Between 1939 and 1946, the New Zealand Army Ordnance existed in three distinct iterations:

New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (NZAOC): This was the name of the permanent Corps that remained active in New Zealand throughout the entirety of the war. Its primary role was to provide crucial base support functions within New Zealand.

New Zealand Ordnance Corps (NZOC) – Expeditionary Forces: The NZOC played a vital role as part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces deployed in various regions, including the Middle East, Italy, and the Pacific. It served as the Ordnance component supporting these expeditionary forces.

New Zealand Ordnance Corps (NZOC) – Territorial Army: From 1940 to 1946, the NZOC also functioned as the Ordnance component within the Territorial Army, fulfilling its role in the Reserve forces during this period.

NZAOC

At the outset of the war, the NZAOC was a component of the New Zealand Permanent Army. It was still in the process of recovering from the significant downsizing that occurred on the somber day of July 14, 1930, when, as a cost-saving measure, nearly all uniformed staff, except for Officers, Armaments Artificers, and Armourers, had been transferred to the civil service [1].

With the NZAOC’s uniformed manpower greatly reduced, the Corps embarked on a gradual rebuilding process by enlisting new personnel and utilizing temporary staff. The majority of the Corps’ personnel consisted of civilians stationed across the country at various locations, including:

• The Main Ordnance Depot and Workshops at Trentham,
• An Ordnance Depot and Workshop at Burnham,
• An Ordnance Depot at Hopuhopu,
• Ordnance Workshops at Devonport.

As the war drew to a close, the presence of NZAOC personnel within New Zealand was well-established, with units stationed at various key locations:

Trentham

Warehousing

• Main Ordnance Depot with rented and requisitioned storage facilities throughout the Wellington and Central region. With Sub Depots at:
  • Linton
  • Lower Hutt
  • Māngere
  • Wanganui

Workshops

• Main Ordnance Workshop

Northern Military District

Warehousing

• No1 Ordnance Sub Depot, Hopuhopu

Workshops

• 11 Ordnance Workshop, Whangarei
• 12 Ordnance Workshop, Devonport

Ammunition Depot

• Ardmore
• Kelms Road
• Hopuhopu

Rented and requisitioned storage facilities throughout the Northern region.

Central Military District

Warehousing

• Ordnance stores detachments at Waiouru
• No2 Ordnance Sub Depot, Palmerston North

Ammunition Depot

• Waiouru
• Makomako
• Belmont
• Kuku Valley

Rented and requisitioned storage facilities throughout the Central region.

Southern Military District

Warehousing

• No3 Ordnance Sub Depot, Burnham

Workshops

• 13 Ordnance Workshop, Blenheim
• 14 Ordnance Workshop, Burnham
• 15 Ordnance Workshop, Dunedin

Ammunition Depot

• Alexandra
• Burnham
• Glen Tunnel
• Fairlie
• Mt Sommers

Rented and requisitioned storage facilities throughout the South Island.

This comprehensive distribution of NZAOC units and resources ensured the effective functioning of Ordnance support services throughout New Zealand during this period.

2NZEF (the Middle East/Italy)

Established as a component of the newly formed 2NZEF (2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force) in 1939, the 2NZEF NZOC was initially described in the Evening Post newspaper as comprising “11 Light Aid Detachments of the New Zealand Ordnance Corps, numbered 9 to 19. Their role was to provide assistance and conduct repairs on mechanical transport and anti-tank units” [3].

From its original 11 units, the NZOC’s contribution to the NZ Division expanded to encompass various critical functions, including:

• Base and Field Workshops,
• Base and Advanced Ordnance Depots,
• Divisional Ordnance Field Parks,
• Laundry and Bath Units,
• Salvage units.

There was some initial confusion regarding the use of the designations NZAOC and NZOC within the context of the NZEF. However, this confusion was resolved by NZEF Order 221 in March 1941, which established NZOC as the official title for Ordnance within the NZEF.

In 1942, there was a significant development involving the separation of maintenance and repair functions from the Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) in the British Army. This separation led to the creation of the Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (EME) [4]. Following this model, the New Zealand Division also underwent a similar transformation, establishing the New Zealand Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (NZEME) on December 1, 1942 [1]. This reorganization resulted in the distinct separation of repair, maintenance, and ordnance stores functions previously handled by the NZOC.

Ultimately, with the conclusion of World War II, the NZEF NZOC was disbanded along with the NZEF in 1946.

