Kihikihi’s Anzac Day commemoration departed from the norm this year when those attending were invited to attend a presentation afterwards that told the stories of three men listed on the cenotaph.
The cenotaph in Kihikihi was the scene for a well-attended Anzac Day ceremony. Photo: Viv Posselt
Event organiser Adan Te Huia had attended the Te Awamutu Genealogy Group’s 2024 presentation on some of the soldiers listed on the Anzac Green cenotaph. He thought it would be good to do something similar for Kihikihi’s lost soldiers and linked up with the genealogy group’s Sandra Metcalfe, who is one of those working on the ongoing Anzac Green names project.
Metcalfe said the move offered an opportunity for fellowship at the same time as providing a better understanding of the sacrifices people made.
“This is something Adan and the genealogy group are keen to repeat next year. It is through the stories of those who paid the ultimate price that we hopefully learn the lessons of the past,” she said.
The three Kihikihi men whose stories were told were Richard Sircombe, Arthur Verner and Francis Moody.
Born in 1890, Sircombe was with the Auckland Infantry Battalion. He died on April 25, 1915, on Walker’s Ridge and was buried where he lay. He is commemorated on the Lone Pine Cemetery memorial at Gallipoli.
Arthur Verner, who was born in 1884, was with the Auckland Mounted Rifles. He landed at Anzac Cove on April 25, 1915, and was killed by a sniper’s bullet on June 26 the same year, while on water duty. He is buried at Ari Burnu Cemetery at Gallipoli.
Born in 1887, Francis Moody was with C Company, 30th Reinforcements. He sailed from Wellington to England in late 1917 for training at Sling Camp in Wiltshire, but died on February 27, 1918, from tuberculosis. He is buried in Wiltshire.
Last Friday’s Anzac Day service at the Kihikihi cenotaph featured an Anzac dedication by Te Awamutu RSA member Lou Brown, and an address by Te Awamutu College student Tia Johns.
The Last Post and Reveille was played by Stuart Lindsay.
The names of the three men at the centre of a presentation are listed on this side of the cenotaph. Photo: Viv Posselt
