Massey historians ensure Anzacs in US war books

Massey historians ensure Anzacs in US war books

Massey military historians have ensured the story of New Zealand and Australiain soldiers is well-represented in an American publisher’s five-volume set of encyclopedias on World War I.

Professor Glyn Harper and Dr Damien Fenton have contributed sections on the role of Anzac soldiers in the war, as well as other entries related to Australia and New Zealand.

The set – in its second edition – was recently launched by United States publishers ABC-Clio, which specialises in reference books.

Dr Fenton, a Research Fellow based at the Wellington campus, says the first edition included only minimal information of the New Zealand war effort until he wrote insisting that a lengthier section be considered.

“The New Zealand expeditionary forces were lumped in with the Australians. Americans don’t know much about the Anzacs,” he says.

Around 18,500 New Zealand soldiers lost their lives in the war on the battlefields of Europe and Gallipolli, Turkey, with more than 40,000 wounded, while between 40,000 and 50,000 Australian soldiers were killed.

Professor Harper – project manager of the Centenary History of New Zealand and the First World War – a joint project between Massey, the New Zealand Defence Force, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, and the Returned and Services Association, says it was important that the major contribution of New Zealand and Australian armed forces was given due credit in the series.

“To leave Australia and New Zealand out of the history of the First World War was a serious omission,” Professor Harper says.

“The US does not really focus much on the First World War compared with other conflicts so it was important that a standard reference tool like this encyclopeadia was as accurate and as complete as possible.”

Professor Harper was invited onto the Editorial Advisory Board for the series, and says all of his recommendations were followed. He co-wrote the entry on Anzacs and five other entries on Australian and New Zealand personalities, including the entry for well-known conscientious objector Archibald Baxter. Dr Fenton wrote the entries on Australia, the Australian Army and on the New Zealand Army.

Professor Harper and Dr Fenton are the only two New Zealand scholars who have written for the series.

Titled World War 1 – The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection, the series features five volumes and is available as an e-book from the publisher’s website, with hard copies also available. It is intended primarily for public libraries and reference collections.

Dr Fenton says the series is a “handy reference” and is the best one available in this format because it is so comprehensive. It includes sections on the significant battles of the Eastern Front between Russia and the Ottoman Empire which are important but not well documented elsewhere.

The Centenary History of New Zealand and the First World War project encompasses the production of a defining history in up to 13 volumes of the New Zealand involvement in the First World War. Professor Harper’s book, Johnny Enzed: The New Zealand Soldier in the First World War 1914 – 1918, will be one of five produced by Massey historians and will be launched in August 2015.

Dr Fenton’s new book – on New Zealand’s role in the World War I Middle East campaigns – is due for publication in 2017. He also wrote New Zealand and the First World War 1914-1919, which was launched last year.

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