Anzac Day has been held on 25 April each year since 1916 to give public
recognition to the sacrifices and courage of New Zealanders who were killed
in war or who returned after war service. Anzac Day is similarly honoured
in Australia. The name is drawn from the initials of Australian and New
Zealand Army Corps - troops who fought together at Gallipoli in 1915. The
number of people who remember living through World War 1 is very small.
There are now no surviving New Zealand veterans who served in the forces in
that war. The number of those who served in World War 2 or lived through
those years as civilians is shrinking. Fortunately for us the Rev Professor
Ian Dixon, now 94 years of age, has vivid memories of the years of World
War 2.
In his blog, "Out and about with Rob"
Rob Ferguson wrote, "During Anzac Day St Ninian's decided to have a time
of story-telling. It was a fascinating glimpse into life during the war of
1939-45. Folk talked simply about their experiences as children, as
adults, as wives waiting for either their man to come home or news that he
would never return. It was a moving time because we heard first-hand
stories. It was a moving time too because these are voices that do not
find a place in history recounting of wars where official versions prevail."
After that memorable gathering and Rob's urging us to share our memories
and listen to others' stories I wanted to hear a story about the attitudes
of the church during World War 2, and who more able to tell me about that
than Ian Dixon
who was inducted into his first parish a month after the war began and
later served as a New Zealand army chaplain. He is now the oldest surviving
chaplain to the New Zealand forces in that war.
Ian told me his story which I now share with NZine readers around the
world.
I was inducted into my first parish in Pleasant Point in South Canterbury
in October 1939, one month after the war broke out in September 1939. My
main awareness of the war at this time was of people suffering acute
anxiety and needing support. At every service we were tremendously
conscious that we were at war and that many of the people in the
congregation were suffering greatly.
When young men from the district departed to go into camp the district
would hold a farewell in the town hall. These were well-attended and
significant occasions with flag waving, speeches with an emphasis on
patriotism, and ending with a dance.
When casualty lists started to appear that was especially poignant. As many
of the young men from Pleasant Point enlisted early in the war all too soon
I was asked by the postmaster to be the person to deliver to members of my
church bad news telegrams from the War Office. I felt that people dreaded
seeing my car approaching, so I would ring them the day before to let them
know that I would be visiting in their area and so allay any unnecessary
anxiety.
I was appointed as chaplain to the Home Guard, but could not attend their
training sessions as they were held on Sundays when I was conducting a
Sunday service.
A camp for a whole company of troops, territorials or new recruits, was
held in our district and did manoeuvres there. On the Sunday evening the
church was packed with soldiers who attended voluntarily. I took as the
text for my sermon a verse in the book of Joel, chapter 3 verse 14.
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the
Lord is near in the valley of decision.
I stressed that war focused us on the crisis that humanity is going through
and signalled the ultimate issues. I was not preaching about the Second
Coming, but a World War says to us that we had better all wake up and make
an effort to save the world. I really believed in those days that God
could and would intervene. The congregation appeared to be really stirred
by the message and for me it was an occasion which made me feel that I was
not going to be in civilian life much longer and that I needed to be where
it was all happening.
Ministering to a parish in time of war I found very different from
ministering in time of peace. There were some attitudes among the
congregation which I found difficult to cope with.
During the war the production of food was of paramount importance and some
farmers were seconded to farm management rather than serving overseas. In
many cases if a family had one or more sons already serving overseas
another son would be seconded to manage the farm and keep the crops
growing. Within the parish sometimes those who had boys overseas adopted a
rather superior attitude to those who could not claim to have parted with
their sons.
There were some who probably expected me to preach sermons attacking
Hitler. As a student I had been a pacifist, but once the war broke out I
felt that I was involved pastorally and the parish members needed to be
cared for, rather than be offered militaristic sermons against Hitler and
the Nazis. As far as I was aware the general attitude towards conscientious
objectors was ambivalent, with more tolerance among people in the church
than among others. I remember saying from the pulpit that war would be
worse if there were no conscientious objectors and that people must have
the right to act according to their conscience. I don't think you could say
that that was greeted with great applause!
