Poignant reminders of war

ROSS GIBLIN/Dominion Post

WAR ATIEFACT: The haunting images of amputee soldiers such as Edward Arthur Robinson and the prosthetic limbs are part of the An Impressive Silence collection, an exhibition commemorating the 90th anniversary of Armistice Day.

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Haunting images of amputee soldiers and prosthetic limbs used during World War I are in an exhibition commemorating the 90th anniversary of Armistice Day.

The collection, An Impressive Silence, opened in two galleries at Archives NZ in Mulgrave St, Wellington, today and features documents and artefacts from the Great War.

Exhibition manager David Knight said the display included a small wooden hand that belonged to Corporal John "Cocky" Cains of Wellington Infantry Battalion.

"The wooden hand has a metal plate with a protruding screw to go in to a mount - similar to Captain Hook," he said.

A black and white photo of double amputee Edward Arthur Robinson, also from the Wellington Battalion, dated December 29, 1917, shows his replacement hands, lower and upper arms.

Model replicas of German and English aeroplanes and original soldiers' uniforms also feature in the exhibition.

The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month marked the moment when hostilities ceased and firing ended on the Western Front in 1918.

World War I lasted just over four years and resulted in the deaths of an estimated 20 million soldiers and civilians. More than 18,000 Kiwis were killed and 41,000 wounded.

The exhibition takes its name from the memoirs of Allied Forces Supreme Commander Marshal Ferdinand Foch, who wrote "an impressive silence followed upon 53 months of battle".

A wreath will be laid at 11am today at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at the National War Memorial, Buckle St.

- © Fairfax NZ News