Anzac Massacre: the story of Surafend (Part 3)

"As morning dawned we stood and watched / That devastated scene / Where but a single yesterday / Had flourished Surafeen." In the final episode of a three-part series, RNZ's Black Sheep investigates the Surafend massacre of December 1918.Read more about the story of Surafend on the RNZ website here.T’was a never to be forgotten nightThe village was soon in flamesThe wallads knocked when sightedBut protected were the dames.Although we are fighting AnzacsOur honour we upholdAnd treat the women fairlyAs did our ancestors of old.As morning dawned we stood and watchedThat devastated sceneWhere but a single yesterdayHad flourished SurafeenWe turned away in silenceBut feeling justifiedThat for our murdered comradeWe would gladly have died.- RSA Review, August 1938These lines are extracted from a longer poem published in RSA Review, the official magazine for New Zealand War veterans. They were credited to an unnamed New Zealand soldier who participated in the 1918 Surafend massacre.In the final episode of our three part series RNZ's Black Sheep we look at the unanswered questions surrounding these killings, and especially the question of what motivated them.Host William Ray speaks to military historian Terry Kinloch, author of Devils on Horses, Paul Daley, author of Beersheba and New Zealand Defence Force Historian John CrawfordFurther sources:Interview with former Anzac Mounted Division soldier Edward O'BrienWhat Happened at Surafend by Terry Kinloch - WW100Australian Light Horse Studies CentreTranscript of John Crawford's lecture on the Senussi CampaignGo to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details