The Liberation of Le Quesnoy Documentary Released Today

This year will see the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, when The Great War ended on November 11, 1918. The New Zealand Herald is paying tribute to those lost and the momentous events that led to the end of the war with a NZ On Air funded documentary series, The Liberation of Le Quesnoy.

The documentary series tells the story of the New Zealand-led liberation of a small French town Le Quesnoy a century ago, and a mere week before the end of the World War I. Unlike many other liberated areas, there was no loss of life to the French civilian population; something that the town has never forgotten.

Alongside historians, audiences will hear audio excerpts from the letters and diaries of those liberated Le Quesnoy, read by their relatives or associates.

NZME Planning Editor Andrew Laxon said that the documentary series really brings home the size of the role New Zealand played on the Western Front. “The liberation of Le Quesnoy happened only a few days before the end of the war, so it isn’t as well-known to New Zealanders as more famous campaigns such as Gallipoli or Passchendaele. This documentary shows just how vital the Kiwis were and looks at some key men who were instrumental in freeing the city.”

The six-part series will be released daily on nzherald.co.nz/WWI from today onwards, and then re-released in full on the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Le Quesnoy on November 4.

The documentary series was created by Jude Dobson of Homegrown TV with funding from NZ On Air.

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