2NZEF (Pacific)

Similarly to the NZEF deployed in the Middle East, units of the NZOC were established to serve with the NZEF in the Pacific (NZEFIP). Initially, their role included providing a Base Ordnance Depot, Two Workshop Sections, and a Light Aid Detachment (LAD) to support the 8 Infantry Brigade Group in Fiji starting in November 1940. As the war advanced, the NZOC expanded into a Divisional-sized organization comprising 23 units and detachments. These units provided comprehensive Ordnance Services to support the NZEFIP in all its operations across Fiji, New Caledonia, The Solomon Islands, and Tonga [5].

It’s worth noting that, unlike the British Army’s establishment of the Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in 1942, New Zealand and the Pacific did not follow suit. Consequently, repair and maintenance functions remained integral to the Ordnance Corps throughout the duration of the war.

Following the successful conclusion of campaigns in the Solomon Islands, the 3 NZ Division and its equipment were returned to New Zealand and disbanded. Upon their return to New Zealand, many members of the NZOC were found to be physically unfit due to the demanding conditions of the tropical campaign. As a result, they resumed their civilian occupations, while some were redeployed as reinforcements to the 2NZEF in Italy. Others remained stationed at the division’s Mangere base near Auckland or in Wellington. Their duties involved checking, sorting, and reconditioning a wide array of stores and vehicles. This work continued until September 1945, at which point they handed over the entire inventory of equipment and clothing to the Main Ordnance Depot [5].

Territorial Army Ordnance

Within the Permanent Army, both the NZAOC and the New Zealand Permanent Army Service Corps (NZPASC) coexisted, but only the NZPASC had a Territorial Army component, known as the New Zealand Army Service Corps (NZASC). Since the 1930s, Light Aid Detachments (LADs) and workshop sections had been included in the establishments of ASC units for activation in times of mobilization. When war broke out in 1939 and the Territorial Army was mobilized in 1940, Colonel H.E. Avery, the Quartermaster General, made the decision that LADs fell under the responsibility of Ordnance. Consequently, the NZOC was established as the Ordnance Component of the Territorial Army in December 1940 [6].

By late 1943, the mobilisation of the Territorial Forces was no longer required, and most units had been deactivated and placed on care and maintenance status, maintained by a small RF Cadre. As of April 1, 1944, all home defense units established during the wartime period had been disbanded [6].

While the NZOC was not originally part of the pre-war Territorial Army, it remained in active service on official records. In 1946, during a reorganisation of New Zealand Military Forces, the distinction between Regular and non-Regular soldiers was eliminated. Consequently, the NZOC ceased to exist as a separate Corps and became integrated into the NZAOC [7].

Dress Distinctions

As was the case with all the units within the 2 NZEF, the traditional unit and corps badges were no longer worn, and instead, the NZEF “Onward” badge became the standard insignia.

IIn the Pacific and within New Zealand, the NZOC adopted the WW1 NZEF Ordnance badge. This emblem is prominently featured on the cover of the unofficial history of the NZEFIP NZOC and Territorial Army Unit Pennants.

Copyright © Robert McKie 2018

Notes

[1]	J. Bolton, A History of the RNZAOC, Wellington: Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps, 1992.
[2]	P. Cooke, Warrior Craftsmen, Wellington: Defence of NZ Study Group, 2016.
[3]	“2nd NZ Division,” EVENING POST, vol. CXXVIII, no. 102, 27 OCTOBER 1939.
[4]	A. Fernyhough, A short history of the RAOC, London: C B Printers Ltd, 1965.
[5]	P. Henley, “ORDNANCE, The Unofficial History of the New Zealand Ordnance Corps in the Pacific from 1940 until 3rd Division was disbanded in 1944,” in Tanks, MMGs & Ordnance, Wellington, Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd, 1947, pp. 137-227.
[6]	P. Cooke and J. Crawford, The Territorials, Wellington: Random House New Zealand Ltd, 2011, p. 258.
[7]	“MILITARY FORCES OF NEW ZEALAND ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF THE GENERAL STAFF,” Journals of the House of Representatives, vol. H19, no. 1947 Session, 1 January 1947.
[8]	G. Oldham, Badges and insignia of the New Zealand Army, Auckland: Milimem Books, 2011.
[9]	R. KAY, “FROM CASSINO TO TRIESTE,” in Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–45, WELLINGTON, HISTORICAL PUBLICATIONS BRANCH DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS, 1967.