At least 846 Kiwi men died or were mortally wounded in a failed attempt to take the Passchendaele Ridge.
Sir Fred Allen and Bob Scott proudly served their nation on both rugby fields and battlefields. In 2007 the great mates reunited for a moving visit to several battlefields on the Western Front - including Passchendaele - and numerous resting places of tens of thousands of troops who died during WWI. Neil Reid was lucky enough to join the duo.
Wiping away tears, Bob Scott knelt next to the final resting place of a fallen New Zealand soldier and placed a poppy on the edge of his headstone.
The scene was one of the many immaculately kept cemeteries dotted around the lush countryside surrounding Ypres, Belgium, just three days out from the 90th anniversary of the third battle of Passchendaele.
That battle was the scene of the most bloodshed in New Zealand military history in a single day; with almost 3000 Kiwi soldiers - still remembered by locals as "heroes from the ends of the earth" - either being killed, wounded or listed as missing in action.
It was day two of a trip Scott and his great mate and former All Black team-mate Sir Fred Allen, along with legendary photographer Peter Bush, and then RSA president John Campbell had taken to Ypres to pay their respects to the fallen.
Among the Kiwis to die in the muddy hell that was the Western Front was a young man who had family living in Whangamata - Scott's home town at the time.
Scott was completing a request from one of the fallen soldier's relatives to lay a poppy he had been given before leaving New Zealand - a heart-felt gesture from 18,319km away to let the victim of one of the harshest battlefields our troops had served on to let him know he was not forgotten.
"It is just one thing I could do to help some lovely people," Scott said.
"As a former serviceman, you realise but for chance, that being buried somewhere like this could have been your own fate."
A day earlier Scott and Sir Fred Allen - who played, captained and later coached the All Blacks - had flown into Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.
Their intentions were to both make the trip to the battlefields - including Passchendaele - and then return to Paris in time to watch the weekend's Rugby World Cup semifinals; which they had hoped the All Blacks would be appearing in.
Bob Scott lays a poppy for a fallen NZ soldier. Photo / Neil Reid
Scott and Sir Fred boarded a plane from Auckland bound to Singapore confident the ABs would be in the semis. But those hopes were dashed when they learnt on arrival in Singapore that the Richie McCaw-captained side had been dumped out of the tournament after losing 20-18 to France in their quarterfinal in Cardiff.
On hearing the news - which sent New Zealand rugby fans into a tailspin - the pair slugged back a bottle of duty free booze. A few more drinks followed on the connecting flight to Paris.
Needless to say, when we met at the airport shortly after 6am, the pair were as colourful as ever.
Sir Fred wasted no time in laying down the law once we were in a mini-van heading to Belgium.
Yes, he was gutted that the pre-tournament favourite All Blacks had been punted out of the World Cup. But he had no interest in publicly commenting - he said the last thing that McCaw's men wanted to hear were comments from an "old bastard" bagging them.
Sir Fred, and Scott, were hugely wary of taking anything away from their focus over the next four days - which was honouring those who made the greatest sacrifice.
And anything they said over a beer about the ABs' exit over the next few days was to stay in the confines of the bars we were in.
But they made no mistake they wanted New Zealand to know about the huge sacrifice paid by our service men and medical corps on the Western Front.
As All Black rugby fans sank to depths of sporting depression, Sir Fred put the onfield loss into context, saying: "I've heard people back home saying the All Blacks' loss to France is a tragedy. But what we will see around Ypres is the true meaning of tragedy."
Sir Fred Allen visiting one of the cemeteries. Photo / Neil Reid
Battlefields and military cemeteries were nothing new to the duo of New Zealand rugby giants - they had both served their country during WWII ... and stayed on in Europe at the end of the war as stars of the 2nd NZEF 'Kiwis' rugby team that travelled through Europe.
Looking at the multiple reminders of the human carnage in and around Ypres - including nearby battlefields where five All Blacks died, including the legendary David Gallaher - both constantly spoke of how lucky they were to escape WWII largely unscathed.
