Between the devil and the deep blue sea - University of Canterbury

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Blom of the Nederlands Instituut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie (Netherlands' Institute
for War Documentation, NIOD) in Amsterdam for allowing me to use the NIOD's
resources and letting me participate in their workgroup on the Great War; Dr. Wim
Klinkert at the Koninklijke Militaire Academie (Royal Military Academy, KMA) in
Breda, for some very helpful thoughts on Chapter 2, helping me come to grips with
Dutch military terminology, and showing me around the KMA library; Hans van
Lith (President of the Western Front Association of the Netherlands) for taking a
day out to drive me around the country looking for monuments; the staff at the
Algemeen Rijksarchief(State Archives) in The Hague and Legermuseum (Army
Museum) in Delft; and the staff of Amersfoort, Den Helder and The Hague
municipalities for fielding some difficult questions about local monuments.
I would also very much like to express my gratitude to: Dr. Marc Frey at
the University ofK6ln for showing initial interest in my project, giving me a copy
of his subsequently published book, and helping me define my subj ect better; Dr.
Hubert van Tuyll (Augusta University) for sending me copies of his unpublished
papers and stimulating debate; Dr. Leo van Bergen for sending a copy of his article
and a chapter of his thesis to me; Assoc. Prof. Geoffrey Rice in the History
Department of the University of Canterbury for the information on the influenza
pandemic of 1918 and its tragic results; Prof. Pat Bodger of the Electrical
Engineering Department at the University of Canterbury for enlightening me about
the intricacies of electric CUlTent and explaining how much, passing through thin
fencing wire, can kill a person; enthusiasts on the WWI discussion lists and for some interesting debates,
facts and figures. I CalIDOt begin to thank the staff of Interloans Department of the
University of Canterbury Library enough for all they have done to get obscure
references for me. I must apologise profusely for all the extra work I have asked
them to do.
My heart-felt appreciation also goes out to Megan Woods and Dr. Andrew
Conway for their patience in listening to my many thesis gripes, and to Andrew
especially for all the long hours he spent proof-reading this manuscript. To my aunt,
Marianne Hesp, and cousin, Floor Boselie-Abbenhuis, go my deepest thanks for