No Better Death
Page 35
This letter from Ida arrived too late to reach Malone.
Malone Family Collection London
Conclusion
* * *
Tributes
Although Malone told his beloved Ida and others on many occasions that he was confident that he would survive the war, he told a friend just before he left New Zealand that: ‘Something tells me I shan’t come back here, that I will go out’.1
The death of Malone, who Charles Lepper described as ‘one of the bravest men I ever saw’,2 was keenly felt within the battalion. It was to many in the Wellington Battalion emblematic of the destruction of their unit at Chunuk Bair.3 Major-General Godley praised Malone both in public and in private. In one letter to an acquaintance in New Zealand he wrote: ‘Poor Malone was the gallantest soul in action that ever walked, and his men would follow him anywhere. He was killed at the head of his battalion at the highest point which we attained, and literally in the very forefront of the battle, and lies now in a Turkish fort on Chunuk Bair, which he captured from the enemy – a more fitting restingplace [sic] for such a gallant soldier I cannot imagine.’4 His wife Lady Louisa Godley also thought well of Malone. In a letter to her husband on 11 August, she remarked that ‘Major Fitzherbert rang up to tell me that there had been a lot of casualties in the N.Z. force, and amongst them Colonel Malone killed. I am very sorry – he was a gallant fellow and was keen about his men and work. I know how you will miss him and the force will be the poorer of a good officer.’5 After she learned of Malone’s death Lady Godley wrote a letter of condolence to Ida.6
Ida Malone was devastated by the news of her husband’s death, which she probably received in a telegram on 9 or 10 August.7 She must have derived some comfort from the many condolence letters she received. One of the first was from Edward Harston, who wrote on behalf of the Wellington Battalion:
I have a very difficult and painful duty to perform, all the more difficult because I knew and loved the Colonel so well. I wish to convey to you the very deepest sympathy of the whole Battalion in your great sorrow. We who knew him can realise how much his death must mean to you. For to us it is irreparable. Colonel Malone made and kept his regiment through good times and bad always the best in the Brigade, which is the best in Gallipoli. Everything he did he made a crowning success. His holding and improving of Quinn’s Post was the finest bit of work done in Anzac and his leading and care for his regiment was unequalled on the Peninsula. I say this because it is true, and any other officer will tell you the same. His regiment, rank and file loved him and trusted him implicitly with their lives. If the ‘Old Man’ ordered it, it was right, for we knew that he had first considered everything and that there was no better way of doing it.8
The sentiments in Harston’s letter are also expressed in Birdwood’s condolence letter, written only a day after Malone’s death:
It is indeed with a sad heart that I write to you, for I well know how terribly grief-stricken you will be at the death of your husband, and though I know that nothing that I can say can be of any help to you in your great trouble, yet I feel that you will perhaps like to know that others are feeling for you in all you must be going through, and you may especially care to hear of this from one who was with your husband only the day before he was killed.
I had of course not met your husband until I arrived in Egypt and took over command of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps in December, since when I had seen him fairly constantly in my frequent inspections of his regiment, while during the last three months in our fighting here I had come across him almost daily, and I want to tell you what a very high opinion indeed I had formed of him as an officer and a good leader of his men.
I always felt such complete confidence in him, and knew that while he was there all was going right in his regiment, for there was no detail [that] escaped his attention, and he was the life and soul of his regiment, being idolised by both officers and men.9
A few years later Birdwood told one of Malone’s sons that his father was a ‘matchless’ battalion commander. Birdwood developed a high opinion of Malone and considerable affection for him. His work at Quinn’s Post especially impressed Birdwood, who remarked that Malone ‘thought out every necessary detail and by his determination and driving power saw that what he realised was necessary should be done’.10
Brigadier-General Johnston, with whom Malone had often clashed, wrote that he ‘was such a thorough soldier and good comrade that he had endeared himself to all of us’.11 Godley wrote, in a brief but clearly heartfelt letter, that ‘He was the most valiant soul I think I have ever known ... I would sooner have lost a battalion than him.... I cannot say how much I owe him personally. His loyalty and support to me both in New Zealand and here has been unfailing. I have lost one of my best friends and my sympathy for you is more than words can express.’12 Sir Thomas Mackenzie, the New Zealand High Commissioner in London, whose son was blinded in August while serving with the Wellington Mounted Rifles, told Ida that her late husband had been ‘one of the finest soldiers who ever fought for New Zealand’13 and that he had ‘left a great and honoured name behind him which will ever live in the memory of us New Zealanders’.14 Included in the condolence letters from New Zealand was one from the Stratford Parish Committee which, like Johnston, remarked on Malone’s strong Catholic beliefs, noting: ‘As you know, Colonel Malone was one of the oldest and most highly esteemed of our parishioners and was both consistent and practical in his observance of the duties and obligations of our Faith, and, no less in his dying than in the manner of his living he was an inspiration to us all.... In cases like these we may repeat Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.’15
Malone’s death was announced in a casualty list released in New Zealand on 12 August.16 This list was the first in a series of unprecedented size that made the full extent of the losses suffered by the NZEF in the August offensive clear to the New Zealand public. Prime Minister William Massey commented on the loss of so ‘many of our brave men’ which he described as:
part of the price of Empire which we are being called upon to pay. The State (sic) again mourns for its dead, for those who have given their lives on Behalf (sic) of their fellow citizens, and the honour of the Nation, and our hearts go out in sympathy to the relatives and friends of those who have fallen ... and whose remains lie to-day in graves of their comrades’ making on the bleak hillsides of the Gallipoli Peninsula-far from home and friends, it may be, but never to be forgotten by the people of this country.17
New Zealand newspapers widely reported Malone’s death and many carried obituaries praising his achievements and noting his fine qualities as a soldier and a man.18 Naturally, however, it was in Taranaki where his death was most keenly felt. The Taranaki Herald described him as ‘one of the best known men in Taranaki’ and noted that at Gallipoli ‘he was making a mark as a leader, who, while willing to take every risk himself, was always careful not to expose his men to unnecessary risks. His loss will be keenly felt by the regiment, for it is certain that had he been spared he would have made a great name for himself as a soldier.’ New Plymouth’s newspaper concluded its lengthy and very positive obituary by stating that: ‘The news of Colonel Malone’s death in action caused quite a gloom locally when it became generally known this morning.’19 Malone’s demise was even more acutely felt in Stratford where the news was received via a telegram from Ida Malone. The Stratford Evening Post noted in a lengthy obituary that he had a ‘wide circle of friends’, described him as ‘a true sport’ who ‘was brim full of enthusiasm, a keen soldier, a splendid disciplinarian, a magnificent organiser,’ who was ‘undoubtedly endowed with a thorough military genius’. In his civilian life the obituary stated he was a mainstay of a range of local organisations and activities. He was ‘conscientious, painstaking and thorough’. Malone was said to possess ‘exceptional abilities ... As a farmer, a businessman, a lawyer, and a soldier, he filled the bill in every sense. Mr Malone proved himself a true gentleman, a loyal friend and
honourable foe, and to those who were privileged to know him intimately for any length of time these characteristics were outstanding.’20 Posthumously Malone’s ‘noble example’ was used to encourage recruiting and to castigate those who shirked their duty.21
