Revisited:
As the sun rises on Anzac Day dawn services on Wednesday, Tongans will remember the 94 young men from the islands who served in the First World War.
The young men who enlisted were mainly expatriate Europeans who had been born in or worked in the kingdom, but several Tongans also enlisted.
A roll call of the names of those who fought in the 1914-18 war contains familiar Tongan names: Fotu, Faletau, Tu’inukuafe, Taliaʻuli, Lomu and Mohenoa.
There are European names like Leger, Mahoney, Cowley, Sanft, Muller, Payne, Hurrel, Harper, Ramsay, Walter and Lynch which are still attached to large families on Tonga
Among those who went to war were people who rose to prominence later in life, such as Sateki Faletau, who served in the Maori Contingent and the New Zealand Medical Corps and later became Governor of Vava’u and Minister for Police.
But there are many more others with more ordinary backgrounds: Bakers, teachers, storekeepers and traders who came home after the war and went back to their trades and professions.
Only one Tongan died during the war. He was Sione Talia’uli, who died of pneumonia in 1918. He is buried in Palestine.
The names of the volunteers from Tonga or those with a connection to the kingdom have been gathered together in a new book by Christine Liava’a, Koe Kau To’a Na’anau Poletau. Valiant Volunteers: Soldiers from Tonga in the Great War.
On Monday some of the names from the book were read out on the Kaniva Tonga Radio Programme.
The broadcast prompted a call from Hehea Sina Faletau who told us that her grandfather, Sateki Faletau had gone to war.
His son, Maile Faletau, served during the Second World War as a medical officer.
There was pride in Hehea’s voice as she explained the connection with Sateki.
Here are the list of the Tongan soldiers taken from Christine Liava’a’s book.
Frederick Bruno Delamere, whose original name was Waldermar Bruno Sanft, was a maritime engineer who had trained with J.H. Adams of New Zealand for six years. When he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), he claimed to be of British nationality. In reality he was a German subject as his parents, Franz Carl Sanft and Martha Agnes Lehmann Sanft were both Germans, although living in Tonga.
Joseph Clarence Hughes was a musician, aged 30, born in Tonga. He enlisted in the AIF in the Australian Imperial Force in June 1916.
Edward Stewart James was a veterinary surgeon. He was the son of the Rev. C E James and was born in Tonga on November 29, 1889, when his father was working there.
Claude Napier King was born in Charters Towers, Queensland, but was living in Nuku’alofa in 1915. He was killed in action on August 8, 1918, by a sniper. His body was not recovered.
Walter Leyden was a son of John Henry Leyden or Lyden and Cecilia Elizabeth Leyden (nee Johnson) of Vava’u, Tonga.
Robert Hugh McGlew was an Englishman who was born in Sydney, New South Wales. He was an accountant working in Tonga and was 36 when he listed in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1917.
Harry Monk was an Englishman who was born in West Auckland and migrated to Australia and then Tonga. He was a surveyor and a member of the Nuku’aofa Club.
James Egan Moulton was the grandson of the Rev James Egan Moulton, founder of Tupou College.
Alfred Egbert Roberts was the son of John Hartley Roberts, Director of Education for Tonga and principal of Tonga College in the 1880s.
John Trotter was appointed as second assistant teacher at Tonga College in 1914, then became Government plantation manager.
Reverend J Laurent F Benezeth was a Marist brother in Tonga. Born in 1881, he is listed on the Tongan War Memorial
Reverend Camille Doizy was a Marist brother in Tonga, born 1884. He left Tonga for France during the war and is listed on the Tongan War Memorial.
William Kanani Rudling was born in Hawai’i in 1896, the son of Thomas George Rudling and his Hawai’ian wife Eugenia Kahele. The family moved to Tonga where T.G. Rudling became the Assistant Collector of Customs and Postmaster in Vava’u
John William Alo.
Charles William Boyer travelled to Auckland from Tonga in early 1916 and joined the 4th Maori Contingent. He was a Lance Corporal in the No 1 Platoon.
Sateki Faletau of Vava’u was a medical student and hospital attendant in Tonga. He was born at Neiafu, Vava’u on October 24, 1894 and came to New Zealand in July 1916, aged 21. He enlisted and served as a Lance Corporal in the Maori Contingent. He embarked for England on October 11, 1916 from Wellington on the Tofua, but was discharged there as medically unfit. He returned to New Zealand then re-enlisted in 1919 in the New Zealand Medical Corps. He was finally discharged in 1920 and returned to Tonga, where he later married Celia Elizabeth Leyden, also of Vava’u. He is listed on the Tongan War Memorial.
His full name was Sateki Veikune Faletau and he became the Hon. Siosateki Veikuna Faletau, 11th ‘Akau’ola, on December 8, 1932. He was Governor of Vava’u between 1936 – 1939, then Lieutenant-Colonel of the Tonga Defence Force during the Second World War and Minister for Police 1939-1952. The late Hon. Siaosi Filiapulotu Faletau, 12th ‘Akau’ola, the late Hon. ‘Inoke Fotu Faletau, 13th ‘Akau’ola, and the Rev Sione Faletau are his sons. His son Maile Faletau also served during the Second World War.
John Harper was a storekeeper for Burns Philp in Tonga. His next of kin was listed as his mother, Mrs Emele Harper of Nuku’alofa. His aunt was Mafikiholeva Percival. In 1916, after being escorted to Auckland because of his intemperate habits, he sailed on the troopship Navua.
Edwin Hughes was a baker and carpenter in Neiafu, Vava’u.
Guy Robert Jury was the son of Captain Jury, a part-Maori settler in Tongatapu with plantations at Fo’ui and Nukunuku
Baisley Leger was the son of James Paul Leger and Mereste Magila Tiumala, both born in Samoa but living in Nuku’alofa since 1897. He was a boat builder who enlisted in New Zealand in 1915, with the Rarotongans attached to B company, 3rd Maori Contingent. He served as a Sergeant and was wounded in a gas attack and evacuated to the 7th Field Ambulance, then to a Convalescent Hospital in France. He married Sela Vete in 1920 and they travelled to New Zealand in 1920. He later married Amelia Toli. He died in Auckland in 1973.
Francis Leger was a seaman, born in 1898, the brother of Baisley Leger. He served in France in the Pioneer Battalion. He returned to Tonga and married Meleane Fatafehi. He died in Vava’u in 1967 and listed on the Tongan War Memorial
David Loma or Lomu was an assistant Harbourmaster of Nuku’alofa, the son of Mafu. He enlisted in the 7th Maori Reinforcement as a Private and embarked from Wellington on August 16, 1916, for England. He is listed on the Tongan War Memorial.
Ernest Mitchell travelled to New Zealand from Vava’u in 1916.
Wiliam Robert Moore, aged 28, was a carpenter who arrived in Auckland from Ha’apai aboard Talune on June 19, 1916.
Adolph Muller was a farmer in Tonga, brother of Miki Muller of Nuku’alofa. They were of Swiss/Samoan descent, being sons of Phillip Muller and Philomena Laukiki. He served in Egypt and Palestine. He returned to Tonga and married Mel Tatafu Fotofili in 1920. He is listed on the Tongan War Memorial. He died in 1960.
Francis Alfred Payne was a farmer who enlisted in Takapuna, Auckland on November 9, 1915. He was born in 1896 in Tonga, a descendent of Alfred Payn and Oli Leva. He embarked from Wellington on February 5, 1916. He returned to New Zealand and was discharged on October 24, 1916. He remained in New Zealand and married Elsie Sunckell from Akaroa in 1920. He served in the Second World War. He died in 1957 in Ashburton, New Zealand, while on holiday.
James Victor Silva, of Portuguese descent, was born in New Zealand in 1889, son of Emanuel and Ethel Elizabeth (Edwards) Silva, but was a carpenter in Nuku’alofa.
Parker Stout Skeen was a cousin of Reginald Skeen. He was a son of Robert Lowis Skeen from New Zealand, chief justice of Tonga and his wife Eliza Fruean.
Sione Taliauli of Nuku’alofa was a young medical student training with Dr Bennett of Blenheim, New Zealand, when war broke out in August 1914. In October 23, 1915 he enlisted in Blenheim and joined the 3rd Maori Contingent as a Private. They trained at Narrow Neck Camp in Auckland then left for Egypt from Wellington in February 1916 on the troopship Navua. On arrival at Suez, he was transferred to various camps within Egypt, appointed temporarily Corporal and then admitted to hospital in Cairo. He died of pneumonia in October 1918. He is buried in Ramallah in Palestine. Sione Taliauli had a child Bakelo or Pakola in Tonga. His medals, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal, were sent to the child care of his aunt Alilua, of Kolofo’ou in 1923. He is listed on the Tongan War Memorial.
George Tu’inukuafe was the son of john Tu’inukuafe (Sione Tuafusi) of Vava’u. He was born in Falepa. He arrived in Auckland in June 18, 1917 as a native clerk and worked as a gardener. He returned to New Zealand in December 1918 and was discharged there at his own request, in March 1919.
Willie John Vea was born on December 19, 1894, and was a medical student from Nuku’alofa. He travelled to New Zealand in 1918. He married Sisilia Fatafehi Tupou in August 1917. He was discharged on December 5, 1918, and returned to Tonga.
Robin Wilkinson Archer was born at Vuna Point, Taviuni, Fiji on April 21, 1874. He was a printer in Tonga.
Augustus Ofa Talauu Chamberlin was born in Nuku’alofa, Tonga in 1895.
Guy Waller Chamberlin, the brother of Ofa, was born in Tonga on August 9, 1898, and served as Private 76528
George Adrian Chester, an Englishman, a civil servant in Tonga Vava’u in 1915.
Henry William Cocker was the grandson of Joshua Cocker, the first British Consul in Tonga.
Joseph North Cocker was another grandson of Joshua Cocker, the first British Consul in Tonga.
Harold Eric Coleman lived in Tonga until early 1915.
Albert William Cook was a seaman born in 1894, the son of Albert William Cook.
Ralph Tugi Cowley was one of the Cowley family who are bakers in Nuku’alofa. He was the eldest son of Alfred and Mary Harriette Cowley originally from Derbyshire, England who arrived in Nuku’alofa in 1885. According to a death notice inserted in the New Zealand Herald by his sister Mrs Morre. He was aged 16 years and 10 months when he died. He is listed on the Tongan War Memorial.
Roy Leslie Donaldson was born in 1889 in Raglan and is listed on the Tonga War Memorial.
Otto Fiedler was the son of John Fiedler of Nuku’alofa.
Dan Flood was a Customs officer born in 1898, whose mother, Mrs J.H. Spurr, lived in Whakatane. He arrived in New Zealand from Tonga in February 1916.
William Flower was a New Zealand railways clerk born in Nuku’alofa in 1898.
Tevita or David Fotu was born on March 19, 1888, in Nuku’alofa, the son of Nai Fotu of Tonga. He was a school teacher employed by the Tongan Education Board. He became a forestry worker at Woodhill, north of Auckland. He died in 1952 aged 64 and was cremated at Purewa Cemeter, Auckland.
Alexander Charles Taufa Goedicke was born in Tonga in May 1896.
Henry Hammerell was born in Samoa and was of Swedish descent. He was married to Alice Rose Cocker. He was killed at the battle of Messines on June 7, 1917. His wife remarried to Taniela Tu’ipulotu Kama of Maofaga. He is listed on the Tongan War Memorial.
George Hurrel was the son of James and Amelia Hurrell nee Lomu of Ha’apai. He was a boat builder born on April 1, 1898 although he gave the date as 1895 on his enlistment papers. He died of influenza while serving in France in July 1918. His father in Tonga received his medals- the British war medal and the Victory Medal in 1921 and 1922 respectively.
Arnold Woodford Izard was the Chief Medical Officer in Tonga in 1914.
Leo Reginald (Mick) Jury was a New Zealand Maori from Wairarapa who had settled at Fo’ui Tongatapu.
Francis Henry Leyden was born in Tonga, the son of John Henry and Cecilia Leyden of Vava’u. He had been in the 2nd reserves and was training at Featherson Camp in Wairarpa when he died of influenza on December 5, 1918 aged 38. His niece Celia or Silia Leyden, a daughter of his brother Robert Leyden, married Sateki Faletau Akau’ola in Vava’u in 1934
James Michael Lynch was the son of Martin and Clara Lynch (nee Parons) of Vava’u. The family moved to Auckland in the early 1900s. He returned to Tonga. James was a Private in the Auckland Infantry Battalion. He embarked for England on June 26, 1916. He returned to New Zealand, then moved to Tonga. He married Sela Tapuaka and later Mele Siale. He returned to New Zealand in the 1950s and died in 1961 aged 74. He is listed on the Tongan War Memorial.
Alfred Patrick Lynch was the brother of James Lynch.
Brian Gerald Mahoney was working in Vava’u, Tonga. He served as a Sergeant in the Auckland Regiment, was commissioned into the Royal Munster Fusiliers in 1917 and then attached to the Royal Air Force. According to a report in the Otago Daily Times he was killed in a flying accident on September 3, 1918.
William Handcock Mackay was a trader working for M.Muller at Tabikofe, Tongatapu and living in Nukunuku.
Tevita Mohenoa (Divit Mohenor) was a ship’s steward, living in New Zealand. His father was Esefe (Esafe) Mohenoa of Nuku’alofa.
Llewellyn Martin Nicholas born on January 18, 1876 in New Zealand and was a trader in Vava’u.
John Oswald was a trader in Tonga and served as a storeman.
Edward Lesley Joseph Parker was born in Tonga on November 2, 1884, and educated there. His brother Francis Robert Parker was born in Eua, Tonga, in 1874
Jack Parsons was born in Tongatapu on 25 March 1896.
William Parsons was the brother of Jack Parsons and was born in Tonga on May 1, 1894.
Thomas William and Harry Parsons were cousins of Jack Parsons and William Parsons, who were part Tongan, and also served in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force.
Charles Stuart Ramsey was the brother of Robert Campbell Ramsey and Arthur Gordon Ramsay. Charles return to Tonga and lived in Niuafo’ou. He is listed on the Tongan War Memorial.
Robert Campbell Ramsay was the brother of Charles Stuart Ramsey, who was born in England in 1890. He won the Military Medal in October 1918 for his actions during an attack on German guns and tanks.
Owen Robert Ricks was born in Canada and was a storekeeper in Tonga.
William Douglas Robbins was an Englishman and a trader at Mu’a. He had been in Tonga since 1910.
Thomas Victor Roberts was the son of John Hartley Roberts, the director of Education and Principal of Tonga College in the 1880s. He was born in Australia in 1880. He worked for the Bank of Australasia and in 1899 he went to Tonga as Chief Clerk in the Customs Dept. He later became Treasurer of Tonga and Assistant Premier in 1907. He spoke Tongan fluently.
Reginald William Skeen was the nephew of Robert Lowis Skeen, the Chief Justice of Tonga. Reginald spent time in Tonga and is named in the Tongan War Memorial.
Robert Stout Skeen was a cousin of Reginald Skeen, son of Robert Lowis Skeen, Chief Justice of Tonga. Robert was a printer’s apprentice in Nuku’alofa.
George Joshua Skudder was a son of George Charles Skudder. George Joshua Skudder returned to Tonga and married Meletonga Prescott, with whom he had 11 chioldren.
Stanley Benjamin Skudder was another son of George Charles Skudder. He returned to Tonga and marry Mele Talia Tupou and had five children. He is also listed on the Tongan War Memorial.
Victor Percy Stuart worked as a clerk for Burns Philp in Tonga. He died in Auckland and is listed on the Tongan War Memorial
William Karmer Walter was born in Maofaga in 1888, the son of Carlos Kramer-Walter from Brazil.
Afelei was possibly a Nuiean living in Tonga. He is mentioned in the Tongan War Memorial.
Fata, a volunteer aged 23, was born in Niue. He arrived in Auckland from Nuku’alofa, Tonga aboard the Talune on on December 6, 1915.
Lauho, a 22 years-old volunteer from Niue, arrived in Auckland from Nuku’alofa, Tonga aboard the Talune on December 6, 1915. His last residence was Tonga, Nuku’alofa.
Mata’afi, a 27 years-old Niuean volunteer, arrived in Auckland aboard the Talune from Nuku’alofa, Tonga
Sino Folitau was a seaman born in Niue in 1888 who arrived in Auckland from Tonga on March 28, 1916.
