21 Aug 2016

Stories from the Somme

From Standing Room Only, 12:15 pm on 21 August 2016

We're approaching the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. 15,000 members of the New Zealand Division went into action there, a horrifying 2,000 died and more than half of them have no known grave. Another estimated 6,000 men were wounded. Once a month the story of one of these soldiers is read out, as part of the Last Post Ceremony at Wellington's Pukeahu National War Memorial Park. Lynn Freeman talks to the person who researches and writes up those stories - Sarah Burgess from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage.