Venereal Disease

No reliable statistics exist for the rates of infection by venereal disease (VD) of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the First World War. The official medical history gave a figure of approximately 3,600 cases per annum but unofficial estimates by medical personnel placed it as high as 16,000 cases a year.

When the NZEF landed in Egypt, its commander, Major-General Sir Alexander Godley, expected that 10% of his men could be made unfit for service by VD. Although strenuous attempts were made to prevent VD through "moral persuasion", practical, if rudimentary, medical efforts were also instituted to try and deal with the problem. The New Zealand army approach to this was to convince men to get early treatment as soon as possible after sexual relations rather than provide preventive measures. Chronic or bad cases were sent back home as examples to others, and as a form of punishment were sent to an isolation camp on an island in Dunedin harbour. These cases were considered deliberate and wilful attempts to evade service in the field by the authorities and should be treated as an offence, as you would treat the offence of self inflicted wounds. Hospitalisation of VD patients saw them treated as criminals; their pay was docked by two shillings for each day spent in hospital and they were in buildings surrounded by barbed wire and guarded to prevent any break outs. Godley made no official record of these measures, perhaps not surprising given the potential for moral outrage and scandal back in New Zealand.

The move of the NZEF to the Western Front in 1916 saw infection rates continue to rise, despite the efforts of people such as anti-VD campaigner Ettie Rout. The venereal disease rate was particularly high amongst New Zealand soldiers and it was estimated that there was always at least a battalion out of the line suffering from the effects of VD at any one time. In the first six months of 1917, 1,138 New Zealanders were admitted to hospital with VD, 915 in England, 223 in France. In 1917 the venereal disease rate continued to climb amongst New Zealand troops and 15.27 per 1000 troops a month contracted venereal disease.

The problem became such an issue that Prime Minister William Massey even complained about it at the Imperial War Conference in 1917. Finally Defence Minister Sir James Allen instructed the NZEF commanders to take effective action to deal with the problem and prophylactic kits began to be issued to men going on leave. Although publically funded it continued, perhaps understandably, not to be publicised in New Zealand.

After the armistice VD continued to be an issue. The large number of men who returned to new Zealand with VD in 1919 led the Public Health Department to set up clinics in Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin to provide treatment. Soldiers were returning with untreated venereal disease and this led to a dramatic increase in the rate of venereal disease within the civilian community, and this also created animosity towards returning soldiers.

One of the great myths of New Zealand’s involvement in World War One is that although other armies participated in such ill disciplined behaviour New Zealand soldiers did not. Propaganda had portrayed the New Zealand soldiers as clean living, high spirited ‘boys’ dedicated to the defence of the Empire and non-sexual beings. This was not necessarily the truth therefore this aspect of the war has been largely ignored over the years.