Dannevirke man Mike Harold has written a book called "Where she goes we go" detailing the stories of 24 men's experiences in World War II.
Dannevirke man Mike Harold has written a book called "Where she goes we go" detailing the stories of 24 men's experiences in World War II.
Twenty-four men in the Harold family fought during World War II, and now these Anzac heroes have had their stories told from beyond the grave.
Dannevirke’s Mike Harold has worked tirelessly, putting hundreds of hours into collating records, anecdotes, and correspondence of the descendants of the Harold family that originally settled in Waimiro in the Tararua District.
He said his work and research, which he recorded on a timeline, revealed interesting details about his father, Michael Thomas (Mick) Harold’s generation, many of whom chose to keep their troubles and experiences to themselves.
“I come at it from the point of view that stories get lost and people of this generation, very few of them, talked about their wartime experiences.”
The book details stories of challenges, brushes with death, unheard of battles, details from the front lines, the impact on families back home, and life after war.
He uncovered letters that alluded to one man’s hopes of returning for Christmas, only for him to be killed shortly after.
Another set of documents revealed the fight of a sister to find her brother, who was determined dead 15 months after a torpedo sank the ship on which he and his brother were being held as prisoners of war.
“It does us good to remind ourselves it’s not just about people whose names are on old monuments on Anzac Day.”
His subjects had different roles within the infantry, artillery, and some worked as sappers (combat engineers), others were in the service core that supported the frontline, while one worked with the railways, and another was in the Royal New Zealand Air Force and one who was 16 and joined the Navy.
His inspiration for the book came from writing his previous book in 2017 about World War I, when he realised he had “only told half the story”.
“There were little glimpses that gave insights into the characters of the people.”
Michael Thomas (Mick) Harold, served as inspiration for son Mike Harold's book.
He said his research turned up a greater involvement in the war than he had initially expected.
“My father was on the very first gun that New Zealand fired a shot in, in WWII and a second cousin of his who was the only one who served in the Navy and was on the boat that fired the last gun of WWII.”
Stories of the time often differed.
“There were the battles that we don’t know the names of, there were the actions that affected some greatly.
“My father was at almost at war for six years in total — and what on earth did that sound and look like, and they never told us.
“They were a group of people who, whether they realised it or not, always put the needs of the community and the wider greater good foremost in their minds.”
He urged anyone with an interest in their family history to take a look back as “You don’t know what you don’t know until you go digging”.
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
