Passchendaele. An emotive word which conjures up the horrors of all wars, especially for those now intimately connected with what was then a small and innocuous village in Flanders, the Flemish region of Belgium. In terms of casualties, the morning of 12 October 1917 was - and is - the worst day in New Zealand's history of warfare. As many as 846 of our young men died and, by the end of the day, the dead, wounded and missing numbered 2740.

How and why did this happen? Most of us in the Passchendaele Society, and more so New Zealanders at large, know little of the whys and wherefores. But, if you come along to a special commemoration evening in October, you’ll learn a great deal more.

The Society is staging an event on the 104th anniversary of our darkest day, at which Dr Christopher Pugsley will examine the background reasons for the battle - and assess responsibility.

Lt Col. Christopher Pugsley (rtd), ONZM, DPhil, FRHistS, is an authority on New Zealand at war. He is the author/editor of some 20 books on all aspects of New Zealand military history. He lives at Waikanae Beach where he continues to write.

This is an opportunity to hear about Passchendaele from one of the few experts - a chance to realise the terrible reality which that battle was and understand how it came about that so many of our men were lost to us.