From the feedback we have received at http://www.ozfiji.com there appears to be great interest in Fiji’s contribution to World War 1 particularly the service made by individuals from Fiji in what history has come to refer to as the “Great War of 1914-1918”. The notes below are provided to shed more light on Fiji’s contribution to that War.
Fiji's contribution to the First World War:
- Total number of men and women who left Fiji for service in the War was 788. These include:
- the Fiji Contingent of 250 men that served with various regiments of the British Army especially the Kings Royal Rifle Corps (a regiment now known as the ‘Royal Green Jackets’)
- the Fiji Labour Corps of 108 men under Ratu Sukuna who were employed on stevedoring and other logistical roles in the French ports of Marseilles and Calais and the port of Taranto in Italy.
- Enlisted in England 100
- Enlisted in Australia 210
- Enlisted in New Zealand 120
- All these volunteers saw service in virtually every theatre of the war from Mesopotamia to the North Sea, from the killing fields of France and Belgium to the sands of the North African campaign
- 131 were either killed in action or died of wounds or other causes. They are buried in various British Commonwealth cemeteries.
- Of the 131 who gave their lives, 11 were indigenous Fijians of the Fiji Labour Corps. Nine Fijians were buried in cemeteries in the French cities of Calais and Marseilles and one other was buried in the Italian port city of Taranto. One Fijian soldier, Ratu Viliame Vakaotia of Somosomo village in Taveuni, was buried at sea in the Atlantic whilst on the return sea journey back to Fiji after the war.
- Over 100 men received commissions and 34 received decorations.
- Of the 34 who received decorations for their war service were Captain Norman Walter Faddy, Military Cross (bar) and pilot Clive Brewster Joske, Military Cross (bar). Joske joined the Royal Flying Corps and was declared an ‘Air Ace’ after shooting down eight enemy aircraft.
- One of the two nursing sisters from Fiji who went to serve in the war, Sister Gertrude Helena Faddy, sister of Captain Norman Faddy, was awarded the Royal Red Cross decoration for her service as a military nurse. After the war she returned to Fiji and served as Matron of the Levuka Hospital.
- There is record of a Edwin Hughes from Fiji being awarded the Military Medal for his service with the Australians in Gallipolli, Turkey.
- The province of Rewa purchased an aeroplane for the Royal Flying Corps and the provinces of Lau and Lomaiviti purchased three ambulances for the British Red Cross Society. The province of Cakaudrove provided funds to purchase beds and equipment for the Star and Garter Home for Disabled Soldiers. Another province raised more than 10,000 pounds for the war effort. These were but some examples of community support for the war.
Contributions to this historical section are welcome in that they contribute to our self-knowledge.
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