There is no doubt Malone was a formidable character, a ‘rugged figure, a typical old New Zealand pioneer with a powerful jaw and an appearance of great strength and determination. He had a forcible character.’ The Wellington Battalion ‘was Malone’s battalion and every man in it breathed the spirit of Malone and had been moulded according to his ideas.’22 The strong foundations laid by Malone stood the Wellington Battalion and later the Wellington Infantry Regiment, which subsequently comprised up to three battalions, in good stead. Throughout its existence, the regiment exhibited the ‘happy combination of a reasonable discipline – not enough to prejudice initiative, but sufficient to get the maximum team result.’23 The officers and men who had served with the regiment commissioned a memorial plaque to Malone and the other battalion commander to lose his life in the war, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Cook, DSO, in All Saints Church in Palmerston North. The regiment’s colours had earlier been laid up at this church.24
The respect and affection the men of his battalion felt for their ‘old’ colonel is evident in the description of Malone in The Arrower’s [The Arrower was the magazine produced on board the Arawa] official Botanical Catalogue: ‘Abies Malonia: A magnificent tree of the colonel species; very hardy and of striking appearance; does best in clean sand and scrub.’25 The special place Malone had in the memory of the Wellington Regiment veterans was demonstrated by the opening of the Malone Memorial Gates at the entrance to King Edward Park in Stratford on 8 August 1923. The gates are one of the most substantial memorials to an individual serviceman ever erected in New Zealand, and were paid for by former officers of the regiment and a variety of other supporters. At the well-attended opening ceremony, Lieutenant-Colonel Cunningham spoke about his old commanding officer, saying: ‘in camp at Awapuni, ... they soon found that he meant to make soldiers of them. They at first disliked him, but later learned to respect him, and finally came to love him for a man who could be relied on, although they knew he was determined to try out every man who came under him and remove the soft spots from them. He knew war would be a hard business, and made up his mind that the regiment would be fit when it had to take its part.’26 It is a measure of the ‘great respect and love’ his men had for him that on the 50th anniversary of his death a former member of Malone’s battalion remarked that he ‘was the embodiment of the spirit of Anzac’, that the efficiency of the unit and its military prowess were in large part due to his example, professionalism and leadership.27
How Malone is remembered in All Saints Church, Palmerston North. Colonel Robert Young unveiled the plaque on 24 April 1921 during a special commemorative service, a year after the Wellington Infantry Regiment’s colours were presented to the church.
Malone Family Collection Wellington (now in ATL)
The large crowd that gathered for the opening of the Malone Gates on 8 August 1923. At the reunion dinner held in conjunction with the opening, Terry Malone said that if his father had lived, ‘he would not have looked for any recognition, for it was only his duty to King, country and citizens that he had done.’
Malone Family Collection Wellington (now in ATL)
Fred Waite’s official history, The New Zealanders at Gallipoli, published in 1919, describes Malone as ‘one of the striking characters in the New Zealand army’ and praises his outstanding leadership.28 Malone’s contribution is well recognised in the regimental history, The Wellington Regiment N.Z.E.F., 1914-1919, which was published in 1928. Cunningham, who wrote the chapters dealing with the first year of the regiment’s existence, had access to Malone’s diaries.29 Both Edmond Malone and his father are commemorated in Stratford’s unique Hall of Remembrance, which contains photographs of the more than 180 men from the Stratford district who died in the Great War.30 In November 2011, a life-size bronze statue of William Malone by Fridtjof Hanson was unveiled on the main street of Stratford. The erection of the statue was the product of years of work by a group of local people, the Malone Quest Committee.31
Impact on the Family
Throughout New Zealand, families were torn asunder by the Great War. In the case of the Malone family, the death of William George Malone and related events left the family scattered between England and New Zealand. Before August 1914 the Malone family had been one of the most prominent in the Stratford community. After that date, only Brian and Terry Malone seemed to have lived for any length of time at all in Stratford district. Ida and her three young children and Norah Malone remained in England, and only Denis ever returned to live in New Zealand. Norah visited New Zealand shortly after the end of the First World War and in the 1960s.32
Ida Malone mourned her much loved husband until her own death. She showed that she was in mourning by dressing exclusively in black and later grey clothes.33 After Malone’s death Ida made an effort to ensure that his life and achievements were remembered. Late in 1915 she corresponded with the Australian war correspondent, Ashmead-Bartlett, who had taken several photographs of Malone during his visit to Quinn’s Post.34 She was also in touch with William Whitlock of the Hawkes Bay Herald-Tribune, and provided him with copies of a number of letters she had received relating to Malone’s service at Gallipoli. She probably got in touch with Whitlock through Brian Malone, who may have worked as a reporter on the Herald-Tribune. Whitlock suggested to the government that something should be done to commemorate Malone, stating that such an initiative ‘would be very pleasing to the family and very acceptable to Taranaki where he was a soldier idolised.’35 The suggestion was considered by the Cabinet on 22 December 1915, but no action was taken.36
