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Latest News: Farewell to Belgium
Added: 29 May 11Last day of my stay in Iper. After a restful night I got up early to attend church service with the Sutherlands at the St George’s Memorial Church, an Anglican church. It is a memorial church because almost everything inside the church has been given in memory of either an individual or a regiment from all nations, including New Zealand. The church was opened for worship by the Bishop of... more
Latest News: In Flanders fields...
Added: 28 May 11Had a busy last few days. Visited the site of the Christmas Truce of 1914 and Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917. Today, I visited Saturday Market at Cloth Hall with John and Marianne. Cloth Hall was completely ruined during the war and has since been rebuilt and standing majestically as it did before the war. It is hard to imagine I was walking along Menin Road where hundreds of thousands of... more
Latest News: Bells of peace
Added: 24 May 11Had a wonderful day trip with Freddy deClerck, a retired Naval Officer and President of the Passchendaele Society 1917 (check out his blog on “The Belgians have not Forgotten” website). Freddy is an authority on the ANZACS, in particular the New Zealanders. The first place we visited was the Mesen Museum . We were met by Steven Reynaert, curator/historian, who took us on a private tour of... more
Latest News: Onward to Belgium
Added: 23 May 11Left London for Belgium this morning supported by two members of the New Zealand Defence Staff based in London - Squadron Leader Lyall Stewart, Logistics Adviser and Warrant Officer Robyn Gell, who attended Longlook 2011. Our hosts in Belgium were John and Marianne Sutherland, a couple from Britain who are now living in Iper (the Flemish name for Ypres). They are volunteers of the Dolores Cross... more
Media coverage: Crosses to remember those lost
Added: 27 Apr 11SMALL native flax crosses found on war graves around the world are the result of one woman’s painstaking work to ensure our fallen soldiers are not forgotten. Dolores Ho is an archivist at the National Army Museum in Waiouru and her vision is to place a cross made from the flax on every Kiwi war grave. On a quiet Sunday afternoon in early April 2008, she made the first 100 crosses... more
Latest News: Meeting the Prime Minister
Added: 26 Apr 11I had an amazing day at Westminster Abbey as we gathered for the Anzac Day service. I met some important people there quite unexpectedly. Judy Rieck and her husband Trevor are volunteers who did hundreds of graves in UK, Belgium and Turkey. I have never met them before but have seen photos of them. I recognised Judy in the crowd when we were leaving Westminster Abbey after the Anzac Day... more
Latest News: Photos from Staffordshire
Added: 23 Apr 11We've loaded photos of Dolores' time in Staffordshire onto the Dolores Cross Project Facebook page. Go check it out! more
Latest News: Anzac Day is nearing
Added: 22 Apr 11My time at Staffordshire is nearing an end. It has been wonderful to visit Cannock Chase, the place where the Dolores Cross was first placed, and to walk the grounds where brave New Zealand soldiers trained to face the tough environment of war. I am very grateful to Richard Pursehouse and Lee Dent for being such amazing friends and tour guides. I am so blessed to call you "my friends". I... more
Latest News: Where the wounded were tended to...
Added: 20 Apr 11Today we visited the site of Brindley Hospital, Staffordshire, a military hospital in WWI. We followed a map showing where the wards, medical officers, nurses, and church were originally located. Some of these blocks of concrete (on which the huts were built) are slowly being claimed by the moss and disapppearing, but the general areas can still be easily made out. Of special interest were the... more
Media coverage: Anzac Efforts Remembered
Added: 18 Apr 11News article from the Express Star, Staffordshire on the 2011 Anzac Day ceremony at Cannock Chase Commonwealth War Cemetary, United Kingdom. more
Latest News: Facebook and Twitter
Added: 18 Apr 11The Dolores Cross Project has entered the world of social media! Join our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. more
Latest News: My first Anzac Day ceremony in the UK
Added: 18 Apr 11What an amazing 2 days I've just had! On Sat 17 April, I visited the CWGC cemetery at Cannock Chase – where the first Dolores Cross were placed in 2008. It was a moving experience to place the 73 crosses on the graves ready for the Anzac Day ceremony the next day. I felt privileged to have a moment of quiet reflection as each grave received a tenderly placed Dolores Cross and poppy.... more
Latest News: Anzac Day ceremony 2011 - Cannock Chase, England
Added: 17 Apr 11Today, Dolores attended the annual Anzac Day ceremony at Cannock Chase, England. The Queen's representative, and military representatives from Australia and New Zealand were in attendance. In recognition of the efforts of the Dolores Cross Project, Dolores was invited to place a memorial wreath on behalf of the Western Front Association. Hymns were sung and the bugler sounded the Last... more
