W.G. Malone – Tough

Man With A Soft Heart

Gallipoli Hero: Lieutenant Colonel William George Malone, from Taranaki.

War was declared in 1914 and people cheered. New Plymouth held a street parade.

Flags were waved, songs were sung and anyone in uniform got three cheers. The mayor gave a speech and the people cheered some more.

The Member of Parliament gave a speech and young men rushed to enlist. "Taranaki," said MP Okey, "would do its share for the Empire as it had always done in the past."

Volunteers were called for at a Hawera parade and every man stepped forward, even though half of them were underage. The Taranaki Daily News called the Hawera and Patea men "a likely lot of young fellows". The recruits from Stratford and Eltham were said to be "as fine and sturdy a lot of young fellows as one could meet in a day's march".

Taranaki's soldiers were young and adventurous. Their leader was older and wiser and he's the main man in this week's story.

Rewind to 1914

True or false for New Zealand in 1914?

1. One million people live here.

2. Britain buys most of New Zealand's exports.

3. Lots of people see war as a sports tournament in which the British Empire always wins.

4. About 20,000 people have come from Britain to live here in the last five years.

5. The war that is about to begin is the first war involving New Zealanders.

Bend the rules

In 1914 each district, had an infantry battalion and a mounted rifles regiment. Taranaki was part of the Wellington district. The others were Auckland, Canterbury and Otago.  Men broke the rules to enlist as soldiers. If their mates were going to war, they wanted to go too. That's the way it was. Men were dead keen to go.

What if you wanted to enlist but couldn't pass any of these rules. Decide with one of your mates how you could "bend" each one.

1. New soldiers must be between 20 and 34 years old.

2. New soldiers must be not be married.

3. They must be over five feet four inches (1.62 metres).

4. They must be under 12 stone (76.2 kilograms).

5. New soldiers must have good teeth, except in special cases.

These rules changed later in the war and it was much easier to enlist. In fact some men didn't have any choice. They had to go whether they wanted to or not.

Who went

to war?

"They are all classes. Sons of wealthy run holders, farmers, school teachers, musicians, tradesmen, mechanics, lawyers and all sorts."  Lieutenant Colonel W.G. Malone, Commanding Officer, Wellington Regiment

Taranaki had several companies and A  Company (X1) was one. Of the 33 that posed for a photograph on the day they left for war, only 17 would return. The rest were listed as, "missing believed killed", "died of wounds", or "killed in action".

Think, pair and then share your ideas. If war broke out today and New Zealanders were expected to take part, would young men race to enlist like they did so many years ago?

Camp 1- Egypt

The Taranaki men joined the New Zealand camp in Egypt. The Australians were camped near the pyramids about 20 kilometres away. Sergeant Little, a New Zealand soldier had a stamp made for the army mail and it stamped ANZAC on the letters. From then on the Aussie and Kiwi soldiers were known as Anzacs. Click here to find out what the letters stand for.

Camp 2-Gallipoli

W.G. Malone was a Gallipoli hero. Gallipoli was a little peninsula that guarded the Straits of the Dardanelles. Click here to see the map.

The straits led to Turkey's capital, Constantinople. It's now named Istanbul. The British wanted to smash this capital so their enemy Turkey would surrender. The idea was that Russia would then help fight Germany and the war would end quickly.

Plan A wanted British warships to sail through the Straits and blast away at Constantinople. Unfortunately three ships were sunk by mines on the way so the British tried Plan B. That's how the Anzac soldiers ended up in Gallipoli. British and French soldiers were landed there too.

Plan B didn't work either. All the soldiers were meant to trap the Turks so the battleships could get through. At 9am, 25 April the Royal Navy landed the Aussies on the wrong beach and the sharp shooting Turks just picked them off from high in the hills.

At 10am the first of the New Zealanders arrived to help out on a hill called Baby 700. By nightfall every NZ officer had been killed or wounded.

By 6pm the Taranaki Company was ashore and two platoons were fighting with the Aussies at the head of Monash Gully. Two more platoons were battling at Plugg's Plateau but all four were being hit hard.

By midnight there were between 600 and 700 New Zealand casualties but the Anzacs would live in holes on these hilly ridges for another eight and a half months. They attacked when ordered and one in every four soldiers was killed. That's 2721 young New Zealanders dead.

Taranaki's soldiers were among the heroes and the last to leave Gallipoli. One of the heroes was the man from Stratford – Lieutenant Colonel William George Malone.

Word wise?

These words and phrases are all in this week's story. Decide on the best meaning and then check your answers as you read the story.

1. squalor (a) filthy conditions or (b) stormy conditions

2. formidable man (a) a serious and stern man or (b) an admirable and inspiring man

3. reserved people (a) those who keep their thoughts and feelings to themselves or (b) those who like people to know that they are around

4. self discipline (a) self control or (b) making sure others follow orders

5. disciplinarian (a) a strict person who makes sure others follow the rules or (b) a good leader

6. to buckle down (a) to fall over because of exhaustion or (b) to get on with the job

7. a left hook flanking attack (a) a special punch thrown by boxers or (b) attacking the enemy by coming at them from the left side
8. remorselessly (a) shamefully or (b) having no pity

9. incompetents (a) those not suited for a particular purpose or (b) the experienced and well skilled members of a group

10. irony (a)no wrinkles or (b) an odd happening caused by the unexpected

Read on!

This week's story tells of one of "Taranaki's toughest men" and begins with him writing his last letter to his wife. 

He's about to lead an attack on a hill called Chunuk Bair. The side that won this hill would win Gallipoli, but by August 1915 Malone's men were thin, tired and sick, or raw recruits who hadn't been in battle.

Read the first part of the story and the letter. Decide if Malone was confident of victory. Share your ideas with a classmate and point out some evidence. Click here for the story.

Character building

W.G. Malone became a very special leader and the next part of the story has some clues that tell the reader how these leadership qualities developed as the young Malone grew up.

The qualities are independence, discipline, courage, physical strength, initiative, determination and intelligence. Malone also showed a willingness to fight for what he believed in.

Read on now up the second letter that Malone wrote to his wife. Match a quality above with an event or action from the story that may have helped build it.

The lemon squeezer

Now this was a very clever hat. The story shows that Malone invented it with two simple actions but what if it was like a real lemon squeezer and collected water in the brim? Invent a simple modification to carry or drain this water away. Who knows? Malone might have thought of this too.

Think it over

Read the second letter in this story that Malone wrote to his wife Ida. He's thinking about his life. Decide which of these sayings Malone would be more likely to follow before Gallipoli and which he would probably have followed had he got home.

• Take 15 minutes off every morning and afternoon to relax… breath… and laugh.

• Have the vision of an eagle and the work ethic of a plough horse.

• Balance is necessary for happiness in all phases of your life.

Prepare for war

Read the next part of the story through to the letter Malone wrote to his brother. You'll find out what Malone did to prepare himself for war.

Jot down some entries for a diary that shows what Malone might have done to keep himself fit and what he ate each day. Be realistic. Remember he was working all this time so he would have had to fit his fitness programme into and around his work.

Tough leader!

 
The story tells us that in Egypt Malone trained his battalion harder and longer than any other. What if you were in his battalion while all this training was going on? Work out with a classmate the sort of conversation the men might have had when Malone wasn't around. Remember men from the other battalions may have been sightseeing while Malone's men were marching through the desert!  Rehearse your conversation and perform it to others.

Attack!

The battle for the hill of Chunuk Bair was grim. First the Aucklanders seized an outpost. The Otagos, Canterburys and Wellingtons stormed three more hills and with the Maori contingent they attacked with rifle and bayonet.

At 500 metres below Chunuk Bair the tired and scattered troops were ordered to push on. The Aucklanders attacked and lost 300 men in 20 minutes. Malone was told to attack with the Wellingtons but he told his superior officer that he wouldn't send his men to commit suicide. He led the attack the next morning instead.

Continue reading the story through to the final words Malone wrote to Ida. It will tell you what happened.

The poems of war

Wilfred Owen fought in World War I. He was not at Gallipoli but he did take part in battles as bloody as the one at Chunuk Bair. His poems show the horror of this war.

Malone and his men fought and died at Chunuk Bair on 8 August 1915. That's just one year after the young men of New Zealand were rushing to enlist with crowds cheering them on.
This is one of Wilfred Owen's poems and by the time it was written "the monstrous anger of the guns" had claimed many more young lives. The crowds had stopped cheering.

Anthem for Doomed Youth

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
-Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,-
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

Click here to read a brief biography about Wilfred Owen.

A time for blame?

The story tells you that of the 700 New Zealanders that fought at Chunuk Bair only 76 were not killed or wounded.

The Turks had re-grouped by the time British troops arrived but they were new recruits and no match for the battle hardened Turks. It wasn't long before the hill the New Zealanders had fought for was lost and that meant Gallipoli was lost too.

Finish the story now and then pair up with a classmate and see if you can work out why the British looked for someone to blame after Chunuk Bair.

Write a headline that may have appeared in a British newspaper after the battle for Chunuk Bair and another headline that may have appeared in The Taranaki Daily News. Share your ideas and headlines in class.

Which epitaph?

An epitaph is sometimes written on the headstone above a person's grave and it tells something of the person who lies below.

Which of the following would you choose as an epitaph for W.G. Malone? Compare and discuss your choices in class.

Above average extraordinary people, do above average extraordinary things.

Be willing to risk all that you have to gain the all the things you believe in the most.

If you are ever granted the privilege of leadership, be there for your people always.

Fast forward to 2004

New Zealand's war veterans from another great battle have been in the news lately.

It's the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Monte Cassino where 343 New Zealanders lost their lives in World War II.

Monte Cassino was another enemy stronghold and some of the veterans think the Government should be doing more to get them to the commemorations in Italy.

At first the Government said that an Air Force flight could take just 20 men and the Returned Services Association was going to select the 20 by ballot.

Now the Prime Minister has said the plane will take 50 and any others that want to go can attend as part of a private tour party. These veterans will get a $2000 Government subsidy to help pay the costs.

Some veterans are still upset and think another plane should be provided so more veterans can go. They also want to see "hangers on" like government officials and concert party members removed from the Air Force flight.

You decide

Form a group of four and head up a T chart with the question: "Should more be done to get more veterans to the Battle of Cassino anniversary in Italy?"

On one side list "arguments for" and on the other side list "arguments against". Compare your charts in class and then come up with a possible solution for the problem.