In 1921, Ida sent some of William Malone’s writings and photographs to Sir James Allen, New Zealand’s High Commissioner in London. Allen, who had been Minister of Defence during the Great War and whose son had been killed at Gallipoli, wrote that: ‘I cannot convey to you how deeply impressed I have been with all that I have read. Your late husband reveals himself in this correspondence as a noble man, an enthusiastic and lovable soldier, and I can well understand how those who were under his command came to like and trust him. You know how fully I sympathise with you in this great loss, and I realise how much our own country has suffered because Colonel Malone has gone from us.’37
Malone attached great importance to the financial security of his wife and family, and it is clear that on Gallipoli, particularly near the end of his life, took some solace from what he believed to be the sound provisions he had made for them. He left an estate valued at more than £25,000, the equivalent in today’s terms of more than $3,400,000. The principal provisions of this will, which was prepared in August 1914, left Mater all his personal property, the right to live at ‘The Farlands’ and half the income from the estate for the rest of her life or until she remarried. The estate was then to be divided, with half being shared among his children from his first marriage and half among the children from his second marriage. Harry and Charles Penn were the executors of the will and trustees of the estate.38 Initially, Ida Malone received an income from the estate of between £150 and £240 a year, which combined with her war widow’s pension from the New Zealand Government of £249.12, gave her an annual income of between £400 and £490. She found this inadequate and asked the trustees in 1922 for capital payments of £100 per annum for her two younger children.39 New Zealand was affected by a severe economic recession after the end of the First World War that was caused by a collapse in agricultural prices. Efforts by the Penn brothers to recover money owed to the estate met with little success. The recession greatly reduced the income of the Malone estate, the major asset of which was farmland. The situation of the Malone estate was, it appears, made worse by the fact that Malone had personally guaranteed mortgages to people who became insolvent. By 1924 Ida Malone was receiving an allowance of o
nly £40 each year from the estate. Ida Malone was placed in such a difficult financial position by these developments, that she was unable to purchase a home and lived a peripatetic existence in rented rooms or cottages. She was obliged to sell her jewellery and was unable, as she wished, to visit New Zealand.40
Ida Malone’s situation was made even worse when she lost her personal effects. Norah Malone packed the effects during a visit to New Zealand in the 1920s and arranged with the Penn brothers for them to be sent to England. It appears Norah wrote to Ida telling her that the items were on their way, but this letter never seems to have reached Ida Malone and after sitting on the wharf in England for a year the personal effects were returned to New Zealand. Brian Malone then decided to sell the effects to recoup the shipping costs. This incident indicates the extent to which the English and New Zealand parts of the Malone family had by the 1920s become estranged from each other or had simply lost contact.41 Ida faced her problems with considerable fortitude, and although she suffered from health problems, did her best for her children. She is remembered by her grandchildren as a generous, affectionate and cheerful woman whose life was blighted by her husband’s death and her straitened circumstances. Before the Second World War, Ida Malone was allocated, much to her relief, a small cottage for war widows in Morden, Surrey. She died in 1946.42
Norah Malone was on very good terms with her stepmother and remained in the United Kingdom for most of the rest of her life. During the Great War she served as a Red Cross nurse. Norah Malone later married a British Army officer and died in Scotland in 1983. After her husband’s death, Ida Malone was not in a position, because of ill health and financial concerns, to look after her youngest child Molly who was sent to a convent at the age of five. Molly Malone later lived with her mother until her marriage in 1938 and again briefly during the Blitz on London. She died at the age of 69 in 1979. Barney and Denis Malone were sent to boarding schools and, like their sister, suffered from homesickness and a general feeling that their childhoods had been irretrievably damaged by the loss of their father.43