"There's no doubt I am one of the lucky ones," Sir Fred said.
"When you go off to war, you don't know what you are letting yourself in for. Before you go, you don't think about whether you are going to get hurt or killed. But reality kicks in once you are on or near the front line. And what these boys had to put up with in the mud on the Western Front is just not worth thinking about.
"If people, world leaders, came to a place like this, realised the carnage that decisions they make can cause, I would hope there would be no more wars."
One of the visits made by the travelling crew was to Gallaher's gravesite at the Nine Elms Cemetery, just west of Poperinge.
The Huts Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, was also on the itinerary during a misty morning.
Among New Zealanders buried at the cemetery is Victor Spencer - one of five New Zealand soldiers who were executed during WWI for mutiny and desertion, and later pardoned by Parliament in 2000.
Former All Black Bob Scott. Photo / Supplied
A laminated board next to his gravesite details his tragic death. The Southlander had survived the failed Gallipoli campaign, before being sent off with his mates to the muddy hell that awaited in Belgium.
Despite suffering chronic shell-shock, his superiors refused to give him a respite from the frontline.
His own father was seriously wounded and almost lost his life on his first day at Gallipoli, after being shot. Scott's father was invalided home - escaping the horror that awaited his mates some months later on the Western Front.
"It is just heart-breaking to see the reminders of the carnage in this area," Scott later reflected.
"Look at the countryside now - it is such a beautiful place with farms, parkland and flowers growing all over the place. Then you see the thousands upon thousands of graves and the reality of what occurred here during WWI is very hard to take in."
The pair constantly talked about the need for more New Zealanders to know about our country's sacfrice on the Western Front. While most Kiwis knew about the much smaller human cost of the Gallipoli campaign, the same couldn't be said for what happened at Passchendaele and its surroundings.
Amongst the seriousness of remembering the horror that occured around Ypres and Passchendaele, there was also time for plenty of moments of humour on the trip.
Some serious rehydration was enjoyed at numerous bars and pubs around the cobbled streets of Ypres.
It only took five pints bought by me on the first night out for Scott to take off his shoes and socks and proudly show off to several enthralled All Black fans - and slightly confused Belgium locals - the big toe on his right foot which he used to kick 74 points in test rugby in the AB jersey for.
Former All Black and captain, Sir Fred Allen. Photo / Supplied
Scott - who famously kicked torpedo style with the point of his foot - joked that his toe should be preserved in the New Zealand Rugby Museum.
They were the most rewarding five pints of beer I've ever purchased.
And for those who missed out on seeing it on night one, there were several encore reveals of his toe over the coming nights.
Sir Fred - known as the 'Needle' during his rugby days - might have been 87 while on tour, but he regularly showed that age hadn't dented his famous no-BS policy to life.
Cutting comments - with a rich dash of F-bombs, including more than a few directed at himself - were both common and left those around him in stiches.
At the end of four days we boarded a bus back to Paris, along with some All Black fans, who had tickets for the Rugby World Cup semifinals.
The All Blacks might not have featured in those matches, but the memories gained and lessons learned from sharing several special days with Scott and Sir Fred - two truly great New Zealanders - were far more special than anything offered up in 80 minutes of test rugby.
Sir Fred Allen passed away, aged 92 in April 2012. His great mate Bob Scott, MBE, died in November 2012 aged 91
10am: Service at Auckland War Memorial Museum run by the Passchendaele Society. 11am: Service at the museum's WWI Hall of Memories. 11.30am: Warkworth & Districts RSA hosts a service and unveils a memorial.
Wellington
3pm: National ceremony at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park. 5pm: Last Post ceremony at War Memorial 6pm: Musical tribute, Remembering Passchendaele: Our Darkest Day at Te Papa. Belgium 11am: NZ national commemorative service, Tyne Cot Cemetery. 3pm: NZ Passchendaele Centennial Memorial & Garden opens. 7:30pm: Sunset ceremony at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood.
