Passchendaele contest announced

Veterans' Affairs Minister Judith Collins today announced a national competition for secondary school students that honours the memory of one of the most significant battles of the First World War.

The annual competition will commemorate the Battle of Passchendaele, which was fought in Belgium as part of the Allied offensive on the Western Front in 1917. During the prolonged battle, New Zealand suffered its greatest loss of life in a single day in New Zealand history.

“On 12 October 1917, more than 2,700 New Zealand soldiers were killed, wounded or listed as missing in action in just two hours,” Ms Collins said.

“This was a monumental loss to our young country. This competition will help ensure that we never forget the incredible sacrifice by these soldiers on that terrible day.

“New Zealand lost even more soldiers on the Western Front than in the Gallipoli campaign. It is important that our young people know of the heroism that took place in the fields of Belgium, and of the terrible human toll of war.”

The competition will be open to all New Zealand Year 13 school students. The topic is ‘Why don’t we remember the Battle of Passchendaele?’

Entries can take the form of an artistic representation, essay, diary, letters, music, poetry, short film, or a web feature. The prize is a $2,000 education grant to help the winner with their tertiary study.

Entries must be submitted to Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand (VANZ) by 31 August 2011. More information will be available on the VANZ website www.veteransaffairs.mil.nz.