To sustain and maintain the New Zealand Division on the Western Front during the First World War, New Zealand established a network of training camps, hospitals and other administrative facilities in the United Kingdom. At Sling Camp in the centre of Salisbury Plain, the New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (NZAOC) established an Ordnance Depot to provide Ordnance Support to all the Units of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) located in the Southern Command area of the United Kingdom. Comprised of a small number of NZAOC soldiers, the Sling Ordnance Depot performed all its duties from its inception in 1916 until final demobilisation in 1920.
Officially called the 4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade Reserve Camp, Sling Camp is the most well-known of the NZEF training camps in England. Throughout the war, Sling Camp housed up to 5000 men undergoing training and recuperation at any one time.[1] To provide ordnance support to Sling Camp, the NZEF Chief Ordnance Officer, Captain Norman Joseph Levien, established the Sling Ordnance Depot during the period May-July 1916[2] The Sling Ordnance Depot was not only responsible for NZEF units in Sling Camp but also for all the NZEF units located in the Southern Command Area, including;
the New Zealand Command Depot and No 3 General Hospital at Codford,
the Artillery and Medical Corps at Ewshot;
the Signals at Stevenage;
the Engineers, Tunnellers and Māori’s at Christchurch,
The Sling Depot was under the command of the Ordnance Officer NZEF in Southern Command, aided by a small staff of NZAOC Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs). Additional manpower to assist in the handling and management of stores was provided by supported units, with up to eighty other men attached to the depot during periods of high activity.[3] Eighteen miles from Sling and with over three thousand men based at Codford, an auxiliary ordnance depot was also established there under the control of an NCO.
Second Lieutenant A.J Bond
Second Lieutenant Alfred James Bond was appointed as the first Ordnance Officer at Sling in July 1916. Bond had been attached to the NZ Ordnance Depot at Alexandra from 30 April 1915 and was promoted to Second Lieutenant on19 January 1916, followed by his transfer into the NZAOC on 2 March 1916. Moving with the NZ Division to France, Bond was eventually transferred to the HQ of the NZEF in June 1916 and appointed as the Ordnance Officer for NZEF Units in the Southern Command in July 1916. Bond remained at Sling until June 1917, when he was seconded for duty with No 5 Light Railway Section in France.[4] Bond had been under scrutiny since March 1917 when a court of inquiry had found fault with his leadership, which had led to the death of NZAOC Armourer Sergeant John William Allday as the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on 9 January 1917.[5]
Bond was replaced as Ordnance Officer by Second Lieutenant William Henchcliffe Simmons. Simmons had initially served in the Samoa Expeditionary Force after which he saw service at Gallipoli before transferring to the NZAOC. At the time of Bonds secondment to the Light Railway Section, Simmons was serving as a Conductor in the NZ Division in France. Promoted to Second Lieutenant, Simmons served as the Ordnance Officer at Sling until August 1917, when Bond returned from his secondment.[6]
Captain H.H Whyte
Bond remained as Sling Ordnance Officer until January 1918, when Captain Herbert Henry Whyte, MC arrived for temporary duty as the Sling Ordnance Officer. Whyte was an NZ Artillery officer who along with NZAOC Officer Lieutenant Charles Ingram Gossage had completed a course of instruction in Ordnance duties at the Woolwich Arsenal.[7] Whyte alternated between the Sling depot and Headquarters in London until 8 May 1918, when he took up the full-time appointment of Sling Ordnance Officer. Whyte remained as the Ordnance Officer of the Sling Depot until January 1920 when he was appointed as the acting NZEF Assistant Director of Ordnance Services.[8]
All units in the NZEF Southern Command raised indents on the Sling Depot, which after checking by the Ordnance Officer, were satisfied from existing stock or sourced from the appropriate supply source for direct delivery to units. The primary source of supply for general ordnance stores was the British Ordnance Depot at Tidworth, which was conveniently located only five miles from Sling. Occasionally stores were drawn from the British Ordnance Depots at Hilsea and Warminster. The relationship with the Tidworth Depot was close, with an NZAOC SNCO seconded there to manage the New Zealand indents.[9] Clothing and Textiles were drawn from the New Zealand Ordnance Depot at Farringdon Road in London, or directly for the Royal Army Clothing Department (RACD) Southampton Depot.[10]
In addition to the provision of general ordnance stores, clothing and textiles, the Sling Ordnance Dept also managed an Armourers Group and a Salvage Depot. The Armourers Group was equipped with all the tools and accessories necessary for the repair of small arms, machine guns, bicycles, primus stoves, steel helmets and other like items [11]
The Salvage Depot had developed during 1917as a measure to recycle unserviceable stores to minimise waste and ensure financial savings. All UK NZEF units returned their part-worn and unserviceable clothing and textile items to the Salvage Depot for sorting and further action.
All Serviceable and repairable Service Dress Clothing was sent to the Farringdon Road Depot in London for cleaning, repair, and holding for further issues. Serviceable garments such as socks and underwear were sent to the Steam Laundry Company at Salisbury, where, after cleaning were returned to the Sling Depot and held as stock. Unserviceable textile stores, such as web gear, were forwarded to the Imperial Salvage Depot at Dewsbury.
The Salvage Depot graded Boots as either repairable or unserviceable. Repairable boots were sent to either the Farringdon Road Depot or the Southern Command Boot Repair Depot at Southampton for repair and reintegration back into stock. Unserviceable boots were sold by auction in Southampton.
Unserviceable general stores that were not repairable on-site were placed onto a Board of Survey, of which the Ordnance Officer was a member, classed as unserviceable and returned to the British ordnance Depot from where they were initially sourced, either Tidworth, Hilsea or Warminster.
In addition to the processing of clothing, textiles and general stores, the Salvage Dept also collected wastepaper and tin cans for recycling.
On the signing of the armistice, Sling switched from training camp to a demobilisation centre for all “A Class” men, and the role of the Ordnance Depot became one closing units and disposing of equipment, while also equipping men returning to New Zealand. The demobilised plan called for little equipment used by the NZEF during the war to be backloaded to New Zealand. The exception was rifles and web equipment. Ordnance inspected, overhauled and reconditioned the Rifles with the best twenty thousand returned to New Zealand as transports became available. Web Equipment was cleaned, reconditioned and returned to New Zealand as space became available. The NZAOC Staff in NZEF Headquarters in London oversaw the purchase of enough equipment to equip two Infantry Divisions and One Mounted Rifle Brigade. Again, as transport became available, this was dispatched to New Zealand. The plan was for key NZAOC men to accompany each consignment to assist with its receipt in New Zealand. In addition to closing units and disposing of equipment, the primary role of the NZAOC was to issue men returning to New Zealand with New Uniforms.[12]
The demobilisation process required holding a larger stock of clothing. On 23 November 1918, the existing Sling Ordnance Depot was closed and relocated to larger premises a short distance away in the middle area of Bulford Camp.[13] The NZ Ordnance Depot at Bulford became the central reception depot for all Ordnance and Salvage for NZEF units in the UK. The Salvage Depot became the busiest and most important branch of the Bulford Depot, with up to eighty additional men added to its staff. In the six months leading up to June 1919, the Bulford disposal depot enabled credits of £38000 (2019 NZD$ 4,12,9535.50) to be made on behalf of the NZEF.
Ceasing activities with the departure of the last New Zealand soldiers repatriated to New Zealand. The Sling Ordnance Depot ceased operations after three years of service. Its final administrative functions were taken over by the NZAOC Headquarters in London, which from February 1920 were under the command of Captain William Simmons, who remained as the Officer in Charge of NZ Ordnance in England until October 1920.
No nominal roll of NZAOC soldiers who served in the Sling Depot has survived, but the following men are now known to have served at the depot.
23/1318 Armourer Sergeant John William Allday
12/689 Lieutenant Alfred James Bond
2/3001 Sergeant Herbert William Grimes
10/1251 Staff Sergeant Henry Richard Harnett
10/921 Sergeant Leslie Vincent Kay
23/659 Temporary Capitan William Henchcliffe Simmons
2/284 Captain Herbert Henry Whyte
6/572 Sergeant Henry Wilkinson
Notes:
[1] H. T. B. Drew, The War Effort of New Zealand: A Popular (a) History of Minor Campaigns in Which New Zealanders Took Part, (B) Services Not Fully Dealt within the Campaign Volumes, (C) the Work at the Bases, Official History of New Zealand’s Effort in the Great War: V.4 (Whitcombe & Tombs, 1923), Non-fiction, 249-53.
[2] “Levien, Norman Joseph “, Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914.
[3] “New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps – War Diary, Summary, 23 November 1918 – 9 June 1919 “, Archives New Zealand Item No R23856659 (1919).
[4] “Bond, Alfred James,” Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914.
[5] “Allday, John William “, Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914.
[6] “Simmons, William Henchcliffe “, Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914.
[7] Gossage went on to be the NZ Division DADOS “Gossage, Charles Ingram,” Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914.
[8] “Whyte, Herbert Henry,” Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914.
[9] “Harnett, Henry Richard,” Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914.
[10] “New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps – War Diary, Summary, 29 July 1918 “, Archives New Zealand Item No R23856657 (1918).
[11] P.H. Williams, Ordnance: Equipping the British Army for the Great War (History Press, 2018).
[12] “New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps – War Diary, Summary, 23 November 1918 – 9 June 1919 “.
[13] The Ordnance Depot occupied buildings that had formally been used by the NZEF Base Kit Stores which had vacated the premises a few weeks previously. Ibid…
When New Zealand entered the First World War and an Expeditionary Force was raised for overseas service, no Ordnance Corps was in place to support the Force. The subsequent formation and operations of the New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (NZAOC) to support the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) is an area that is overlooked in all the contemporary New Zealand histories of the First World War. As part of this historical oversight, the stories of the men who served in the NZAOC have remained untold and forgotten to all but a few distant family members. This article will tell the story of the Deputy Assistant Director of Ordnance Services (DADOS) of the New Zealand Division for the bulk of the war, Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Henry Herbert. Herbert was an experienced Territorial Force Officer and shopkeeper from Eketahuna who built up the NZAOC from the ground up to ensure that the NZ Division was provided with all of its Ordnance needs from February 1916 to March 1919.
New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps Badge, 1916-1919 (Robert McKie Collection 2017)
Alfred Henry Herbert was born at Newbury, Berkshire, England, on 4 October 1867 to William and Kathrine Herbert. The Herbert family emigrated to New Zealand in 1877, settling in Wellington. Herbert attended Mount Cook School and, upon completing his studies, found his calling in the grocery, plumbing and drapery trades, where he gained clerical and accounting experience.[1]
Herbert gained his first military experience in October 1885 when he joined the New Zealand Volunteer unit, the Wellington Guards. As a private soldier, Herbert excelled in shooting, gaining prizes in several of the shooting competitions that were a popular aspect of the volunteer experience. Herbert remained in the Wellington Rifles until February 1888. [2]
July 1887 found Herbert working at the Cuba Street Branch of the Wellington Meat Preservation Company. Herbert also participated in several charitable and civic activities during 1887, such as becoming a member of the Loyal Antipodean Lodge of Oddfellows [3] and Secretary of the Wellington Tradesmen’s Aetheric club.[4] In later years Herbert also became a Freemason and a Justice of the Peace.[5]
Herbert relocated to the growing North Wairarapa town of Eketahuna, sixty kilometres north of Masterton, where he became an active and respected community member. At the time, Eketahuna did not have a volunteer unit, but it did have the Eketahuna Rifle Club, which Herbert joined in 1891 as a member and treasurer, where he continued to maintain his skill in shooting.[6]
On 14 August 1894. Herbert married Lizzie Toohill, the eldest daughter of Mr D. E. Toohill, the Eketahuna chemist.[7] On 2 March 1895, Herbert’s only child Arthur Lancelot was born. Having spent three years as a General Storekeeper with Jones and Company of Eketahuna, Herbert branched out in 1895 with his brothers Lancelot and Marcus, establishing the business of Herbert Brothers with their anchor store in Eketahuna and branches in Pahiatua and Alfredton.[8]
The South Africa War that began in 1899 encouraged a wave of militarist enthusiasm to sweep across New Zealand, and Eketahuna wanted to play its part. Seventy men from Eketahuna banded together and formed the Eketahuna Mounted Rifle Volunteers and applied to the Defence Department for recognition, which was declined, with the men encouraged to join Masterton or Pahiatua units. The Eketahuna locals persisted, and despite many of the original seventy men already seeing service or serving in South Africa, the Eketahuna Mounted Rifle Volunteers gained acceptance into service as part of the New Zealand Volunteer Force on 10 September 1900.[9] Fifty-Seven men were sworn into the unit on 8 November 1900, and officers were elected, including Herbert as a Second Lieutenant.[10] The Eketahuna Mounted Rifles became C Squadron of the Second Regiment, Wellington (Wairarapa) Mounted Rifles in 1901 but were still referred to as the Eketahuna Mounted Rifles.[11]
Herbert was promoted to Captain in 1903 and assumed the role of Officer Commanding of the Eketahuna unit. Herbert remained as the Officer Commanding until 5 April 1907 when he resigned and transferred into the Reserve of Officers on the active list as Unattached. Herbert unsuccessfully attempted the Captain to Majors promotion examination in September1909, but successfully re-sat the examination in December 1909 and was promoted to Major as at 1 December 1909.
Taking an interest in local politics and furthering the prosperity of Eketahuna, Herbert was one of several local business owners who banded together to establish the Eketahuna Town Board on 19 July 1905. With Herbert elected as the Chairman, Herbert continued to lead the town board until 1907, when despite not having the required population base, Eketahuna gained the status of a Borough. In the elections of the Eketahuna Borough Council held on 25 April 1907, Herbert was elected as the first Mayor of Eketahuna, a position he held until 1909, followed by a term as a Borough councillor from 1912 to 1914.[12]
With the formation of the Territorial Army in 1911, the Eketahuna Mounted Rifles were amalgamated into the 9th (Wellington East Coast) Mounted Rifles, and Herbert transferred into the 9th (Wellington East Coast) Mounted Rifles as the Second in Command on 15 March 1911.[13]
Appointed to the NZEF on 16 January 1915, Herbert took command of the 9th (Wellington East Coast) Mounted Rifles as part of the third reinforcements departing New Zealand on 14 February 1915. Included in the third reinforcements was the first Māori Contingent under the command of Major Henry Peacock. During the voyage to Egypt, Peacock contracted typhoid and was hospitalised in Albany and then repatriated to New Zealand. Herbert was selected as the replacement Commanding Officer of the Māori contingent and granted the temporary rank of Lieutenant Colonel on 26 March 1915.
Unlike Peacock, who had trained with the Marois, understood their needs, and had their confidence, Herbert was an outsider. Like many Pakeha of his era, Herbert had had little or no contact with Māori, and his relationship with the Māori contingent was to be a difficult one. Despite the enthusiasm of the Māori contingent, there were still many in command who still doubted the utility and usefulness of the Māori troops, and the Māori Contingent was initially side-lined undertaking training and Garrison roles in Egypt and Malta, and it was not until late June that they were called forward for service in Gallipoli. Landing in Gallipoli on 3 July 1915, the Marois participated in much of the hard fighting that took place during July and August. As the Marois fought hard and impressed many with their martial prowess, their relationship with Herbert deteriorated and came to a head-on in early August. A series of incidents and allegations saw three Māori Officers suspended and later returned to New Zealand but reinstated into the NZEF in December. By the end of August, the Māori Contingent was broken up, and the men were distributed throughout the other New Zealand units, with Herbert seconded to a British unit.
On 20 August, Herbert took up temporary command of a British Battalion, the 9th (Service) Battalion Worcestershire Regiment and then was placed in command of the Otago Infantry Battalion on 30 August. Herbert remained with the Otago’s on Gallipoli during their period of rest and reconstitution on Mudros, and on their return to Gallipoli in the final weeks leading up the final Gallipoli evacuation. Herbert’s service with the Otago’s was, according to Godley, “with great success”.[14]
Herbert’s future was uncertain; the Māori Committee of the House of Representatives had made it clear in a letter to the Minister of Defence that “Herbert was not to have anything more to do with the Marois in the future”, so Herbert returning to command the Marois was out of the question. Therefore, Herbert was struck off the strength of the Māori Contingent and posted to the Headquarters of the NZEF as the Officer Commanding of the Cairo Base Depot. Herbert’s tenure in this role was short as a DADOS for the NZ Division was required. The previous incumbent Captain W.T Beck’s service at Gallipoli had taken its toll, and in November, a Medical Board found him “incapacitated for military duty”, resulting in his repatriation to New Zealand. The NZAOC had two other officers: Lieutenants King and Levien. These officers had both performed the duties of the DADOS after Beck’s evacuation from Gallipoli, but a more experienced officer was required to fill the vacant position of DADOS and Herbert, with his military and civilian experience, was a good match for the role.
Despite being on active service, Herbert was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and Commanding Officer of the 9th (Wellington East Coast) Mounted Rifles on 22 November 1915, a position he did not fill until his demobilisation from the NZEF in 1919.
On 1 February 1916, Herbert was transferred into NZAOC and appointed as the NZ Division, DADOS and Officer Commanding of the NZEF NZAOC. The NZAOC that Herbert was taking command of was an organisation that was in its infancy and one that he was to build from the ground up. The NZAOC was not a feature of the pre-war New Zealand Military, and on the mobilisation of the NZEF in 1914, a small Ordnance Staff consisting of the Deputy Assistant Director of Ordnance Services (DADOS) and an SNCO clerk became the foundation staff of the NZAOC.[15]The Ordnance Manual (War) of 1914 detailed the role of the DADOS as to “deal with all matters affecting the Ordnance services of the division. The DADOS would manage the state of the clothing and equipment on the charge of the units composing the division and would from time to time advise the officers in charge of the stores which in all probability would be required for operations”.[16] As the NZEF arrived in Egypt and settled down to the business of preparing itself for war, the need for a larger New Zealand Ordnance organisation must have been recognised, leading to the commissioning from the ranks of the first NZAOC officers on 3 April 1915.[17] Soldiers and NCOs were also attached to the nascent Ordnance Depots at Zeitoun, Alexandra and Gallipoli throughout 1915 and into 1916. The expansion of the NZAOC in early 1916 resulted from organisational changes across the British Army Ordnance Corps (AOC) as the scale of the war and the support required became apparent.[18] In line with all British Divisions, the DADOS of the NZ Division assumed responsibility for a small Ordnance organisation complete with integral transport.[19]
A wounded Herbert with Lieutenant Colonel A.B. Chaytor April 1916.National Army Museum of New Zealand
Herbert spent February to March 1916 coming to grips with the roles and responsibilities of the DADOS and preparing the NZ Division for service in France. Herbert departed for France on 6 April 1916. On arriving in France, the task ahead for Herbert and his men must have been tremendous. Much of the Division’s original equipment that had survived the Gallipoli campaign remained in Egypt. The NZ Division was re-equipped against new scales that had evolved to meet the conditions on the Western Front. The Divisions DADOS Staff spent hours compiling indents based upon returns furnished by Regimental Quartermasters. Once raised, Herbert checked the indents to ensure that no unit was exceeding their requirements and then forwarded to the supporting Ordnance in the Corps Area. Herbert soon learnt the responsibilities of Ordnance were more than the ordering, accounting, and management of stores but also the management of the Divisional Baths and Laundries, the Divisional Salvage Company, Divisional boot repair shops and Divisional Armourers Shops.[20]
An indication of the success of Herbert’s efforts in managing the diverse Ordnance functions in the NZ Division is recorded in the citations for his two Mentioned in Dispatches (MID) and Distinguished Service Order (DSO).[21]
MID citation 4 January 1917
“Has practically organised this Department from the bottom and has done very good work. At all times, he has spared no pains to satisfy the demands made on him.”
MID Citation 1 June 1917 (Field Marshal Haig Dispatch)
“For distinguished and gallant services and devotion to duty.”
DSO Citation 4 June 1917
“This officer has paid the greatest attention to his work and by his care and attention to detail has very considerably reduced the wastage in the Division, thereby effecting very material economy.”
Like many New Zealand families, Herbert was directly affected by the war. On 30 December 1915, Herbert’s brother Frank was lost at sea when the P&O vessel the SS Persia, which he was an officer, was torpedoed and sunk without warning off the island of Crete by the German U-boat U-38.[22] A further loss struck the Herbert family when Herbert’s only son Edward Lancelot Herbert was Killed in Action on 16 November 1916.[23] Soon after the notification of their son’s death, Herbert’s wife travelled to London and set up a flat which became a home away from home for many of the homesick soldiers from the Eketahuna District.[24]
Herbert remained with the NZ Division until late March 1918, when in the wake of the German Spring Offensive, or Kaiserschlacht (“Kaiser’s Battle”) of March 1918, Herbert was seconded to XI Corps of the British Fifth Army. The Fifth Army had borne the brunt of the German Spring Offensive and took the blame for failing to hold the German advance. Relinquishing the appointment of NZ Division DADOS and Officer Commanding of the NZAOC on 31 March 1918, Herbert Transferred into XI Corps as the Deputy Director of Ordnance Services (DDOS). The Fifth Army, including the XI Corps, rebuilt and had its reputation vindicated by its actions in the 100-day offensive.
On the war competition, Herbert returned to New Zealand relatively fast, sailing from Plymouth on 17 March 1919. Herbert’s return to Eketahuna was a festive affair with most of the community gathering at the railway station to greet him with an observer noting, “He was the best known soldier in the district and on his return from the front he dismounted the train to be with his wife, who was known in the war areas for her services to the troops, to a tumultuous welcome, the school children all being allowed to join the crowd at the station”.[25]
Lieutenant-Colonel Alfred Henry Herbert, NZAOC. aucklandmuseum/Public Domain
With his return to civilian life and resumption of his Territorial Army career as Commanding Officer of the 9th (Wellington East Coast) Mounted Rifles, Herbert’s association with the NZAOC seems to have ended. However, at the NZEF Senior Officer Conference of November 1919, Herbert was appointed as the convenor for the NZAOC war history.[26] It seems out of character for Herbert to not follow through on the task of convening the NZAOC War History, but no official wartime history of the NZAOC was ever published, leaving a significant gap in New Zealand’s historiography of the First World War. An explanation as to why this occurred is that Herbert had a falling out with the Army over his placement on the retired list. The New Zealand Gazette of 18 March 1920 published a notice that Herbert had relinquished command of the 9th (Wellington East Coast) Mounted Rifles and posted to the retired list. This notice came as a surprise to Herbert, who subsequently submitted an objection through the command chain. Ultimately Herbert’s complaint was dismissed by the Commander of New Zealand’s Military Forces on 8 April 1920. It was considered that Herbert had already exceeded his time in the position, and although his service as the DADOS of the NZ Division was well recognised and appreciated, it did not give him the experience in handling troops during a war which was essential in the role of Regiment Commanding Officer.[27]
With this dispute behind him, Herbert returned to manage his business concerns and remain an active member of the community with an appreciation, stating that “He certainly did not bring back to his business any show of army rank …… he was a gentleman …. and well-known as he owned three stores in the district. He was thoughtful, business-like and strict”.[28] Herbert took an interest in the welfare of returned soldiers and spent time as President of the Eketahuna Returned Servicemen’s Association (RSA). Herbert was also a speaker for many public functions where he reminisce on his experiences as DADOS, providing humorous accounts of the trials and tribulations he endured in France in trying to see that all units were adequately equipped, at the same time endeavouring to ensure that no one ” put it across him ” for extra issues.[29]
For his military service since 1885, Herbert was awarded the following medals and awards;[30]
Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
1914-1915 Star
British War Medal (1914-1920)
Victory Medal with oak leaf
Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long Service Medal
New Zealand Long and Efficient Service Medal
Herbert remained a stalwart of the Eketahuna community for the remainder of his life and passed away on 14 May 1946 at the age of 77 years and now rests in the Mangaoranga Eketahuna cemetery.
Notes
[1]The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay & Wellington Provincial Districts], (Victoria University of Wellington, 1908), 726.
[2] “Alfred Henry Herbert “, Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914.
[3] “Advertisements,” Evening Post, Volume XXXIII, Issue 76, 31 March 1887.
[4] “Advertisements,” Evening Post, Volume XXXIV, Issue 58, 6 September 1887.
[5]The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay & Wellington Provincial Districts], 726.
[7] “Masterton,” New Zealand Times, Volume LVI, Issue 2285, 15 August 1894.
[8] Alfred managed the Eketahuna store, and his brothers Lancelot and Marcus managed Pahiatua and Alfredton stores. Herbert Brothers was incorporated as A.H Herbert and Company Limited on 6 March 1905 and dissolved on 1 July 1992.
[9] Peter Best, Eketahuna: Stories from Small Town New Zealand (Wairarapa Archive, 2001), Non-fiction, 30-31.
[10] “The Eketahuna Mounted Rifles,” Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 6703, 8 November 1900.
[11] D. A. Corbett, The Regimental Badges of New Zealand: An Illustrated History of the Badges and Insignia Worn by the New Zealand Army (Auckland, N.Z.: Ray Richards, 1980, Revised enl. edition, 1980), Non-fiction, 160.
[12] Irene Adcock, A Goodly Heritage; Eketahuna and Districts 100 Years, 1873 – 1973 (Eketahuna Borough and County Councils, 1973), Non-fiction, 315-16.
[14] M. Soutar, Whitiki! Whiti! Whiti! E!: Māori in the First World War (Bateman Books, 2019), 185.
[15] Captain W.T Beck and Sergeant N.J Levien. “Appendices to War Diaries, I – Lxii,” Item ID R23486739, Archives New Zealand 1914-1915.
[16]Ordnance Manual (War), War Office (London: His Majesties Printing Office, 1914).
[17] Sergeants King and Levien to 2nd Lieutenant “Grants of Temporary Rank, Appointments and Promotions of Officers of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force,” New Zealand Gazette 8 July 1915.
[18] Arthur Forbes, A History of the Army Ordnance Services (London: The Medici society, ltd., 1929), 151.
[19] Records of the exact manning and organisation of the NZ Division DADOS branch have not been seen, but was similar to the organisation of the Australian DADOS Divisional Ordnance Staff, which was comprised of:
1 Officer as DADOS (Maj/Capt)
1 Conductor of Ordnance Stores per Divisional HQ
1 Sergeant AAOC per Divisional HQ
1 Corporal AAOC per Divisional HQ
3 RQMS (WO1) AAOC
3 Sergeants AAOC, 1 to each of 3 Brigades
3 Corporals AAOC, 1 to each of 3 Brigades
As the war progressed, additional Ordnance Officers were included in the DADOS establishment who, along with the Warrant Officer Conductors, managed the Ordnance staff and day-to-day operations allowing the DADOS the freedom to liaise with the divisional staff, units and supporting AOC units and Ordnance Depots. John D Tilbrook, To the Warrior His Arms: A History of the Ordnance Services in the Australian Army (Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps Committee, 1989), 78.
[20] “Deputy Assistant Director of Ordnance Services (Dados) – War Diary, 1 August 1916 – 31 June 1918,” Archives New Zealand Item No R23487667 (1916-1918).
[21] Wayne McDonald, Honours and Awards to the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Great War 1914-1918, 3rd edition ed. (Richard Stowers, 2013), Directories, Non-fiction, 113.
[22] “Lost on the Persia,” New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16127, 15 January 1916.
[23] “Fallen New Zealanders,” New Zealand Times, Volume XLI, Issue 9521, 1 December 1916.
[24] Adcock, A Goodly Heritage; Eketahuna and Districts 100 Years, 1873 – 1973, 225.
[25] Wesley Parker, It Happened in Eketahuna: Four Years in the Life of a Boy (Mount St. John Press, 1990), Non-fiction, Autobiography, 95.
[26]Conference of Senior Officers, New Zealand Expeditionary Force, (Archives New Zealand, R22550177, 1919).
“Advertisements.” Evening Post, Volume XXXIII, Issue 76, 31 March 1887.
“Advertisements.” Evening Post, Volume XXXIV, Issue 58, 6 September 1887.
“Alfred Henry Herbert “. Personal File, Archives New Zealand, 1914.
“Appendices to War Diaries, I – Lxii.” Item ID R23486739, Archives New Zealand, 1914-1915.
Conference of Senior Officers, New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Archives New Zealand, R22550177, 1919.
The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay & Wellington Provincial Districts]. Victoria University of Wellington, 1908.
“Deputy Assistant Director of Ordnance Services (Dados) – War Diary, 1 August 1916 – 31 June 1918.” Archives New Zealand Item No R23487667 (1916-1918,).
“The Eketahuna Mounted Rifles.” Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 6703, 8 November 1900.
“Fallen New Zealanders.” New Zealand Times, Volume XLI, Issue 9521, 1 December 1916.
“Grants of Temporary Rank, Appointments and Promotions of Officers of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force.” New Zealand Gazette 8 July 1915.
“Lost on the Persia.” New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16127, 15 January 1916.
“Masterton.” New Zealand Times, Volume LVI, Issue 2285, 15 August 1894.
Ordnance Manual (War). War Office. London: His Majesties Printing Office, 1914.
“Returned Soldiers.” Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 136, 12 June 1922.
Adcock, Irene.A Goodly Heritage; Eketahuna and Districts 100 Years, 1873 – 1973.Eketahuna Borough and County Councils, 1973. Non-fiction.
Best, Peter. Eketahuna: Stories from Small Town New Zealand. Wairarapa Archive, 2001. Non-fiction.
Corbett, D. A. The Regimental Badges of New Zealand: An Illustrated History of the Badges and Insignia Worn by the New Zealand Army. Auckland, N.Z. : Ray Richards, 1980, Revised enl. edition, 1980. Non-fiction.
Forbes, Arthur. A History of the Army Ordnance Services. London: The Medici society, ltd., 1929.
McDonald, Wayne. Honours and Awards to the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Great War 1914-1918. 3rd edition ed.: Richard Stowers, 2013. Directories, Non-fiction.
Parker, Wesley. It Happened in Eketahuna: Four Years in the Life of a Boy. Mount St. John Press, 1990. Non-fiction, Autobiography.
Soutar, M. Whitiki! Whiti! Whiti! E!: Māori in the First World War. Bateman Books, 2019.
Tilbrook, John D. To the Warrior His Arms: A History of the Ordnance Services in the Australian Army Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps Committee, 1989.
Released in 1959 and based on his book The songs we sang, musician Les Cleveland accompanied by his group the D Day Dodgers released this collection of often very irreverent songs that were sung by New Zealand Servicemen during the Second World War.
In World War Two, New Zealand sent two infantry divisions overseas and supplied a great many sailors and airmen for the Allied Forces. Though the war has been over for fifteen years, the songs are still with us. Many of us have half-forgotten them; others will have heard only a few of them and these in a variety of versions – but all will listen to them with new interest, conscious that the songs speak with unfading humour and sentiment of difficult days, conscious too that they occupy a unique place in New Zealand music and folk-lore. they are sings that deserve to live again.
One of the paradoxes of World War Two was that while at any given moment ferocious struggles would be raging at widely separated points on the combined fronts, there would be thousands and thousands of other men who were uncommitted, killing time in bivouacs, camps and garrisons anywhere from Siberia to the Campbell Islands. Singing was one of the ways to fight boredom and relieve nervous tension.
The New Zealand formation, always a clannish, high spirited lot, soon developed their own unit traditions. A great many ballads and choruses emerged. Some of the most popular have been used on this recording.
RED WHITE AND NAVY BLUE
This song was heard in units of the 3rd Divison who were stationed on the assorted Pacific Islands. At one stage their 8th Brigade Concert Party – a devoted group which, when not doing defence platoon duties, rattled around with a piano in a truck giving shows in the jungle – used this course as a theme, it was a wry denouement, for the Pacific troops were much given to irony and satire to relive and express the frustration and monotony of their duties.
“We’re the heroes of the night And we’d rather drink than fight! We’re the heroes of Bob Semple’s Fusiliers.”
Semple was a labour politician with a pungent, forthright turn of speech. He distinguished himself on the outbreak of the war by causing the Public Works Department, of which he was head to fabricate a tank out of some old steel plate and a crawler tractor. It took part in one military parade, broke down, and was never seen again.
AIWA SAIDA
A spirited and celebrated song, popular amongst all the troops in the Middle East, Especially the Kiwis.
MY AFRICA STAR
This is a satire base on one of the red-hot grievances of the New Zealand Division in the Middle East. The Eighth Army was formed in September 1941. To qualify for a small metal figure eight which was worn on the Africa Star ribbon, it was necessary to have served in the Eighth Army on or after October 23 1942. But the formation had been fighting for a year prior to that arbitrary date so that all these men who had been knocked out with wounds, invalided out with illness or transferred to non-operational units were denied this small nut significant award. Some of them were veterans of the first desert battles, and their remarks were often voluble and loud when they saw less-worthy soldiers – including girls serving ice-cream in army canteen and “those who were in Palestine” wearing “the eight”.
SAIDA BINT
Another sentimental song widely known and sung by troops in Egypt.
ROLLING WHEELS
A Maori Battalion song which mentions a few of the many places in which they campaigned. Ngarimu was the famous Maori Victora Cross awardee.
THE GOOD SHIP “VENUS
The adventures of the crew of this fabulous vessel constitute a saga with as many variations as there are singers and audiences.
MY A.25
A humorous piece about the hazard of deck landing on aircraft carriers. It was essentially a song of the Fleet Air Arm, the flying branch of the Royal Navy in which around 1000 New Zeland pilots and navigators served. The A.25 was an Admiralty form on which a pilot had to attempt to explain away the circumstances of the crash he had walked- or swum – away from.
Other technical terms;
Batsman, the deck landing signals officer who directed planes in to land. Goofers, a slang reference to a relatively safe vantage point from which it was possible to watch the sport of deck landing. Cut, the final signal from the batsman to a pilot making a landing. Barrier, a wire net to protect aircraft on the bow of the aircraft carrier from the over-enthusiastic efforts of pilots landing. Booster, an accelerator catapult. Supermarine, the firm of Vickers-Supermarine, makers of the Spitfire and Seafire aircraft. Wings, an abbreviated term for the senior flying officer on the carrier. Lee,Lee on Solent, wartime air station of the Fleet Air Arm.
A clever device combing light and a large curved mirror has now replaced the batsman- automation no less! With the advent of the angled deck, barriers are not normally required except in the event of a hook failure. They are now made of nylon.
THE ARMY IN FIJI
A song which reflects the bitter feelings of many members of the original Eight Brigade Group which was hastily sent to Fiji when it was thought that Japanese Forces might reach that far in their Pacific drive. This garrison force was none-too-well supplied, it saw no action, and most of the men in it were soon tired of existing miserably in the tropics. Some of the weapons that wnt to Fiji were very old and worn. In the early stages, there were shortages of ammunition and other necessities, the song describes a celebrated incident which many soldiers insist actually occurred- a box of ammunition was open and found to contain lead head nails.
THE FIGHTING KIWI, SIDE SIDE MONOWAI SIDE AND THIS IS MY STORY
A kiwi variation of a traditional theme which sailors and troops have applied to a long list of warships and troop carriers. This particular one – The Monawai- was a liner which was used a good deal during the war to move troops. Soldiers always hate being on troop-ships. The food is poor, quarters are crowded and stuffy and some starch old naval type is always apt to demand that mess decks be scrubbed, water rationed or kits stowed in a certain way. The troops invariably felt that the regulations were designed for their personal inconvenience rather than the safety of the ship of the general furtherance of the war effort. The fact that the troops were occasionally wrong in the warmth which they objected to this regimentation did not affect their vehemence.
The New Zealand Army evolved out of the British troops deployed during the 19th-century New Zealand Wars into a unique iwi known as Ngāti Tumatauenga – ‘Tribe of the God of War’. While Ngāti Tumatauenga has an extensive and well-known Whakapapa,[1] less well known is the whakapapa of the New Zealand Army’s supply and warehousing services.
Leading up to 1996, the Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (RNZAOC) was the New Zealand Army organisation with the responsibility in peace and war for the provision, storage and distribution of Arms, Ammunition, Rations and Military stores. As the army’s warehousing organisation, the RNZAOC adopted the Pātaka (The New Zealand Māori name for a storehouse) as an integral piece of its traditions and symbology. On 9 December 1996, the warehousing functions of the RNZAOC were assumed by the Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment (RNZALR).
Unpacked on this page and on the attached Web Application “the Pātaka of Ngati Tumatauenga” the evolution of New Zealand’s Army’s Ordnance services is examined. From a single storekeeper in 1840, the organisation grew through the New Zealand Wars, the World Wars and the Cold War into an organisation with global reach providing support to New Zealand Forces in New Zealand and across the globe.
Scan the QR code to view the Web App:
Description of Ordnance Units
In general terms, Ordnance units can be described as:
Main/Base Depots– A battalion-sized group, commanded by a lieutenant colonel. Usually a significant stock holding unit, responsible for the distribution of stock to other ordnance installations.
Central Ordnance Depots/Supply Company– Company-sized units, commanded by a major. Depending on the role of the unit, the following subunits could be included in the organisation:
Provision, Control & Accounts
Stores sub-depot/platoon
Traffic Centre
Camp Equipment
Technical Stores
Expendables
Clothing
Returned Stores & Disposals
Textile Repair
Tailors
Boot Repair
Ammunition Sub-Depot/Platoon
Vehicles Sub-Depot/Platoon
Services Sub-Depot/Platoon
Bath and Shower
Laundry
Rations Sub-Depot/Platoon (after 1979)
Fresh Rations
Combat Rations
Butchers
Petroleum Platoon (after 1979)
Vehicle Depots –
Workshops Stores Sections – In 1962, RNZAOC Stores Sections carrying specialised spares, assemblies and workshops materials to suit the particular requirement of its parent RNZEME workshops were approved, and RNZEME Technical Stores personnel employed in these were transferred to the RNZAOC.[2][3]
Workshops. Before 1947, Equipment repair workshops were part of the Ordnance organisation. Types of Workshop included:
Main Workshop
Field/Mobile Workshop
Light Aid Detachments
Unit naming conventions
The naming of Ordnance units within New Zealand was generally based upon the unit locations or function or unit.
Supply Depots were initially named based on the district they belonged to:
Upper North Island – Northern District Ordnance Depot
Lower North Island – Central Districts Ordnance Depot
South Island – Southern Districts Ordnance Depot
In 1968, a regionally based numbering system was adopted
1 for Ngaruawahia
2 for Linton
3 for Burnham
4 for Waiouru
Some exceptions were:
1 Base Depot and 1st Base Supply Battalion, a single battalion-sized unit, the name was based on role, not location.
1 Composite Ordnance Company, a unique company-sized group, the name was based on function, not location
When the Royal New Zealand Army Service Corps (RNZASC) became the Royal New Zealand Corps of Transport (RNZCT) in 1979, the supply functions were transferred to the RNZAOC, with the 1st number signifying the location, with the 2nd number being 4 for all Supply Platoons:
14 Supply Platoon, Papakura
24 Supply Platoon, Linton
34 Supply Platoon, Burnham
44 Supply Platoon, Waiouru
54 Supply Platoon, Trentham
Not that command of these units was transferred to the RNZAOC on 16 October 1978, with the personnel transferred in 1979.
Exceptions were:
21 Supply Company – Retained its name as a historical link to the unit’s long history in the RNZASC.
47 Petroleum Platoon, originally 7 Petroleum Platoon RNZASC, when transferred to the RNZAOC, as it was based in Waiouru, it added the Waiouru unit designation ‘4’ and became 47 Petroleum Platoon RNZAOC
Unit locations New Zealand, 1907–1996
Alexandra
9 Magazines operated from 1943 to 1962.
Ardmore
20 Magazines operational from 1943
Auckland
There has been an Ordnance presence in Auckland since the 1840s, with the Colonial Storekeeper and Imperial forces. The Northern Districts Ordnance Depot was situated in Mount Eden in the early 1900s. In the 1940s, the centre for Ordnance Support for the Northern Districts moved to Ngaruawahia, with a Sub depot remaining at Narrow Neck to provide immediate support.
RNZAOC units that have been accommodated at Auckland have been:
Stores Depot
Defence Stores Department, District Stores – Albert Barracks 1961-1883
Defence Stores Department, District Stores – O’Rourke Street, 1883-1903
Defence Stores Department, District Stores – Goal Reserve, Mount Eden 1903 -1917
Northern District Ordnance Depot – Goal Reserve, Mount Eden 1917 -1929.[4]
Northern District Ordnance Depot, Narrow Neck, 1929 to? [5]
1 Supply Company, from 1989, Papakura
12 Supply Company
12 Field Supply Company
15 Combat Supplies Platoon, 1 Logistic Regiment
52 Supply Platoon, 5 Force Support Company
Vehicle Depot
Northern Districts Vehicle Depot, Sylvia Park, 1948-1961
Northern Districts Ordnance Depot, Vehicle Sub Depot, Sylvia Park, 1961 – 1968
1 Central Ordnance Depot (1 COD), Vehicle Sub Depot, Sylvia Park, 1968 to 1979
1 Supply Company, Vehicle Sub Depot, Sylvia Park, 1979 to 1989
1 Transport Company Workshop, Stores Section, Fort Cautley
Belmont
Operational from 1943
MOD Trentham, Ammunition Group, Ammunition Section
Burnham
Stores Depot
In 1921, a single Command Ordnance Depot was established to service all military units in the newly organised Southern Military Command. Before this, Ordnance stores had operated from Christchurch and Dunedin. The new Depot (later renamed the Third Central Ordnance Depot) was established in the buildings of the former Industrial School at Burnham. Re-structuring in 1979 brought a change of name to 3 Supply Company.[6][7][8]
Stores Depot titles 1921–1996
Area Ordnance Department Burnham, 1920 to 1939,
Southern Districts Ordnance Depot, 1939 to 1942,
No 3 Sub Depot, 1942 to 1948,
Southern Districts Ordnance Depot, 1948 to 1968,
3 Central Ordnance Depot (3 COD), 1968 to 1979, [9]
3 Supply Company, 1979 to 1993,
Burnham Supply Center,1993 to 1994,
3 Field Supply Company, 1994 to 1996.
Vehicle Depot
Southern Districts Vehicle Depot, 1948-1961.
Ammunition Depot
Southern Districts Vehicle Ammunition 1954-1961.
Other Ordnance Units
Combat Supplies Platoon. 1979 to 19??,
Ready Reaction Force Ordnance Support Group (RRF OSG), 19?? To 1992, moved to Linton,
32 Field Supply Company (Territorial Force Unit).
Ordnance Field Parks
3 Infantry Brigade Group OFP Platoon, 21 October 1948 – 28 June 1955.
3 Transport Company Workshop, Stores Section, Addington.
Devonport
Ordnance Workshop – Located at the Torpedo Yard, North Head
Ordnance Workshop Devonport, 1925-1941
No 12 Ordnance Workshop, Devonport, 1941–1946
Dunedin
Stores Depot
Otago and Southland Military Districts Stores Depot, 1907 to 1921
Fairlie
Nine magazines Operational 1943.
Featherston
Featherston Camp was New Zealand’s largest training camp during the First World War, where around 60,000 young men trained for overseas service between 1916 – 1918. An Ordnance Detachment was maintained in Featherston until 1927 when it functions were transferred to Northern Districts Ordnance Depot, Ngaruawahia.[10]
Glen Tunnel
16 magazines Operational from 1943
Hamilton
Proof Office, Small Arms Ammunition Factory, 1943-1946
Kelms Road
55 Magazines Operational from 1943 to 1976
Linton Camp
RNZAOC units that have been accommodated at Linton have been;
Stores Depot
No 2 Ordnance Depot, 1 October 1946 to 1948,
Central Districts Ordnance Depot, 1948 to 1968,
2 Central Ordnance Depot (2 COD), 1968 to 16 Oct 1978,[11]
2 Supply Company, 16 October 1978 to 1985,
Static Depot
Tech Stores Section
Field Force
22 Ordnance Field Park
General Stores
Bath Section
5 Composite Supply Company, 1985 to 1990.
21 Field Supply Company 1990 to 1996
Vehicle Depot
Central Districts Vehicle Depot, 1957-1961
Ammunition Depot
Ordnance Field Parks
2nd Infantry Brigade Ordnance Field Park Platoon 1948-48
22 Ordnance Field Park
Workshop Stores Section
1 General Troops Workshop, Stores Section
Linton Area Workshop, Stores Section
5 Engineer Workshop, Store Section
Other Ordnance Units
24 Supply Platoon
23 Combat Supplies Platoon
47 Petroleum Platoon 1984 to 1996
Ready Reaction Force Ordnance Support Group (RRF OSG), from Burnham in 1992 absorbed into 21 Field Supply Company. [12]
First used as a tented camp during the First World War and in the Second World War Mangaroa was the site of an RNZAF Stores Depot from 1943. The depot with a storage capacity of 25,000 sq ft in 8 ‘Adams-type Buildings was handed over to the NZ Army by 1949.[13] The units that have been accommodated at Mangaroa have been:
Supply Depot
Main Ordnance Depot,1949–1968,
1 Base Ordnance Depot, 1968–1979,
1st Base Supply Battalion,
ACE(Artillery and Camp Equipment) Group
5 Composite Supply Company, 1978 – Dec 1979
Ordnance Field Parks
2nd Infantry Brigade Ordnance Field Park Platoon, 1950–1963,
1 Infantry Brigade Group, OFP, 1963–1968,
1st Composite Ordnance Company (1 Comp Ord Coy), 1964–1977,
1 Comp Ord Coy was the Ordnance Bulk Holding unit for the field force units supporting the Combat Brigade Group and the Logistic Support Group, and held 60–90 days’ war reserve stock. 1 Comp Ord Coy was made up of the following subunits: [14]
Coy HQ
1 Platoon, General Stores
2 Platoon, Technical Stores
3 Platoon, Vehicles
4 Platoon, Ammo (located at Makomako)
5 Platoon, Laundry
6 Platoon, Bath
Mako Mako
39 magazines operational from 1943
MOD Trentham, Ammunition Group, Ammunition Section
2 COD Ammunition Section
Mount Eden
Defence Stores/Ordnance Depot, 1871-1927
Defence Stores Department Powder Magazines 1871
Defence Stores Department, District Stores – Goal Reserve, Mount Eden 1903 -1917
Northern District Ordnance Depot – Goal Reserve, Mount Eden 1917 -1929.[4]
Proof Office, Small Arms Ammunition Factory, 1898-1967
Mount Somers
10 Magazines operational from 1943, closed 1969
Ngaruawahia
Ngaruawahia also was known as Hopu Hopu was established in 1927, [15] and allowed the closure of Featherston Ordnance Depot and the Auckland Ordnance Depot and was intended to service the northern regions. During construction, Ngaruawahia was described by the Auckland Star as “Probably the greatest Ordnance Depot”[16] Ngaruawahia closed down in 1989, and its Ordnance functions moved to Papakura and Mount Wellington.
RNZAOC units that have been accommodated at Ngaruawahia have been:
Stores Depot
Area Ngaruawahia Ordnance Department 1927 to 1940,
Northern District Ordnance Depot, 1940 to 1942,
No 1 Ordnance Sub Depot, 1942 to 1948, In addition to the main stores at Ngaruawahia Camp, No 1 Ordnance Sub Depot also maintained Sub-Depots at the following locations:
Bulk Store at Federal Street, Auckland
Clothing and Boot Store at Mills Lane, Auckland
Clothing Store at Glyde Rink, Kyber Pass/Park Rd, Auckland
The Ray Boot Store, Frankton
Area 4 Ordnance store, Hamilton.
Pukekohe Show Grounds Buildings
Northern District Ordnance Depot, 1948 to 1968,
1 Central Ordnance Depot (1 COD), 1968 to 1979,
1 Supply Company, 1979 to 1989,
1 Field Supply Company, 1984, from 1989, Papakura. [17]
Ammunition Depot
25 Storehouses
Thirteen Constructed 1927-29
Twelve Constructed 1942-45
Ordnance Field Parks
1st Infantry Brigade Ordnance Field Park Platoon, 1948 to 1955
1 Infantry Brigade Group, Ordnance Field Park(OFP), 1968 to 1979, support to Combat Brigade Group
Workshop Stores Section
1 Infantry Brigade Group LAD, Stores Section
Other Ordnance Units
Northern Districts Ammunition Depot, Kelms Road
Palmerston North
Palmerston North Detachment, NZAOC, 1914 to 1921.[18][19][20]
Depot Closed and stocks moved to Trentham.
Ordnance Store, 327 Main Street Circa 1917-1921.[21]
No 2 Ordnance Sub Depot, Palmerston North showgrounds, 1942 to 1946 when depot moved to Linton.
Trentham
Stores Depot
Main Ordnance Depot (MOD), 1920 to 1968
Base Ordnance Depot (BOD), 1968 to 1979
1st Base Supply Battalion (1BSB), 1979 to 1993
5 Logistic Regiment (5LR), 1993 to 8 December 1996 when Transferred to the RNZALR.
Ordnance School
RNZAOC School, 1958 to 1994
Supply/Quartermaster Wing and Ammunition Wing, Trade Training School 1994 to 1996. [21]
4(NZ) Division Ordnance Field Park(OFP), 1950–1963
Vehicle Depot
Central Districts Vehicle Depot, 1948 – 1957
Ammunition Units
HQ Ammunition Group, sections at Belmont, Makomako, Kuku Valley, Waiouru
Ammunition Proof and Experimental Centre, Kuku Valley
Central Military District Ammunition Repair Depot, Kuku Valley
Waiouru
Ordnance Sub Depots were established at Waiouru in 1940, which eventually grew into a stand-alone Supply Company.[23]
RNZAOC units that have supported Waiouru have been;
Stores Depot
Main Ordnance Depot, Waiouru Sub-Depot, 1940–1946, Initially managed as a Sub-Depot of the Main Ordnance Depot in Trentham, Ordnance units in Waiouru consisted of:
Artillery Sub Depot
Bulk Stores Depot
Ammunition Section
Central Districts Ordnance Depot, Waiouru Sub Depot (1946–1976).[24] In 1946 Waiouru became a Sub-Depot of the Central Districts Ordnance Depot in Linton, consisting of:
Ammo Group
Vehicle Group
Camp Equipment Group.
4 Central Ordnance Deport, (1976–1979) On 1 April 1976 became a stand-alone Depot in its own right. [25]
4 Supply Company, (1979–1989)
when the RNZASC was disbanded in 1979 and its supply functions transferred to the RNZAOC, 4 Supply gained the following RNZASC units:[26]
HQ 21 Supply Company,(TF element)(1979–1984)
21 Supply Company was retained as a Territorial unit for training and exercise purposes and was capable of providing a Supply Company Headquarter capable of commanding up to five subunits.
47 Petroleum Platoon (1979–1984)
44 Supply Platoon
Central Q, (1989–1993)
4 Field Supply Company, (1993–1994)
Distribution Company, 4 Logistic Regiment, (1994–1996)
Workshop Stores Section
Waiouru Workshop, Stores Section
4 ATG Workshop, Stores Section
1 Armoured Workshop, Store Section
QAMR Workshop, Store Section
Wellington
The Board of Ordnance originally had a warehouse in Manners Street, but after the 1850 earthquake severely damaged this building, 13 acres of Mount Cook was granted to the Board of Ordnance, starting a long Ordnance association with the Wellington area.
Stores Depot
Defence Stores Department, Lower Mount Cook Barracks, 1869 – 1917
Central Districts Ordnance Depot, Mount Cook, 1917 to 1920.[27]
NZAOC Ammunition Section, Fort Ballance Magazine Area, 1920 -1943
Ammunition Inspection and Repair
New Zealand Ordnance Corps Section, RNZA, Fort Ballance, Wellington, 1915 to 1917.[28]
Unit locations overseas, 1914–1920
Few records trace with any accuracy New Zealand Ordnance units that served overseas in the First World War. Although the NZAOC was not officially created until 1917.[30] The New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps was constituted as part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) in 1914 for overseas service only and in 1919 its members demobilised, returned to their parent units or mustered into the New Zealand Army Ordnance Department (Officers) or New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (other Ranks) on their return to New Zealand.
Base Ordnance Depot, Kure (RAOC unit, NZAOC personnel attached)
4 New Zealand Base Ordnance Depot, November 1945.
4 New Zealand Advanced Ordnance Depot, November 1946.
4 New Zealand Ordnance Field Park – August 1947 to July 1948 when closed.
Korea
No Standalone units but individual RNZAOC personnel served in 4 Ordnance Composite Depot (4 OCD) RAOC.
Malaya
No standalone RNZAOC units, but individual RNZAOC personnel may have served in the following British and Commonwealth Ordnance units:
3 Base Ordnance Depot, RAOC, Singapore
28 Commonwealth Brigade Ordnance Field Park, Terendak, Malaysia.
Singapore
Stores Depot
5 Advanced Ordnance Depot, 1970–1971
5 Advanced Ordnance Depot (5 AOD) was a short-lived Bi-National Ordnance Depot operated by the RAAOC and RNZAOC in Singapore, 1970 to 1971.
ANZUK Ordnance Depot, 1971–1974
ANZUK Ordnance Depot was the Tri-National Ordnance Depot supporting the short-lived ANZUK Force. Staffed by service personnel from the RAOC, RAAOC and RNZAOC with locally Employed Civilians (LEC) performing the basic clerical, warehousing and driving tasks. It was part of the ANZUK Support Group supporting ANZUK Force in Singapore between 1971 to 1974. ANZUK Ordnance Depot was formed from the Australian/NZ 5 AOD and UK 3BOD and consisted of:
Stores Sub Depot
Vehicle Sub Depot
Ammunition Sub Depot
Barrack Services Unit
Forward Ordnance Depot(FOD)
New Zealand Advanced Ordnance Depot, 1974–1989
From 1974 to 1989 the RNZAOC maintained the New Zealand Advanced Ordnance Depot(NZAOD) in Singapore as part of New Zealand Force South East Asia (NZFORSEA).
Workshops Stores Section
New Zealand Workshops, RNZAOC Stores Section
1RNZIR, Light Aid Detachment Stores Section
Somalia
The RNZAOC (with RNZCT, RNZEME, RNZSig, RNZMC specialist attachments) contributed to the New Zealand Governments commitment to the International and United Nations Operation in Somalia(UNOSOM) efforts in Somalia with:
Supply Detachment, Dec 1992 to June 1993
Supply Platoon x 2 rotations, July 1993 to July 1994 (reinforced with RNZIR Infantry Section)
RNZAOC officers to UNOSOM headquarters, 1992 to 1995.[40]
South Vietnam
During New Zealand’s commitment to the war in South Vietnam (29 June 1964 – 21 December 1972). The Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps did not contribute a standalone unit but provided individuals to serve in New Zealand Headquarters units, Composite Logistic units or as part of Australian Ordnance Units including:
[1] Whakapapa is a taxonomic framework that links all animate and inanimate, known and unknown phenomena in the terrestrial and spiritual worlds. Whakapapa, therefore, binds all things. It maps relationships so that mythology, legend, history, knowledge, Tikanga (custom), philosophies and spiritualities are organised, preserved and transmitted from one generation to the next. “Rāwiri Taonui, ‘Whakapapa – Genealogy – What Is Whakapapa?’, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, Http://Www.Teara.Govt.Nz/En/Whakapapa-Genealogy/Page-1 (Accessed 3 June 2019).”
[2] Major J.S Bolton, A History of the Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (Trentham: RNZAOC, 1992).
[3] A.J. Polaschek and Medals Research Christchurch, The Complete New Zealand Distinguished Conduct Medal: Being an Account of the New Zealand Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal from the Earliest Times of the South African War to the Present Time, Together with Brief Biographical Notes and Details of Their Entitlement to Other Medals, Orders and Decorations (Medals Research Christchurch, 1983).
[4] “Dismantling of Buildings at Mt Eden and Reassembling at Narrow Neck,” New Zealand Herald, vol. LXVI, p. 5, 2 February 1929.
[5] “The Narrow Neck Camp,” New Zealand Herald, vol. LVIII, no. 17815, p. 6, 23 June 1921.
[6] John J. Storey and J. Halket Millar, March Past: A Review of the First Fifty Years of Burnham Camp (Christchurch, N.Z.: Pegasus Press, 1973, 1974 printing, 1973), Non-fiction.
[7] “Camp at Burnham,” Star, no. 16298, p. 8, 13 December 1920.
[11] “NZ P106 Dos Procedure Instructions, Part 1 Static Support Force. Annex F to Chapter 1, Rnzaoc Director of Ordnance Services.”
[12] “Stockholding for Operationally Deployable Stockholding Units,” NZ Army General Staff, Wellington (1993.).
[13] L Clifton, Aerodrome Services, ed. Aerodrome Services Branch of the Public Works Department War History (Wellington1947).
[14] “1 Comp Ord Coy,” Pataka Magazine, February 1979.
[15] “D-01 Public Works Statement by the Hon. J. G. Coates, Minister of Public Works,” Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1 January,” (1925).
[16] “Great Military Camp,” The Auckland Star, vol. LVI, no. 83, p. 5, 8 April 1925.
[17] “1st Field Supply Company Standing Operating Procedures, 1st Supply Company Training Wing, Dec “, (1984).
[18] W.H. Cunningham and C.A.L. Treadwell, Wellington Regiment: N. Z. E. F 1914-1918 (Naval & Military Press, 2003).
[19] “Defence Re-Organisation,” Manawatu Times, vol. XLII, no. 1808, p. 5, 5 May 1921.
[20] “H-19 Defence Forces of New Zealand, Report of the General Officer Commanding the Forces from 25th June 1914 to 26th June, 1915.,” “, Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives (1915).
[27] “Ordnance Stores,” Evening Post, vol. c, no. 95, p. 8, 19 October 1920.
[28] “H-19 Defence Forces of New Zealand, Report of the General Officer Commanding the Forces from 25th June 1914 to 26th June 1915.”
“, Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives (1915).
[29] “H-19 Defence Forces of New Zealand, Report of the General Officer Commanding the Forces, from 1st June 1916 to 31st May 1917,” Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives (1917).
[30] “Colonel Rhodes,” Dominion, vol. 9, no. 2718, p. 9, 13 March 1916. .
[33] Glyn Harper, Johnny Enzed: The New Zealand Soldier in the First World War 1914-1918, First World War Centenary History (Titirangi, Auckland, New Zealand: Exisle Publishing, 2015
From 1914 to 1958 the sight of New Zealand Soldiers in felt slouch hats was commonplace. In addition to providing a practical form of headdress, by the use of a coloured headband, it became easy to identify the Regiment or Corps of the wearer.
This article will provide a brief background on the use and history of Puggarees in New Zealand service with a focus on their use by the New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps.
RNZAOC Puggaree. Robert McKie Collection
Origins
The Puggaree origins lay in the Hindu word, ‘Pagri’ which is used to describe a wide range of traditional headdress worn by men and women throughout the Indian Sub-Continent, one of the most recognisable being the Dustaar or Sikh turban.
Soldiers, by their nature, are creatures of innovation and British troops serving India soon found that by wrapping a thin scarf of muslin around their headdress, not only could additional protection from sword blows be provided, but the thin cloth scarf could also be unravelled to provide insulation from the heat of the sun. Like many Indian words, “Pagri” became anglicised into Puggaree.
By the 1870s, the functional use of the puggaree had become secondary, and the puggaree evolved into a decorative item on British Army headdress, which, when used with a combination of colours, could be used to distinguish regiments and corps. First used by New Zealanders in the South African war, the use of puggaree on slouch hats was formalised in the New Zealand Army 1912 Dress Regulations. These regulations detailed the colours of the distinctive puggaree used to indicate different branches of the service; [1][2]
World War One
When the first New Zealand Troops went overseas in 1914, the NZ Slouch hat was one that had been first used in the South Africa War and had a crease running down the crown from front to rear. From 1914 the Wellington Battalion wore their hats with the crown peaked, and after a brief period where cork helmets were also worn, General Godley issued a directive that all troops, other than the Mounted Rifles, were to wear the slouch hat with the crown peaked, in what became known as the “Lemon Squeezer”.[3]
NZMR
New Zealand felt “lemon Squeezer” hat with Ordnance Puggaree and NZEF Ordnance Badge. Robert McKie Collection
Worn with both the Mounted Rifles Slouch hat and the Lemon Squeezer, the puggaree became a distinctive mark of the New Zealand soldier, identifying them as distinct from soldiers from other parts of the Empire who, in general, used only plain puggaree on their headdress.[4][5] From 1917, the New Zealand puggaree also proved useful in distinguishing New Zealand troops from the Americans, who wore headdress similar to the New Zealand Lemon Squeezer hat.[6]
As the war progressed, additional units that did not exist in the pre-war New Zealand Army were created, both as part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) and as part of the Home Service forces in New Zealand. This included the New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (NZAOC), which was formed as a unit of the NZEF in early 1916 and as part of the New Zealand Permanent Forces in 1917.[7]
It is assumed that as a new unit, a distinctive puggaree was adopted for the NZAOC, but the limited photographs of NZAOC personnel are black and white, making identification of colours difficult. The following photo of NZ Army Service Corps staff at Zeitoun Camp in Egypt taken in either later 1915 or early 1916, shows a soldier wearing a Lemon Squeezer hat with a coloured Puggaree with a British Army Ordnance Corps (AOC) Badge, possibly the first example of an NZ Ordnance Puggaree.
New Zealand Supply Depot Staff at Zeitoun Camp, 1915. Note Ordnance solder front row 3rd from left. National Army Museum of New Zealand
Ordnance Soldier with Lemon Squeezer, Puggaree and AOC Badge, New Zealand Supply Depot Staff at Zeitoun Camp, 1915. National Army Museum of New Zealand.
A Newspaper article from December 1918 does provide evidence that an Ordnance puggaree of red/blue/red existed. The article published in the Press on 5 December 1918 states the following:[8] “There are only two units in the New Zealand Division with red in the puggaree. They are the Artillery and Ordnance, and in both units, the colours are red and blue”. Although slightly incorrect in that only two units of the NZEF wore red in the puggaree, The Infantry also had red in their Puggaree; this sentence does identify that the Ordnance Puggaree was red and blue.
In a later photograph of the NZAOC at taken at Buckle Street in 1918, the Puggaree are distinctive.
The New Zealand Ordnance Corps 1918, Buckle Street Wellington. RNZAOC School
Taken from the 1918 Buckle Street picture, this blown-up image shows two soldiers, one with a Lemon Squeezer Hat and the other with a Mounted Rifles slouch hat; both puggarees could be of the NZ Ordnance pattern.
In a 1919 Photo of the NZAOC staff taken in Germany, the Puggaree of the Ordnance Staff are less distinctive and look to be a single colour, possibly red or Blue.
New Zealand Ordnance Corps demobilisation Staff at Mulheim, Germany, February 1919. Alexander Turnbull Library/Public Domain
Ordnance Corporal (Possibly TY Falvey) London 1918
The Inter-War Years
The red/blue/red Puggaree was formally be adopted as the Puggaree of the NZAOC in 1923 when the New Zealand Army updated its Dress Regulations for the first time since 1912.[9]
The Ordnance Puggaree became a common sight around New Zealand Military establishments up to 1931, where with the virtual disestablished of the NZAOC their use shrunk to twenty or so remaining NZAOC Soldiers.
World War Two
The onset of war in 1939 saw explosive growth of the New Zealand Army from a few hundred personnel to thousands, with articles published in newspapers to educate the public on the different coloured puggaree and which units they belonged to.[10] The red/blue/red Ordnance puggaree was worn throughout the war years by the NZAOC and the New Zealand Ordnance Corps, the Ordnance component of the NZEF and the Territorial Army.[11]
Lemon Squeezer as worn by members of the 2nd NZEF NZOC, Middle East, Italy 1939-44.
Ordnance soldier of the NZOC, New Zealand 1942-44.
Post War
The Lemon Squeezer Hat and puggaree remained a fixture of the New Zealand Army until 1958 when the Lemon Squeezer was withdrawn from services and replaced with a new Battle Dress cap, and the use of puggaree within the Ordnance Corps faded from memory.
RNZAOC Territorial Force 3rd intake Ngaruawahia Camp 1951. RNZAOC School CollectionRNZAOC Camp Commandants Bodyguard, Trentham Camp 1954. RNZAOC School Collection
[1] The original MZ Slouch hat had been first used in the South Africa War and had a crease running from front to rear. From 1914 the Wellington Battalion wore their hats peaked
[2] Malcolm Thomas and Cliff Lord, New Zealand Army Distinguishing Patches, 1911-1991 (Wellington, N.Z.: M. Thomas and C. Lord, 1995, 1995), Bibliographies, Non-fiction, Part One, 128-29
[3] D. A. Corbett, The Regimental Badges of New Zealand: An Illustrated History of the Badges and Insignia Worn by the New Zealand Army (Auckland, N.Z.: Ray Richards, 1980
Revised end. edition, 1980), Non-fiction, 47-48.
[4] Australia and Canada both use coloured puggaree on their respective headdress, just not to the same extent as New Zealand.
[5] “Local and General,” Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2610, 4 November 1915.
[6] “Visit to Paris,” North Otago Times, Volume CV, Issue 14001, 11 December 1917.
[7] “New Zealand Army Ordnance Department and New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps Regulations,” New Zealand Gazette, No 95, June 7 1917.
[8] “Soldiers and Dress – Ordnance Puggaree,” Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16387, 5 December 1918.
[9] Thomas and Lord, New Zealand Army Distinguishing Patches, 1911-1991, 35.
Charles Ingram Gossage was born on 11 August 1890 at Tapanui, New Zealand, to Richard Ingram Gossage and Margret (Smith) and was the oldest boy in a family of three girls and two boys: Jane Eliza, born in 1886, Marion Peebles and Margaret Rubina, born 1888 and George Low born 1894.1
Meeting his military service obligations, Gossage served in the 5th Mounted Rifles (Otago Hussars). Joining the Bank of New Zealand on 6 January 1913, Gossage was employed at the Dunedin branch when he enlisted into the NZEF.
On the declaration of war, Gossage, along with his younger brother George volunteered for war service and enlisted at Dunedin into their Territorial Army unit, the 5th Mounted Rifles (Otago Hussars), on 9 August 1914. Gossage was attested as 9/39 Trooper C. I Gossage on 13 August 1914.
After a short training period, the Gossage brothers embarked as part of the NZEF Main Body on Troop Transport 5 on 15 October 1914, disembarking in Egypt on 3 December 1914.
Transferred into the Divisional Headquarters on 5 February 1915, Gossage was allocated the new Regimental Number of 15/39a. Embarking from Alexandra for the Dardanelles on 27 April, Gossage remained at Gallipoli until he was evacuated to Alexandra with dysentery in late June. Remaining in Hospital until 5 August he was then released to a convalescent Camp to recover, returning to full duty on 25 August.
On 27 August Gossages 22-year-old brother George who was also serving with the Otago’s in Gallipoli was killed in action and now rests on the Hill 60 cemetery at Gallipoli and is memorialised on the Mosgiel War memorial in New Zealand.
Trooper George Gossage, Mosgiel Lodge Memorial Board – No known copyright restrictions.
Returned to full fitness, Gossage departed from Alexandra for Mudros on 3 November, continuing to serve in Gallipoli until the withdrawal on 20 December, disembarking in Alexandra soon afterwards.
Some of the boys of the 7th Southland Squadron, Otago Mounted Rifles Members of the 7th Southland Squadron, Otago Mounted Rifles who were among the last to leave Gallipoli. Gossage is incorrectly named Tossage.
Transferred from Division Headquarter back to the Otago Mounted Rifles, Gossage was promoted to Temporary Signal Corporal on 28 December and served with the Otago Mounted Rifles in the Canal Zone and was promoted to Lance Corporal on 28 January 1916.
Enjoying some downtime as the NZEF reorganised, Gossage was admitted to a hospital in Ismailia with VD on 6 February and then transferred to the Hospital at Abbassya the next day and released from the hospital on 13 February.
Relinquishing his temporary Corporal rank on 10 February, Gossage was transferred to Moascar camp and Attached to the New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (NZAOC) on 13 February and promoted to Sergeant on 18 February.
Formally transferred to the NZAOC on 21 March, Gossage had a brief time to acquaint himself with his new responsibilities before embarking for France on 6 April.
Working under the Deputy Assistant Director Ordnance Services (DADOS) NZ Division Lieutenant Colonel Herbert, the NZAOC had a steep learning curve and not only had to learn how to operate within the British Ordnance system but also support the New Zealand Division as it reorganised and equipped with all types of war materiel.2
On 17 April 1916, Gossage was appointed Company Sergeant Major and acting Warrant Officer, and on 24 July, in a testament to his performance, Gossage was promoted to Warrant Officer Class One with the appointment of Conductor, the first New Zealand Soldier to be granted this appointment. Further promotion followed with promotion to 2nd Lieutenant on 25 January 1917.
14 May 1917 saw Gossage at the New Zealand Officer Convalescent Home at Brighton in England, where he remained until 12 June and then placed onto the strength of the HQ NZEF (UK) in London. Struck off strength HQ NZEF(UK) on 13 June, Gossage was posted to the New Zealand Reserve Group at Sling Camp.
To further his utility as an Ordnance Officer, Gossage marched out of Sling Camp on 21 September to attend an Ordnance Officers course at the Headquarters of the Army Ordnance Corps located at the Red Barracks, Woolwich, London.
During his time at Woolwich married Wilfred Agnes Norwell in London on 29 December 1917.
Completing the Ordnance Officers course at Woolwich, Gossage was brought back on to the strength of the NZAOC in London on 25 February 1918, proceeding back to France on 18 March. Arriving back in the NZ Division on 19 March, Gossage was promoted to Lieutenant and appointed DADOS NZ Division vice Lieutenant Colonel Herbert DSO who had been appointed as the ADOS of a British Corps.3 On 31 March, when he was employed as DADOS, Gossage was granted the Rank of Temporary Captain, and on 24 June was awarded the rank of Temporary Major.
Departing France for leave in the United Kingdom on 2 November 1918, Gossage was on leave when the armistice took effect on 11 November. Within the first few weeks of the armistice, if space allowed, the wives and families of New Zealand servicemen returned to New Zealand.4 It is possible that Gossage’s wife departed for New Zealand during this period.
Returning to France on 20 November, Gossage moved with the New Zealand Division through Belgium into Germany, establishing themselves in Cologne by 20 December, where they carried out occupation duties before demobilisation.5 On 15 December, Gossage was promoted to Captain while retaining the rank of Temporary Major while DADOS NZ Division.
New Zealand Ordnance Corps Demobilisation Staff at Mulheim, Germany, Febuary1919. Alexander Turnbull Library/Public Domain
With the first units of the Division demobilising on 18 March 1919, the New Zealand Division was formally disbanded on 25 March 1919.6 Gossage was ordered to proceed to England as soon as the Ordnance Equipment of the New Zealand Division was handed over to the British. Impressed with the performance of the New Zealand Division between 16 September 1918 and 15 March 1919, General Haig Mentioned in Dispatches many members of the New Zealand Division, including Gossage, on 16 March 1919. With the New Zealand Division demobilised and all its equipment disposed of or handed back, Gossage marched out for England on 2 May 1919.
The Divisional Assistant Director of Services (DADOS), 9/39 Temporary Major Charles Ingram Gossage, New Zealand Army Ordinance Corps, in Cologne, Germany. The soldier in the rear is checking stores ready to be shipped back to the U.K. National Army Museum of New Zealand.
On 31 May 1919, Gossage’s daughter Thelma was born in Auckland, New Zealand.
Awarded the OBE on 3 June 1919, Gossage remained in London until 25 August, then posted to Sling Camp, where he remained until he returned to New Zealand for demobilisation on 3 November 1919.
Travelling back on the troopship Ruahine, Gossage arrived back in New Zealand on 25 December 1919 and proceeded on leave. On 24 January 1920, Gossage Relinquished the rank of Temporary Major and was Struck off the strength of the NZEF and was transferred to the reserve of Officers with the rank of Captain. In total, Gossage spent five years and seventy-one days on overseas service.
Gossage did remain out of uniform for long and, on 16 August 1920, was granted a commission as a Lieutenant in the New Zealand Army Ordnance Department (NZAOD) as Ordnance Accounting Officer at the Mount Cook depot at Wellington.
Gossage oversaw the receipt of a large amount of new military equipment, which had been purchased from the United Kingdom to equip an Infantry Division and Mounted Brigade at the end of the war. Additionally, Gossage also introduced a modern cost accounting system, which proved remarkably successful and reduced losses to negligible levels.
With the closing of the Mount Cook Depot in Wellington in 1920 and the transfer of Ordnance services to Trentham Camp, Gossage transferred to Trentham as the Accounting Officer on 18 July 1921. Offered a position with a commercial firm in London, Gossage resigned his commission with the NZAOD on 31 December 1922 and relocated to the United Kingdom with his family.
With the onset of the Second World War and the second echelon of the 2nd NZEF in the United Kingdom, on 20 May 1940, Gossage offered his services to the New Zealand Government. On the recommendation of Lieutenant Colonel King, the DADOS of the 2NZEF, Gossage’s offer was declined. Although his offer of service was refused by New Zealand, Gossage was commissioned as a Lieutenant into the admin branch of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) on 21 April 1941.7 The extent of Gossage’s wartime service with the RAOC is unknown, but he does not appear in the Army list of 1947, so it is likely that he was discharged soon after the end of the war.
Gossage passed away at St Andrews Hospital, London, at the age of seventy-five on 3 March 1966.
1 “Charles Ingram Gossage “, Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914.
2 P.H. Williams, Ordnance: Equipping the British Army for the Great War (History Press, 2018).
3 Herbert was posted to the British XI Corps as ADOS, “Alfred Henry Herbert “, Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1914.
4 “NZEF Circular Memorandum Uk 214, Notes on Demobilisation’, in Reports by Gen. Richardson in Uk No. 23-32 Nov 1917-Feb 1919, Acid 17590 Wa/231/11, Anz.”
5 Matthew Wright, Western Front: The New Zealand Division in the First World War 1916-18 (Auckland, N.Z: Reed Books, 2005, 2005), Bibliographies Non-fiction, 159.
Warrant Officer Class One, Conductor Badge 1915-1918. Robert McKie Collection
The Honourable and Ancient Appointment of Conductor has origins dating back to 1327 where they are mentioned in the Statute of Westminster as the men whose job it was to conduct soldiers to places of assembly. The “Conductor of Ordnance” is also mentioned in the records of the siege of Boulogne in 1544. Surviving as an appointment directly related to the handling of stores in the British army until the late 19th century, the appointment was formalised by Royal Warrant on 11 January 1879 which established conductors of supplies (in the Army Service Corps) and conductors of stores (in the Ordnance Stores Branch) as warrant officers, ranking above all non-commissioned officers.
The need for a New Zealand Ordnance Corps had been discussed since the turn of the century, so when war came in 1914, New Zealand was without an Ordnance Corps. Once the lead elements of the NZEF disembarked and established itself in Egypt, a New Zealand Ordnance Organisation was hastily created from scratch. Growing from the New Zealand DADOS staff the embryonic New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (NZAOC) was created as an NZEF unit during 1915 and was formally established as a unit of the NZEF establishment in January 1916.
Following the British model, the NZAOC included Warrant Officers Class One appointed as Conductors and Sub-Conductors as part of its organisational structure. Drawn from across the units of the NZEF and with an average age of 23, many of the men who were NZAOC Conductors had seen service at Gallipoli during the Dardanelles Campaign. Learning the hard lessons because of the administrative failures during that campaign, there is little doubt that these men understood the importance of their appointments in assuring that Ordnance stores were sourced and pushed directly forward to the frontline troops of the NZ Division.
The wide recognition in many historical sources that the New Zealand division was one of the best organised, trained and equipped Divisions in the British Army during the war in Europe is in part due to the contribution of the NZAOC and its conductors, with at least 4 four Conductors awarded Meritorious Service Medals for their work.
Warrant Officer Class One, Sub-Conductor Badge. 1915-1919 Robert McKie Collection
William Coltman
12/1025 Acting Sub-Conductor William Hall Densby Coltman, NZAOC. Auckland Weekly News/Public Domain
The first New Zealander to hold a Conductor appointment was Company Sergeant Major William Coltman. Enlisting into the Auckland Infantry Regiments in Sept 1914, Coltman served in the Dardanelles where he was injured. Transferring into the NZAOC in February 1916 as a Company Sergeant Major with the appointment of Acting Sub-Conductor. Coltman remained in this role with the NZAOC until March 1917 when he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant and spent the rest of the war as an Infantry Quartermaster officer in the New Zealand Machine Gun Corps.
Charles Gossage
Charles Gossage enlisted in the Otago Mounted Rifles in September 1914. Serving in the Dardanelles, Gossage transferred into the NZAOC in February 1916. On the 24th of July 1916 with the rank of Company Sergeant Major, Gossage was promoted to Warrant Officer Class 1 with the Appointment of Conductor. Gossage would hold this appointment until the 24th of Jan 1917 when he was commissioned as a Lieutenant. Gossage would remain on the New Zealand Division DADOS staff, finishing the war as a Major and NZ Div DADOS. Awarded the OBE, Gossage would continue to serve in the Home Service NZAOC as an Accounting Officer until December 1922.
Arthur Gilmore
Arthur Gilmore enlisted in the Auckland Infantry Regiment in September 1914. Serving as part of the DADOS Staff at Gallipoli. Gilmore was formally placed on the strength of the NZAOC on the 8th of April 1916. In Dec 1916 Sergeant Arthur Gilmore was promoted to Warrant Officer Class 1 with the appointment of Conductor. Gilmore would remain as a Conductor in the NZEF until Feb 1919 when he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. For his services as a Conductor, he was awarded the MSM.
Walter Geard
Walter Geard enlisted in the Auckland Infantry Regiment in August 1914. Seeing Service in the Dardanelles. Staff Sergeant Geard was attached to the New Zealand Mounted Brigade Headquarters for Ordnance duties where he was promoted to Warrant Officer Class 1 with the appointment of Conductor on 1 Jan 1917. Geard’s tenure as a Conductor was short as he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on 20 June 1917. Transferred from Egypt to France in August 1918, Geard spent the rest of the war on the staff of the NZ Division DADOS, demobilising as a Lieutenant in 1919.
William Simmons
William Henchcliffe Simmons was a railway clerk who enlisted in D Battery of the New Zealand Field Artillery in August 1914. Seven days later Quartermaster Sergeant Simmons embarked as part of the NZEF Samoa Advance Force. Returning to New Zealand in March 1915, Quartermaster Sergeant Simmons was transferred into the 1st Battalion of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade which was then training a Trentham Camp. In October 1915 Quartermaster Sergeant Simmons deployed with the 1st Battalion of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade to Egypt. Disembarking in Egypt in November 1915 Quartermaster Sergeant Simmons was attached to Brigade Headquarters with the acting rank of Warrant Officer as the clerk NZAOC. Transferring into the NZAOC on the 26th of February 1916 with the rank of Company Sergeant Major. Promoted to Warrant Officer Class 1 with the appointment of Conductor on the 1st of January 1917. Simmons tenure as a Conductor was short as he was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant in June 1917. Simmons remained in the NZAOC filling various staff roles in France and England for the duration of the war, finally being appointed Honorary Captain in Feb 1920 when he was appointed as the Officer in Charge of NZ Ordnance in England, a post he held until October 1920 when he was demobilised. For his services as a Conductor, Simmons was awarded the MSM.
Clarence Seay
6/3459 Warrant Officer Class 1 (Conductor) Clarence Adrian Seay, MSM. NZAOC Archives New Zealand/Public Domain
Clarence Seay was a farm cadet who enlisted in C Company on the 8th Reinforcements on the 20th of August 1915. Arriving at the New Zealand Base depot in Egypt in November 1915, Seay was transferred into the NZAOC in February 1916. With the pending promotion of Conductor Simmons, Sergeant Seay was promoted to Temporary Warrant Officer Class 1 with the appointment of acting Sub-Conductor on the 23 Mar 1917. Attaining substantive rank as a Warrant Officer Class 1 with the appointment of Sub-Conductor on 28 April 1917. Seay was promoted to full Conductor on the 22nd of September 1917. Seay remained with the NZ Division for the remainder of the war. In May 1918 Seay suffered a personal loss when his younger brother Gordon Seay, was killed in action. Sadly Seay died of Influenza on the 20th of February 1919 in Cologne, Germany. Interred in the Commonwealth War Cemetery in Cologne. Based on his performance Seay was awarded the MSM
“For long and valuable service. This NCO has done continuous good work and has performed his duties in a most excellent manner. As Senior Warrant Officer, with the New Zealand Ordnance Department, his work has been of a most arduous character and has frequently involved him in situations which have called for a display of energy and initiative. In an advance, the necessity of clean clothing and socks, etc, for the fighting troops is sometimes very acute. Conductor Seay on his energy and ability has at times been of the greatest assistance to the DADOS in administrating a very important branch of the service.”
Walter Smiley
Enlisting into the Canterbury Infantry Regiment in August 1914. Injured in the Dardanelles, Smiley was evacuated to Malta, then England returning to ANZAC Cove on the 7th of December 1915,, where he was transferred into the NZAOC and attached to the Canterbury Battalion. Sergeant Walter Smiley was promoted to Temporary Warrant Officer Class 1 with the appointment of acting Sub-Conductor on the 23 April 1917. Gaining Substantive rank as a Warrant Officer Class 1 with the appointment of Conductor on the 20th of December 1917. Smiley would carry out his role as a Conductor first in France, then England from October 1918 until he was demobilised in October 1919.
Frank Hutton
Frank Hutton enlisted in the Otago Infantry Regiment in August 1914. After service in the Dardanelles, Hutton was promoted to Sergeant and transferred to the NZAOC on the 1st of December 1915. Sergeant Frank Hutton was promoted to Warrant Officer Class 1 with the appointment of Sub-Conductor on the 1st of December 1917. Remaining with the NZ Division for the remainder of the war, Hutton was demobilised in September 1919.
Hutton was re-enlisted into the NZAOC as a Lance Corporal on the 14th of December 1942 as an Ammunition Examiner in the Inspecting Ordnance Officer Group in the Northern Military district based at Ngaruawahia. Hutton was discharged from the RNZAOC on the 6th of June 1948 when he was 69 years of age.
Edward Little
Enlisting in the 5th Wellington Regiment on the 9th of August 1914, Little was transferred into the Otago Infantry Battalion on the 23rd of March 1915. Injured in the buttocks and shoulder in the Dardanelles after a recovery period Little was transferred into the NZAOC on the 17th of February 1916, moving with he NZ Divison to France. On the 15th of April 1917, Sergeant Edward Little was promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer Class 1 with the appointment of Sub-Conductor. Promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer Class 1 with the appointment of Conductor on the 31st of August 1918. Transferred to the Middle East in October 1918, Conductor Little spent the remainder of the war attached to the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade Headquarters and was demobilised in October 1919.
John Goutenoire O’Brien
Private John O’Brien left New Zealand with the 6th Reinforcements on the 14th of August 1915. After service in the Dardanelles, O’Brien was transferred into the NZAOC in February 1916. Serving in France for 2 years O’Brien was assigned to London Headquarters in March 1918 as the Chief Clerk. Staff Sergeant John O’Brien was Promoted to Temporary Warrant Officer Class 1 with the Appointment of Acting Sub-Conductor on the 18 October 1918. Gaining Substantive rank as a Warrant Officer Class 1 with the appointment of Sub-Conductor on the 25th of November 1918. O’Brien was appointed as a Conductor on the 1st of Feb 1919. O’Brien was awarded the MSM and was the senior Warrant Officer NZAOC EF when he was demobilised in March 1920. His final duties included the indenting of new equipment for two divisions and a Mounted brigade that would equip the New Zealand Army until the late 1930s.
After a short stint serving in the NZAOC in New Zealand, O’Brien would return to his pre-war trade of banker. Immigrating to the United States, O’Brien attended De Paul University Law School in Chicago from 1921 to 1924. In 1926 O’Brien took up the position of vice-president of the Commercial National Bank in Shreveport, Louisiana. During the Second World War, O’Brien then a US Citizen served in the United States Army Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel in the South-West Pacific Theatre of Operations.
Edwin Green
8/1484 Sub Conductor Edwin Stanley Green, NZAOC. Auckland Weekly News/Public Domain
Enlisting into the Otago Infantry Regiment in December 1915, Green served in the Dardanelles where he was wounded. Transferring into the NZAOC in December 1916, Staff Sergeant Edwin Green was Promoted to Temporary Warrant Officer Class 1 with the Appointment of Acting Sub-Conductor on the 20 October 1918. Gaining Substantive rank as a Warrant Officer Class 1 with the appointment of Sub-Conductor on the 26th of November 1918. Green was demobilised in Dec 1919.
Charles Slattery
A member of the Royal New Zealand Artillery since February 1898, Charles Slattery was transferred into the New Zealand Permanent Staff as a Quartermaster Sergeant for the Wellington Railway Battalion on the 7th of October 1913. Joining the 2nd Battalion of the Wellington Regiment as part of the 37th Reinforcements in November 1918. Slattery was then transferred to the NZEF New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps on the 6th of January 1919 and promoted to Warrant Officer Class One with the appointment of Conductor. Sadly Slattery died of Influenza on the 25th of February 1919 in Cologne.
Harold Hill
Enlisting into the Wellington Infantry Regiment in February 1915, Hill would see service in the Dardanelles before transferring into the NZAOC in February 1916. Promoted to Corporal in April 1916 and then Sergeant in September 1916. Sergeant Hill was promoted to Warrant Officer Class 1 with the appointment of Sub-Conductor on the 21st of Feb 1919. Hill was demobilised in October 1919.
Arthur Richardson
Initially enlisting in the Royal New Zealand Artillery in 1913. Serving with the NZEF from June 1917 to August 1919, Sergeant Artificer Richardson was temporarily transferred from the New Zealand Artillery into the NZAOC in Feb 1918. Promoted to Temporary Warrant Officer Class 1 with the appointment of Acting Sub-Conductor on the 3rd of Feb 1919. Richardson was demobilised from the NZEF on the 13th of Feb 1919 and returned to service with the Royal New Zealand Artillery. In 1928 Richardson was Transferred back into the NZAOC counting to serve until the creation of the New Zealand Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, retiring in 1951.
Hubert Wilson
Enlisting into the New Zealand Field Artillery in August 1914, Wilson was wounded in the thigh while serving in the Dardanelles. Remaining with the Artillery for several years, Staff Sergeant Wilson Transferred into the NZAOC in October 1918. Promoted to Warrant Officer Class 1 with the appointment of Acting Sub-Conductor on the 3rd of March 1919. Wilson was demobilised from the NZEF in May 1920. For his actions before joining the NZAOC Wilson was awarded the Military Medal.
Unlike Ordnance Depots in New Zealand in the 1980s, the New Zealand Advanced Ordnance Depot (NZAOD) in Singapore had little affiliation with New Zealand’s first Colonial Storekeeper, Henry Tucker. Instead of having a Henry Tucker Club, some other social gathering was required for the Singapore-based RNZAOC Personnel. The solution was found in 1986, when a small club for RNZAOC Military members was established and named “Billy Becks’ in tribute to Captain William Thomas (Billy) Beck, attributed as the first New Zealander of Godley’s Force ashore at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915.
Meeting once a month on the rooftop of RSDS from August 1986, the “Billy Beck” club soon became an RNZAOC institution where all ranks could meet for a barbeque lunch and a few drinks. However, in 1989 the NZAOD closed, and the name “Billy Beck” was soon forgotten.
Who was Billy Beck?
William Thomas (Billy) was the son of Sarah Beck (Taylor) and her husband Richard Beck and was born in Castlemaine, Australia, on 7 May 1865. shortly after his birth, the Beck Family, including his two brothers and sister, migrated to New Zealand, Settling at Kanieri, Hokitika, on the West Coast of the South Island. Beck’s father was a butcher. His mother was in 1895 appointed as the first full-time Police Matron at Wellingtons Lambton Quay Headquarters, where she was responsible for handling female prisoners. She was also involved in enforcing the Infant Life Protection Act in New Zealand.
1917 Portrait of the Beck Family. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, 1054-584
At the age of 31, Beck married Edith Chick on 8 June 1896 in Port Chalmers, New Zealand and had three children.
Ellen Edith, born 8 September 1895
Thomas Nathan, born 1 January 1897
Olive Ivy, born on 10 March 1903.
The NZ Permanent Militia used the Thorncroft Spar Torpedo boat. As a torpedo man, it was a vessel Beck would have been familiar with.
In the New Zealand Permanent Militia during the 1890s, Beck was a Torpedoman Second Class with No 2 Service Company, Permanent Militia, based at Port Chalmers.
By 1904 Beck had relocated to Auckland and was employed as a civilian by the Defence Stores Department as the Defence Storekeeper for the Northern Military District, located at Goal Reserve, Mount Eden. Around 1907, Beck was granted the rank of Honorary Lieutenant in the New Zealand Staff Corps, followed soon afterwards by promotion to Honorary Captain.
From the annual camps of 1913, a new management system for Camp Equipment was implemented. Temporary Ordnance Stores Depots were established before the camps, and stores were assembled based on the strength and role of the units attending the camps. The initial trial of the new system was a success and was to be refined and repeated for the 1914 camps. For the 1914 camping season, Beck was the Officer in charge of the Camp Ordnance for the Auckland Divisional Camp at Hautapu near Cambridge in April 1914. The Camp ran from 28 April to 11 May. With a staff of 6 clerks and 12 issuers, he was responsible for managing store issues from the Auckland Defence Stores, including;
66 indicating Flags,
80 Axes,
100 picks and handles,
800 water buckets,
800 wash basins,
82 picket ropes,
81 brooms,
5000 groundsheets,
13 Roberts cookers,
13 horse troughs,
20 overall suits,
1320 yards galvanised iron piping,
a 2000gal water tank,
1 large swimming bath,
11 flagstaff’s,
500 nose-bags,
566 pairs of boots,
455 Mattress covers,
500 blankets”.
On 21 August 1914, Beck was enlisted in the Auckland Infantry Battalion with the rank of Honorary Captain. After a short mobilisation period, Beck departed Wellington on 16 October 1914 with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force’s main body on the troopship TSS Maunganui.
Arriving in Suez, Egypt on the 3rd of December 1914 and was soon attached as the Deputy Assistant Director of Ordnance Services to the New Zealand & Australian Headquarters Ordnance (NZ & Aust HQ Ordnance) of the New Zealand and Australian Division.
Capt. Beck, DADOS, the first New Zealander ashore at Gallipoli, at daily ablutions. Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira
Deploying to the Dardanelles in April 1915, Beck as a critical member of General Godley’s Headquarters, was amongst those in the initial landings at ANZAC Cove on the Gallipoli Peninsular on 25 April 1915. The Assistant Director Medical Services, Lieutenant Colonel Fenwick, another New Zealander, was also part of the Headquarters landing party and described the events of that day:
“we were all ready to land but were kept waiting and waiting until about 9.00am. Some barges were moored alongside and a string of boats outside of these on the starboard side. Colonels Braithwaite, Chaytor and Manders, Major Hughes and Captain Beck and I got into the first boat. We were frightfully hampered by our kit – overcoat, revolver, glasses, map case, haversack, three days rations, firewood, Red Cross satchel, water bottle – like elephants. It was certainly that we would drown if we got sunk. After waiting, a steam picket boat came along in charge of a very fat rosy midshipman. he took our string of boats in tow and we were off. Our boat grounded about 50 feet from the shore and we all hopped out. Of course I fell into a hole up to my neck. I could hardly struggle ashore and when I did the first thing I saw was Beck sitting on a stone, roaring with laughter at us.”
Although New Zealanders were serving with the Australian Division and in other roles as part of the landings, Beck was the first New Zealander of Godley’s New Zealand and Australian Division to land on Gallipoli.
Captain Beck and Lieutenant Lawless- Gallipoli 1915. Auckland War Memorial Museum
So not only was Beck one of the first New Zealanders ashore, he was also a bit of a character and The Hawera & Normanby Star, 24 June 1916 had this to say about Captain Beck’s service at Gallipoli:
“Finally, there was Captain William Beck, an ordinary officer. “Beachy Bill” was in charge of the store – a miserable little place – and whenever he put his nose out of the door bullets tried to hit it. The Turkish gun in Olive Grove was named after him, “Beachy Bill.” The store was simply a shot under fire and Bill looked out and went on with his work just as if no bullets were about. He was the most courteous and humorous, and no assistant at Whiteley’s could have been more pleasing and courteous than the brave storekeeper on Anzac Beach. General Birdwood never failed to call on Captain Beck or call out as he passed on his daily rounds, asking if he were there, and they all dreaded that some day there would be no reply from a gaunt figure still in death. But Captain Beck was only concerned for the safety of his customers. He hurried them away, never himself.”
The 14th of June 1915 saw Beck Commissioned as a Captain into the New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps.
At Gallipoli since 25 April, the strain of the campaign was starting to wear beck down and in a letter to the Minister of Defence on 2 July, Godley who noted that;
I am sending Beck to Alexandria and cabling for Levien in his place: the former’s nerve is quite broken down, and he wants a rest from shells. He has been shelled out of his dug-out on several occasions, has had many close shaves, and his stores repeatedly wrecked, and this, on the top of all his hard work, has been rather much for him. Now that the MEF has taken over all our stores, this should work without difficulty.”
Major General Godley, “Correspondence Major General Godley to James Allen 2 July,” R22319698 – Ministerial Files – Correspondence with General Godley (1915).
On the 13th of July 1915, Beck was listed as a casualty on Casualty list No 50. Replaced as DADOS on 1 August 1915 by Lieutenant Norman Levien, NZAOC, Beck left Gallipoli for duty in Alexandria.
Mentioned in Dispatches by the Commander in Chief, Mediterranean, Sir Ian Hamilton on the 26th of August 1915, this was followed up with the awarding of the Distinguished Service Order for distinguished service in the field during operations in the Dardanelles, which was recorded in the London Gazette of 8 November 1915
With a Medical Board finding him “incapacitated for military duty”, Beck was invalided back to New Zealand on the RMS Tahiti on 20 November 1915 and struck off the strength of the NZEF on 19 February 1916. He was transferred to the reserve list of officers with the rank of Captain, resuming his pre-war duties at the Northern District Ordnance Depot as the District Storekeeper. In 1917 with the formation of the Home Service NZAOC, Beck transferred into the NZAOC with the new title of Assistant Director of Equipment and Ordnance Stores for the Northern Military District, a position he held until his resignation in March 1918.
William Thomas Beck Circa 1921
Taking up employment with the Public Works Department in Apia, Samoa, Beck remained there until his retirement in 1922.
Divorcing his first wife Edith in the mid-1930s, Beck remarried in the late 1930s.
Retiring in Wellington, Beck passed away on the 15th of January 1947 and is interned in the soldiers’ section of the Karori Cemetery, Wellington, New Zealand.
Beck’s medals are now on display in the Gallipoli Room of the Maryborough Military and Colonial Museum, Queensland, Australia.
Captian W.T Beck whose medals and memorabilia, belonging to the Maryborough Military & Colonial Museum, Maryborough, Queensland, Australia
The first meeting of the Billy Beck Club August 1986. Back Row: Hiroti, Finlay, Marshall, Rangi, Canton, Newton, Ellis Middle Row: Sweetman (PTI), Brit exchange Officer, Crafts, Goddard, Juno, Pook, Le Gros. Front: McIntosh, Haewera, Clarke, Govan, Christie, Madgwick.The Final Billy Becks, 1989 Back Row: Watmuff, Kearney, Davis, Ngatai, Tombleson, Tyler, Bourne Middle Row: Tamehana, Wiersma, McKie, Coleman, Carver. Front Row: Thomas, Clarke, Simonsen, Theyers, Reid
Sources
New Zealand, Marriage Index. 1896.
“Gunner W T Beck”. archway.archives.govt.nz.
New Zealand, Electoral Rolls. Waikouaiti Otago. 1896.
New Zealand, