Today is ANZAC day in Australia and New Zealand, which is our equivalent to Remembrance Day or Memorial Day in the USA. This year I decided to do something different.

 

A couple of months ago my Grandmother passed away, which got my thinking about her life. She was born in 1920, so would have been 19 at the outbreak of WW2. She married and her husband went off to fight in Europe. My father was born in 1942, just after my grandfather was sent overseas. So she was left back home to raise a child on her own not knowing if her husband would ever return. Sometimes we forget how difficult this would have been for the people during this time. War ended in 1945 when she was 25 years old, fortunately her husband survived the war, as my grandfather was an officer he wasn't able to come home until 1949, as he still had duties in Europe. So this was 7 years my grandparents where apart from each other.

 

This year I decided with my friend Awfi we were going to make her into a singer from the second world war, and tonight she is going to sing a Vera Lynn song and an ANZAC day song in front of Wellington to recreate that era when women would entertain the troops. I am doing her hair and make-up for this event in honour of my Grandmother, she was a hairdresser and taught me everything I know.

 

Here are some pictures of our dress rehearsal from a couple of days ago. Period Hair and Make-up is one of my specialities and it is amazing seeing the transformation of a young girl in 2013 to a 1945 singer to entertain the troops.

 

Awhi before

 

Preperations

 

Final Look

 

 

 

I am a big big fan of this era so I am looking forward to seeing her sing tonight. I hope my gran is looking down on us with a big smile tonight.

 

Lest we forget the fallen and those lost in conflict, so it is humbling to do this today in memory of my grandmother as well as the many lives lost in war.

Matt

 

You did a wonderful job on the hairstyle/makeup, it looks just like that time period!

 

Best of luck for the performance tonight, I am sure it will be appreciated by all. This is such a fantastic idea to honour those who served not only in WW2, but in all conflicts.

 

Regards,

Thanks Ryan.

 

The event is called We'll Meet Again and starts about an hour from now. Here is a little verbage on the event

 

Presented by: Wellington City Council

Be taken back in time with classic songs from the wartime era.

Wellington City Council presents a tribute concert to the servicemen and women of the First and Second World Wars, to take place on Anzac Day.

Most people will have been up before the sun at various dawn service commemorations. This concert is a way for veterans to remember their friends, for families to remember their forebears and for all of us to collectively remember those who fought overseas during both world wars.

Featuring the Beat Girls and the Central Band of the Royal New Zealand Airforce, with special guests Ainslie Allen, Awhimai Fraser and Billy Watkins.

 

 

 

She will be singing We'll Meet Again by Vera Lynn so this will be pretty cool. She is just 17 years old but she is definitely a rising star. Great to see someone so young learn about the era and sing so well.

 

Here is Vera Lynn's version of that song:

 

How did the ANZAC day performance go? Sounds like an awesome event. I wish there was something like that over here.

 

Regards,

The show was fantastic. The main performance was by the Beat Girls which are based on USA style entertainment when they used to entertain the troops during WW2.

As the US Marines had a camp outside Wellington during WW2 that sort of culture of the time is still popular here. These girls have been performing for over 10 years now. Here is a press shot of them:



Awhi did a great job with her two songs. She learned a lot from it and sang it in the style of the time and didn't put a modern twist on things. She learned a lot of the history of the time as well, and that makes the entire project worth it for me.

I used to do film and television work back home but the only thing going on in New Zealand at the moment are the Hobbits (not my thing) I wish Peter Jackson would get his head out of Middle Earth and do a film about the Dambusters already. If he did then I would jump at that opportunity to work on that set. Rumor has it he wants to do a WW1 aviation film as well. There is a large collection of WW1 aircraft and props up in the Wairapa ready to go and Weta has built 10 scale Lancaster Bombers. Filming is on hold for now.