WAR HISTORY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26540, 15 August 1947, Page 6

WAR HISTORY

AMBITIOUS PROJECT SEVEN-YEAR “TARGET” AUTHENTICITY AND ACCURACY “We occasionally find people who are rather shocked to discover us embarked on such an ambitious project, ‘ said Major-general Kippenberger, C. 8., C.8.E., D.S.O. and bar. in his address on the compilation of the New Zealand War History to the annual meeting of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce last night. “ I have been asked what is the use of the history and who will read it. I have been tempted to reply to such people that they resemble a mule, with no pride of ancestry nor thought of posterity.” Recounting the early stages of the war history project, General Kippenberger stated that he had made his acceptance of editorship of “The Big Book ” conditional on an agreement that there should be no censorship, that access should be available to any relevant military or governmental documents, that suitable staff should be provided, and that he should have access to the Prime Minister. On appointment, he had worked for three months with the British Historical Service, and had then laid out a “plan of campaign.” Previous Failures After World War I, he said, the war histories had been generally unsatisfactory, and, in most cases, they were not finished yet. In New Zealand the military authorities had been apathetic, and the project had eventually resulted in the production of four very inaccurate, dull, and poorly-written volumes. In consequence, the generations which grew up between the two wars had learned virtually nothing about World War I, and were not equipped to face the responsibilities which faced them before the last war. He felt it essential that the war his-

tory should be "completed within a reasonable time—seven years was the present target, but it would more probably take 10 years—and that it should have a popular appeal. He had put up a plan to the Government, and it had been agreed to. It would involve first the publication of documents which were relevant to the prosecution of the war, collated under the headings of various major events and decisions. The second part of the plan would involve the publication of a series of—for want of a better name —“ popular histories,” which would be divided into three main groups—topics such as troopships and trooping, escapes, clubs, and recreations; short accounts of the various campaigns; and more detailed acounts of some of the more remarkable episodes of the New Zealand war history, such as Takrouna, Corinth, and Vella Lavella. The third part of the project would be the compilation and publication of the official history proper in a solid and methodical manner; and finally unit histories, which were badly done aftei; World War I, would be prepared. The work would not, of course, necessarily be done in that order. Cabinet Approval This ambitious plan had been approved by Cabinet, said the general, and a start was made on the sorting and indexing of the mass of material which was available. This included some 17,000 monthly unit war diaries, 20,000 photographs, documents, files, books, pamphlets and other material which was constantly growing. Every possible source of material was being explored, including enemy archives. Air Force material was more difficult to obtain than Army, but it had been decided to write the air side of the New Zealand history from the aspect of the work of New Zealanders against the overall pattern of the commands in which they served. The same policy would be followed in the history of the New Zealand Navy. It was also intended that a volume should be produced on prisoners of war, which should be particularly interesting. The final group of volumes would cover the civilian side of the war, the purpose of which would be to recount the problems which arose, the action which was taken to meet those problems, the results of such action, and the final comprehensive picture. This would be taken in sections covering political and external affairs, preparations for war and war-time work, economics and industry, and social history and its development. “ It is an ambitious project,” stated General Kippenberger. “If, it is carried through—and it will be as far as I’m concerned—it will be a complete and accurate history of what was done by New Zealanders in the services and in New Zealand during the war.”