Established at Waiouru in October 1941, the 1st NZ Army Tank Brigade was formed with the clear objective of undergoing six months of training in New Zealand before its deployment to the Middle East. This brigade was earmarked to furnish armored support for the 2nd NZ Division, and its structure encompassed three Tank Battalions along with various auxiliary units. Among these supporting units were those from the Medical Corps, ASC (Army Service Corps), Signals, and Ordnance. The Ordnance contingent included:

• A Second Line Workshop.
• A Third Line Workshop.
• Two Ordnance Field Parks, each aligned with a workshop.
• Three Light Aid Detachments, one assigned to each Tank Battalion.

These Ordnance units played a vital role in maintaining and servicing the brigade’s equipment and vehicles, ensuring they remained operational and battle-ready.

The leadership of the Ordnance units within the Brigade was selected from the ranks of the 2nd NZ Division and returned to New Zealand in late 1941. Given that the New Zealand Ordnance Corps was a newly established unit, the majority of new recruits had to be sourced from civilian garages, workshops, and industries. Some specialists were also drawn from NZAOC workshops and individuals who had returned from the Middle East. Most of these specialist personnel underwent training at the Main Ordnance Workshop in Trentham, while the remaining few were prepared at the new AFV (Armored Fighting Vehicle) school in Waiouru.1

New Zealand is ready.

However, as of December 1941, when Japan entered the war and swiftly advanced, capturing a significant portion of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, the priority shifted to home defense. Consequently, plans to deploy the 1st NZ Army Tank Brigade to the Middle East were postponed, and the unit’s role was adapted to meet the immediate defense needs of New Zealand.2

Following a period of reorganisation, the Brigade received orders for deployment in April 1942. Its elements were dispersed as follows:

• Brigade HQ was renamed Independent Squadron and deployed to the South Island.
• 1 Tank Battalion was deployed to Northland.
• 2 Tank Battalion was deployed to Manawatu.
• 3 Tank Battalion was deployed to Pukekohe.

This dispersion presented significant challenges for the Ordnance organisation, which had initially been designed to support the Brigade as a cohesive unit within a 70-mile radius in the flat North African desert. Now, Ordnance struggled to provide support to the dispersed Brigade units scattered across rural New Zealand, where suitable roads were scarce, and limited railway capacity could handle ancillary equipment like specialist workshop bins and machinery trucks.

To ensure optimal support for the Brigade units, the Ordnance organisation underwent a reorganization by July 1942. This restructuring led to the establishment of what could be described as “Super-LADs,” encompassing the Army Tank Ordnance Workshop and 32, 33, and 34 Light Aid Detachments (LADs). These Super-LADs provided both 1st and 2nd line support for A and B vehicles, armaments, and specialist spares.

Third-line support was furnished by the Tank Brigade Ordnance Workshop at Trentham and the Railway Workshops at Otahuhu. Subsequent changes unfolded in November 1942 with the gradual disestablishment of the 1st NZ Tank Brigade:3

• No. 1 Tank Battalion and 32 LAD remained in the home defense role in the Auckland/Northland area.
• No. 2 Tank Battalion, the Army Tank Ordnance Workshop, and the Ordnance Field Park were dissolved and became part of the 3 NZ Division Independent Tank Battalion Group for service in the Pacific.
• No. 3 Tank Battalion and 33 LAD were deployed to the Middle East for service with the 2nd NZ Division, where they were dissolved and formed the nucleus of the 4th NZ Armored Brigade.
• 34 LAD was stationed with the Independent Tank Squadron at Harewood on the South Island.
• The Tank Brigade Ordnance Workshop and Ordnance Field Park remained at Trentham, eventually being fully integrated into the Base Ordnance Workshops.

A Valentine Mk V of the Brigade HQ Squadron, Dunedin,1943. http://kiwisinarmour.hobbyvista.com

By June 1943, the remaining units of the 1st NZ Army Tank Brigade had been disbanded. The 1 Tank Battalion Group and 32 LAD, based at Pukekohe, and the Independent Tank Squadron and 34 LAD, based at Harewood, were all demobilised. Ordnance personnel from these disbanded units were faced with two options: they were either deployed to the 2nd or 3rd Divisions in Italy and the Pacific to serve as reinforcements, or they were assimilated into other ordnance units within New Zealand for the duration of the war.

It’s worth noting that the 1st NZ Army Tank Brigade held a unique distinction during this time. While it was the only unit authorised to wear the 2NZEF ‘Onward’ badge, its members also sported a distinctive insignia on both arms. This insignia consisted of a one-inch square patch in the arm of service colors, which were purple for the Navy and Post Office Blue for Ordnance. Superimposed onto this patch was a miniature RTR (Royal Tank Regiment) ‘Tank’ symbol.3,4

Copyright © Robert McKie 2017

Notes

1. Cooke, Warrior Craftsmen, Wellington: Defence of NZ Study Group, 2016.
2. Henley, “The Tanks an Unofficial History of the Activities of the Third New Zealand Division Tank Squadron In the Pacific,” in TANKS, MMGS & ORDNANCE, Wellington, Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd, 1947.
3. Plowman and M. Thomas, New Zealand Armour in the Pacific 1939-45, Christchurch: Jeffrey Plowman, 2001.
4. Documents Relating to New Zealand’s Participation in the Second World War, Wellington, New Zealand: R. E. Owen, Government Printer, 1951.
5. Oldham, Badges and insignia of the New Zealand Army, Auckland: Milimen Books, 2011.
6. M. Thomas and C. Lord, NZ Army Distinguishing Patches 1911-1991, Wellington: Malcolm Thomas and Cliff Lord, 1995.
7. J. Bolton, A History Of the Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps., Wellington: RNZAOC, 1992.