Latest News: RAF Hednesford
Added: 15 Apr 11Richard Pursehouse and Parker (the friendly dog) accompanied me to visit RAF Hednesford today. more
Latest News: Arrived safe and sound in the UK
Added: 14 Apr 11I am now in UK safe and sound. It's been 32 years since I was last in the UK and I'm looking forward to seeing the country again. I'm particularly looking forward to catching up with the project volunteers. Lt-Colonel Nick Gillard of the NZ Embassy in London has been very kind in helping me with various arrangement. Richard Pursehouse (volunteer) and his wife have offered me a warm bed and... more
Latest News: Stop over in Singapore - Kranji
Added: 13 Apr 11Stopped over briefly in Malaysia and Singapore on my way to Europe. Had a lovely time catching up with some of my family. While I was in Singapore I had the opportunity to visit the graves of NZ military personnel at Kranji cemetery. I took an hour bus ride there and spent over 3 hrs searching, placing crosses and photographing graves, names of memorial panels of Kiwis who served with NZ... more
Latest News: Dolores visiting UK, France and Belgium
Added: 4 Apr 11Dolores is currently visting UK, France and Belgium until early June 2011. During this trip, Dolores will be visiting cemeteries to lay crosses, attending various Anzac Day ceremonies, and meeting with numerous volunteers who have helped the project along its way. Follow Dolores' travels on our website blog, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter. more
Media coverage: Archives New Zealand supports Dolores Cross Project
Added: 1 Mar 11The Dolores Cross Project was founded in April 2008 by Dolores Ho in response to the high demand from New Zealanders wanting information about New Zealand Military personnel buried on foreign soil. Dolores says , “I thought it be a good idea to do something for families who have never seen or been to visit the graves of their loved ones.” The project aims to personally pay tribute to... more
Media coverage: Funds needed for cross project
Added: 23 Feb 11The Dolores Cross, a not-for-profit memorial initiative started by archivist Dolores Ho of the National Army Museum, was first placed on the graves of New Zealand soldiers at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery on Cannock Chase in Staffordshire, England in 2008. Ms Ho said the day was poignant, since it was the 90th anniversary of the first Anzac Day, which was commemorated... more
Media coverage: RNZA Association supports Dolores Cross Project
Added: 7 Feb 11Several thousand of the 30,000 New Zealand military personnel graves overseas now carry a personal and uniquely New Zealand tribute of a 'Dolores Cross' thanks to the inspiration and hard work of Waiouru lady, and National Army Museum Archivist, Dolores Ho. The Dolores Cross is a simple, hand-made, woven Harakeke (New Zealand flax) cross designed through trial and error and a bit of... more
Media coverage: National Army Museum - The Dolores Cross Project Needs Poppies
Added: 1 Jan 11Several thousand of the 30,000 New Zealand military personnel graves overseas now carry a personal and uniquely New Zealand tribute of a 'Dolores Cross' thanks to the inspiration and hard work of Waiouru lady, and National Army Museum Archivist, Dolores Ho. The Dolores Cross is a simple, hand-made, weaved Harakeke (New Zealand flax) cross designed through trial and error and a bit of... more
Latest News: Welcome to our website
Added: 11 Nov 10Welcome to the Dolores Cross Project website! It is fitting that we launched this website on 11 November 2010, Armistice Day, otherwise known as Remembrance Day. The Project has been quietly going about its work since 2008 and the support we have received has been overwhelming. To date, we have covered about 10% of the graves. With over 30,000 New Zealand military personnel buried on... more
Media coverage: Handmade tributes mark soldiers' graves - Poppies given Kiwi touch
Added: 13 Oct 10An army museum archivist hopes to place a little bit of New Zealand on the graves of 33,000 Kiwis buried in foreign soil. After a day's work at the National Army Museum in Waiouru, Dolores Ho returns home to make hundreds of crosses from native flax to be placed at military cemeteries around the world. Ho made her first crosses from harakeke in 2008 after trying to gather enough... more
Latest News: Dolores Cross Project at Cannock Chase, England
Added: 19 Apr 10Volunteers Richard Pursehouse and Lee Dent explain the objective of the Dolores Cross Project in this video filmed at Cannock Chase, England more
Media coverage: Army Museum Archivist’s personal tribute to lost soldiers: The Belgians have not forgotten
Added: 26 Aug 09A year ago, Dolores Ho, the archivist at the National Army Museum, began weaving flax crosses as a tribute to the New Zealanders who lost their lives in overseas conflicts. Her vision is to place a cross made from harakeke on every New Zealand war grave. “The majority of soldiers have never had a visitor since the day they were buried and that prompted me to make an effort to... more