The worst day

In the mud lay thousands of dead and dying men. Many of them Kiwis.
In the course of one day, October 12, 1917, in the village of Passchendaele, in Flanders, Belgium, 843 New Zealanders were killed or injured.
It was the single worst day of fatalities in New Zealand’s history.
The battle was part of a campaign lasting four months involving troops from Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France and Belgium.
The idea was to capture and hold the high ground at Ypres including the Passchendaele ridge.
The offensive began well enough in the early morning of July 31, 1917. Then it began to rain, turning the ground to a muddy quagmire, reducing visibility and making forward movement impossible. The artillery could not even see the men they were meant to be supporting, moving forward.
On and on the attempts were made to continue the all out assault. The troops would move forward and dig in and the Germans would counterattack.
On October 12, the New Zealanders began their attack. The thick mud meant they could not bring their heavy guns forward and the soldiers ended up pinned down in the boggy ground.
Among the men was Alfred Benjamin Booker. Born in Eltham, New Plymouth in 1895 to dairy farmers Benjamin and Caroline (Carrie) Booker. He worked at a local farm before enlisting with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in 1915.
He initially went to Egypt before sailing to France. Wounded at the Battle of the Somme, he recovered, enough to leave only to catch mumps and return to hospital.
He went back to his battalion to take part in the attack on Bellevue Spur.
Alfred was a stretch-bearer. It took the bearers three days to clear the wounded on October 4, often carrying the men miles to safety.
It was worse on October 12 - they could take hours to get back, coming under fire from shells and gas, wading through mud and craters.
Alfred was badly wounded and died three days later.
He posthumously received the military medal: For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty as a stretcher bearer during the operations against Passchendaele Ridge on 12th and 13th October 1917. This Rifleman tended and carried in wounded day and night without rest and with utter disregard for the enemy snipers, machine gun fire, and shelling. With the utmost bravery and cheerfulness he went again and again into the fire-swept zone, thereby saving many lives.
He is the hero we remember tomorrow on ANZAC Day.
Alfred is buried in the St Nicholas Church Cemetery in England.
Picture by Chris Sansbury.​