Field Punishment No. 1

I was really sorry to miss the launch of this book, held last night in Wellington.

Normally all it takes is for someone to open a paper bag and I'll be there like a shot looking for a glass of sauv blanc and a rice cracker, but I'm trying to have more care for my carbon footprint and Dunedin is a jet flight away from the Capital.

Still, I wish I'd made the effort. David Grant has taken on the important role of documenting the history of those brave men who swam against the tide of militarism in New Zealand: the conscientious objectors of World War 1 and 2.

I know something about these admirable men because my Dad was one of them. He was imprisoned in the 1940s because he was a "defaulter" who refused to fight in the war because of his pacifist beliefs.

Conchies at Hautu Prison in the 1940s; Dad is second from the right

David Grant has already told the story of the "conchies" of the Second War in Out in the Cold: pacifists and conscientious objectors in New Zealand during World War II. (1988)

Now in Field Punishment No. 1 he turns his attention in more detail to the pacifist heroes of the First War, like Archie Baxter (James K Baxter's dad) and Mark Briggs.

You can read more about Pacifism in World War 1 on the Ministry for Culture & Heritage's web resource New Zealand History Online.

Or look for the new book, published by Steele Roberts. It's on my Xmas wish list...

Field Punishment No.1 is illustrated by Bob Kerr's chilling paintings on the topic of the treatment meted out to the conchies in the First War. Anyone who has read the inspiring NZ classic We Will Not Cease by Archibald Baxter will know of the territory. Those men were taken to France to the front lines... have a closer look at the cover of the book above to see what happened then.

You can see more of Bob Kerr's paintings on Dunedin's Milford Gallery web site. Bob Kerr held an exhibition called Number One Field Punishment: Archibald Baxter's Opposition to Military Conscription at the gallery during a long cold winter last year, and that was an opening I did attend! There was a big crowd there to hear talks about the conchies and to enjoy looking at the art.

"PC" snapped in the company of poet Peter Olds
at Bob Kerr's exhibition opening
Milford Gallery, Dunedin, August 2007
(Photo Roger Steele)

POSTSCRIPT:

There is a review of the book launch on SCOOP Review of Books with some great photos by Jeremy Rose.