Brenda and I were married in 1940 and were given our first radio as a
wedding present. I listened every night to the BBC news to keep up with
what was happening overseas. Every day I was mentally and emotionally
involved in the war. I had to talk with each young man before he left to go
to camp. All of us in the parish were busy organising parcels to be sent to
the men overseas.
The national church had asked me to serve as a chaplain. I agreed and then
had to wait for the call up. This was a very trying time. We had been
married only two years and had a young baby. I felt that the only
honourable thing to do was to resign from the parish and Brenda had a very
lonely time while I was away.
Once I put on uniform I was busy caring for the boys in the camp and was no
longer preoccupied with the outcome of the war. Churchill's 'No surrender'
speech had a huge influence over millions of people, Christian and
non-Christian, who experienced the power of the word and believed in his
leadership.
It was a relief to be in uniform, and although at heart I did not support
the military process I believed it was my duty to minister to men and women
who were serving in the armed forces. At the same time I had a very close
friend who was in prison because of his conscientious objection. We kept in
touch all through the war years and I felt that he needed my support and
prayers as much as anybody.
I was sent to a recently formed battalion, a special force of men from
Nelson and the West Coast. I had no training for the duties of a chaplain,
but I had to preach to the church parade and take public worship, and I
took care to make the service brief. It was encouraging for me when the
Commanding Office told me it was "a bloody good service - bloody good." I
told him I would be happier if attendance at the service was made
voluntary, but he replied that the rules were that attendance at some
services was mandatory and at others it was voluntary. Most of the soldiers
turned up even if attendance was voluntary.
There were some lighter moments. The boys needed some entertainment and the
CO said it was my job to organise this. The Mayoress of Blenheim had
offered to send about sixty young women to partner the boys if a dance was
organised. I arranged a date, there was a suitable hall in the camp, and I
organised a band. I got in touch with Mayoress who said that unfortunately
the girls had been promised to another camp that night. The CO said we
could not cancel and sent me with another officer to search around Blenheim
and find sixty girls. He and I took opposite sides of the street and went
to the managers of the businesses and asked for permission to invite girls
from their staff. We found sixty girls willing to attend and sent army
transport to bring them to the camp. My only problem was that when the
girls I had invited arrived I found that they all thought I had invited
them to be my partner!
To keep my mind alert with some academic interest I borrowed from the
University of Canterbury Library successive volumes of Arnold Toynbee's
books called "A Study in History". Using candles to read after lights out I
read all the volumes which expressed his view of all the civilisations in
the world from the beginning. I realised that what was happening at that
time was not new. His interesting philosophy of history was that
civilisations grew during times of great challenge and declined when people
in power were too preoccupied with their own enjoyment.
When I was sent overseas I was posted first to Cairo, then to Italy as
chaplain to the Nineteenth Armoured Regiment, and then to Japan as chaplain
to the New Zealanders in J Force serving as part of the occupation forces.
My unforgettable memory of the time in Japan is of the appalling sights I
witnessed in Hiroshima
shortly after the atom bomb was dropped on that city. A comforting memory
is of the way Kiwi soldiers there got on with the Japanese people employed
to do work in the camp - a friendly attitude treating the workers as other
human beings. I was proud of their essential humanity, their inbred
humility and friendly manners, not always the hallmark of the troops from
other countries.
Ian's thoughts today
Ian has continued to feel deep sympathy for the returning soldiers who
suffered mental problems and for those at home wracked with anxiety while
members of their family were serving overseas. In his comment published in
the Christchurch Press on Anzac Day he said:
"The mental-health problems of returning soldiers were exacerbated by the
fact that they could not talk about their experiences. Some men suffered
very severely and one of the problems was that when they came back from war
in the mid 1940s, nobody wanted to hear much from them and they themselves
didn't want to talk much. Men were supportive of each other at the front
line and acted with bravery and resourcefulness. It was usually years later
that they broke down. Later many of them felt as though the bottom had
dropped out of life for them.
"Wives, mothers and sweethearts also suffered agonies in wartime. Wives or
mothers got letters from their boys and the next thing was they got news of
them being killed. We forget sometimes about the suffering they went
through."