K Inoke Utonika Thomas, 20, was of partly Tongan descent. He enlisted as no.22 in the 3rd Fiji Contingent on 15 April 1918.
Joseph Ratabua Vave was 21 when he enlisted in the 3rd Fiji Contingent. He was of Fijian and Tongan descent. He was the son of the Methodist minister of Davuilevu, Fiji who in turn was the son of the Rev. Mataiasi Vave from Masilamea, Tongatapu, one of the original Tongan Missionaries to Fiji.
Eminioni Kadivuki was of mixed Tokelauan and Tongan decsent. He was age 20 when he joined the 3rd Fiji Contingent
- Barlow is listed on the Tongan War Memorial
- Brown from Ha’apai was born in Scotland. He was 29 when he arrived in Auckland on November 7, 1915 from Tonga. He is listed on the Tongan War Memorial.
- J. Chapman lived in Vava’u in 1915. He is listed on the Tongan War Memorial.
B Ferguson is listed on the Tongan War Memorial.
Jack Harrison lived in Vava’u in 1915. He is listed on the Tongan War Memorial
Mr Folita (possibly Sino Folitau) was born in Tonga and arrived in Auckland aboard the Talune on March 28, 1916, from Nuku’alofa.
- Johnstone is listed on the Tongan War Memorial
W.A. Lee is listed on the Tongan War Memorial.
A.A Smith is listed on the Tongan War Memorial.
Mr Leiden (first name uncertain, but not Walter Leyden or Francis Leyden) was born in Tonga and served in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. He was 24 when he arrived in arrived Auckland on March 28, 1916 from Tonga.
Mr Teliti (first name uncertain) served in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. He was 27 when he arrived in Auckland from Tonga March 28, 1916.
William Duncan was a Scotsman born in 1875. He was an agent in Nuku’alofa
James Ferguson Scott.
Arthur F.L. Tindall had lived in Tonga for many years as a trader. He was living at Remuera, Auckland as an Island merchant when he enlisted in the 1st Reserves.
Editor’s note
I would like to thank Christine Liava’a for allowing Kaniva Pacific News to use the list of soldiers and their backgrounds from her book, Koe Kau To’a Na’anau Poletau. Valiant Volunteers: Soldiers from Tonga in the Great War.
You can contact the author at [email protected] if you would like to buy her book.
The book is published by Polygraphianz. The publisher’s website is www.polygraphianz.com
Telling the story of Tonga’s soldiers
Christine Liava’a has written a number of books bringing together the names and biographical details of soldiers from the Pacific islands who volunteered in the First World War.
She began her work on the Tongan book after completing a history of Fijian soldiers. She had also written about soldiers from Samoa and the central pacific islands.
She had earlier republished the index of Niuean solders from Margaret Pointer’s book Tagi Tote E Loto Haaku- My Heart is Crying, a history of the Niuean Contingent in the First World War.
Of those who volunteered from Tonga, she said most were foreigners living in the kingdom.
However, many had Tongan relatives.
“I actually expected that, because it was the same in Fiji,” she said.
“But I was surprised to find that a few actual Tongans did enlist, particularly since they did not need to, were not asked to, and were not British citizens.”
Liava’a said she was disappointed that she had received so little response to the book and hoped that more people would become interested in the soldiers.
The author will be giving a talk at the Auckland War Memorial Museum at the Te Kakano section at 12.30pm on Anzac Day.
She will also be appearing on Tangata Pasifika.
The main points
- As the sun rises on Anzac Day dawn services this Saturday, Tongans will remember the 94 young men from the islands who served in the First World War.
- The young men who enlisted were mainly expatriate Europeans who had been born in or worked in the kingdom, but several Tongans also enlisted.
- The only Tongan to die in the war was Sione Talia’uli’, who was buried in Palestine in 1918.
- The names of the volunteers from Tonga have been gathered together in a new book by Christine Liava’a, Koe Kau To’a Na’anau Poletau. Valiant Volunteers: Soldiers from Tonga in the Great War.
For more information
Passion for History (Fiji Times interview with Christine Liava’a)
WWI: Tongan soldiers struggled in a strange land (New Zealand Herald)
To find out more about individual soldiers, including service records and numbers, you can search the records at these museums:
