Joseph Curtis, aged just 21 [NZWGT - actual age 19], lost his life on 8 October 1917 as sections of the Maori Pioneer Battalion struggled in the deteriorating wet and muddy conditions to build roads for the New Zealand Division's men to get to the Front for the attack on Passchendaele of 12 October.

Born at Levuka in Fiji, Joseph had been an engine driver and a member of the Levuka Defence Force before heading to New Zealand to enlist, which he did in September 1916 using an address in Ponsonby. He sailed for the UK, marched into Sling Camp and, on 14 September 1917, was finally posted to the Maori Pioneer Battalion in Belgium.

Parts of the Battalion were working directly under the command of the New Zealand Division HQ to maximise the gains the Division had made on 4 October by constructing new roads to the front for the build-up to the next attack of 12 October. The weather conditions had deteriorated badly since the 4 October attack and the roads were also under constant artillery fire.

On 7 October Joseph received multiple wounds to the arm, hand, head and abdomen, and was evacuated to a Casualty Clearing Station at Lijssenthoek. He died and was buried the next day, just three and a half weeks after he had joined his unit on the Western Front. [NZ Pilgrimage Trust]