Survivor not one to brag about war

Karena Borell-Shea with a picture of her grandfather, James Borell, who survived the horrors of World War I. Photo / George Novak

Karena Borell-Shea has fond memories of her "awesome grandfather" who defied his mother and enlisted in the army under a false name in 1914.

Eighteen-year-old James Borell of Te Puna was swept up in the fervour of what most had believed would be a short-lived adventure. It turned out the only things short lived about World War I were the lives of so many soldiers.

Mr Borell had signed up using the surname Howard and went on to survive four gruelling years, with service in Gallipoli and on the Western Front.

Related on his mother's side to pioneering Tauranga trader John Lees Faulkner, he initially served with the Native Contingent on Gallipoli. After a severe mauling it was reformed into the Maori Pioneer Battalion.

Ms Borell-Shea said his mother had not wanted him to go to war, so he had decided to register under a different name.

"That was how he got into the army. Before he left New Zealand, his mother went looking for him and asked if James Borell had enlisted - that was why she could not find him."

She has very clear memories of her grandfather, who died in 1964 when she was a 24-year-old mother of three.

"It was the saddest day of my life. He was like a father to me."

Ms Borell-Shea said her grandfather was a staunch man, probably a legacy of his army days, and a great hunter.

One of the stories she had heard was how, soon after landing at Gallipoli, he was told not to touch the bodies of soldiers but to only get their identity tags so the army could keep track of who had died.

"He never bragged about what he did. He was a very reserved person."

Most of his war was spent with the Pioneer Battalion which toiled away digging and repairing trenches, building roads and bringing up ammunition. It meant they were often in the line of shells and gunfire, and the unit suffered heavily.

His stories reflected the tears, laughter and near misses of someone who survived the war.

Ms Borell-Shea said he used to tell her how much he hated wearing the lemon squeezer hat.

"He said, 'I am not a bloody lemon' - he used to make me laugh."

Another time he had told her how lucky he was to get home in one piece, with near misses from exploding shells.

He had once stopped telling her about an episode from the war, saying, "That's it. I can't talk any more." He had then gone outside and she saw him wiping tears from his eyes.

A distressing memory had been hearing the yells of wounded and dying soldiers lying in no-man's land, and being unable to help them. She said he confided to his wife about the sadness of the war and the loss of so many mates. "Nanna told him not to think about it."

Ms Borell-Shea said her grandfather did not like going to the RSA because he believed too many ex-serviceman drank too much - he did not drink.

Mr Borell returned to Te Puna in 1919 at the age of 22, got married and worked for the Public Works Department, rising to foreman. He played rugby for the Te Puna Rugby Club and was given an RSA graveside service when he died from cancer at the age of 68.

"He said he never killed anyone."