recompense from the community which they had defended. However, this thesis argues that any betrayal was actually of the Arcadian expectations with which the soldiers had returned to New Zealand, and of the heady expectations that the community initially had of the soldiers. These hopes and ideals, it is suggested, proved to be irreconcilable with contemporary political and economic realities. The perceived experience of the soldiers nevertheless assured them their status as victims.
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    'A most creditable production' : Chronicles of the N.Z.E.F. (New Zealand Expeditionary Force), 1916-1919 : their publication and utility for historical research : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Defence and Strategic Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2011) Carr, Carolyn Jane
    This thesis examines the Chronicles of the N.Z.E.F. (New Zealand Expeditionary Force) that were published during World War I from August 1916 until January 1919, and their usefulness for historical research. The thesis explores how they were published, their purpose and the role of the editor Clutha Mackenzie. The content for a sample of issues that cover New Zealand’s participation in the First Battle of the Somme (1916) and the Third Battle of Ypres (1917), also known as Passchendaele, is analysed and the contributors and correspondents identified. The same sample of issues are studied in detail and compared and contrasted to ascertain how these battles are written about in the Chronicles and how useful this material might be for historical research. The thesis finds that the Chronicles mostly succeeded in meeting its three aims. These were to be a means of communicating with the New Zealand troops in all theatres of the war and in the United Kingdom as well as with the people back in New Zealand, to provide a record of how the money raised in New Zealand to support the troops was being spent, and to be a medium for the literary efforts of the troops. Assisted by some influential supporters, both civilian and to a lesser extent the military authorities, the editor played a key role in starting the Chronicles and in all aspects of their production, including funding, content and distribution, which ensured their continuous publication for more than two years. As a source for historical research the thesis finds that they do not add to the existing battle narratives about the New Zealanders’ part in the Somme and Passchendaele. However the variety of detail on army organisation and everyday life at the front provides a rich and largely under-utilised source of material for social and cultural studies. They also offer a window through which to view the thoughts and feelings of the New Zealand soldier in the First World War.
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    The rural home front : a New Zealand region and the Great War 1914-1926 : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2006) Hucker, Graham
    New Zealand’s First World War studies have traditionally focused on the soldier and battlefield experiences. ‘The Rural Home Front’ breaks with that tradition and focuses on the lives of people and the local communities that the soldiers left behind in the predominantly rural region of Taranaki in New Zealand. ‘The Rural Home Front’ is essentially a study of the impact and effects of the First World War on rural society. By focusing on topics and themes such as ‘war enthusiasm’, the voluntary spirit of fund raising and recruiting, conscription, attempting to maintain normality during wartime, responses to war deaths, the influenza epidemic, the Armistice and the need to remember, this thesis argues that civilians experienced the Great War, too, albeit differently from that of the soldiers serving overseas.
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