Anzac diary a winner for Kaitaia student

ACROSS GENERATIONS: Kaingaroa School's prize-winning author James Broadwith meeting Fields of Remembrance trustee and Passchendaele Society president Ian McKenzie. PICTURE/SUPPLIED

Kaingaroa School principal Kathy Hancock is a firm believer that when a student is passionate about something there is no end to what they can achieve. And one of her pupils, nine-year-old James Broadwith, has provided proof of that.

James Broadwith has won the top prize in a nationwide competition commemorating World War I.

Their Stories, Our Stories, run by the Ministry of Education, invited students to make a connection with New Zealand stories and experiences of the Great War. James, a Doubtless Bay St John Cadet (who has marched in the Mangonui Anzac Day parade with the division since joining in 2012), wrote a fictional diary about the experiences of a young Anzac soldier.

"His motivation grew when researching the Gallipoli Campaign for a class project early in Term 2," James' mother (and Kaingaroa teacher) Elise Broadwith said.

"He was also moved by Kaingaroa School's own Anzac service, in particular seeing the Field of Remembrance set up with personalised white crosses to commemorate the service and sacrifice of fallen soldiers during the Great War."

James, who said he had gained more respect for the men who fought and died, including people like his great-grandfather ("who fought in another world war") won the competition's Year 5-8 category in a field of 148 entries. His reward included a trip to Wellington to receive his prize, in the Great Hall at Parliament, from the Minister of Education. He was also delighted to be invited to take part in a tour of Parliament, and to visit the Dominion Museum's Great War Exhibition created by Sir Peter Jackson.

The Diary of an Anzac Soldier opens with the fictional Michael Smith, sitting in a row boat on April 25, 1915, heading towards the shores of Gallipoli with the rest of his battalion. The diary covers a period of around three months, until the assault on Chunuk Bair, and gives an insight into the mood and times, as well as the nature of leaders of the Anzac campaign, including Colonel William Malone, from the Wellington Infantry Battalion:

'Colonel Malone - an expert at defence - began fortifying the hill. It was difficult for us to dig the shallow Turkish trenches deeper due to the hard ground and open terrain. I remember how our Colonel was constantly active and always heading the attacks - never for a minute did he waver during those hours.'

James endeavours to describe the complexity of emotions that he thinks many soldiers were likely to have been experiencing at the time:

'I'm glad to be in reserve, but I'm struggling to comprehend losing so many of my mates. The human cost of this war is massive - far bigger than I ever imagined. There are still a few of us left from Northland ... but for how long? I'm managing - but only just. I want to get out of here. I want to go home.'

The judges were impressed by the quality, accuracy and depth of James' research, and felt the diary provided an authentic way for people to connect with an important part of New Zealand's history. James also believes it is important for students to keep learning about the sacrifice made by those in years gone by.

"They gave us the world we live in now. Without them things could have been different today," he said.