New centre to collect war-years material

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33775, 22 February 1975, Page 8

New centre to collect war-years material

Press Association) WELLINGTON, Feb. 20. Servicemen's diaries, letters and other personal records of New Zealand’s participation in war will be collected* in a new war history documentation centre in Wellington.

The centre is being set up by the National Archives, the Turnbull Library and the Historical Publications Branch of the Department of Internal Affairs ir an effort to make original material available to historians and to prevent its being lost, destroyed or sent overseas. The head of the Historical Publications Branch (Mr I.

Wards) said today: "Unless something is done there is a likelihood that a great deal in the way of personal records, diaries and letters might find its way overseas, or that with changing generations it might be destroyed,” A later generation might not realise the material’s value from a social history point of view, he said.

“It is unlikely to have any vital bearing on military : history, though this is in the lap of the unknown until the) response is seen.” LOSS TO OVERSEAS The prospect of much: material going overseas has! J become apparent recently as 'British, Australian, and; American historians ha ej visited New Zealand to col-; fleet material. The National Archives and

the Tumbull Library already I have large collections of per- | sonal records, publications and illustrations from the Maori-European wars of the* ilast century, the Boer War,! the two world wars and later! I military actions. . Now they will step up their efforts to collect more, and* .will share the work of the new venture. The Historical Publications;

Branch of Internal Affairs is also involved as an extension of its earlier work as the War i History Branch. Materia) it received from the public while preparing the official war history is now housed in the National Archives. " HUMAN ELEMENT

I “In a genera] sense what lone is after is the human ; element,” Mr Wards said. “The official framework is already covered, but there is a great deal of valuable materia) from a more personal point of view.” The material would be useful to the professional historian interested either in the course of military events or lin social history, to a biographer, or a person or historian doing the history of a particular unit or corps. I “The important thing is that it be properly classified

and in a reference centre,’ said Mr Wards.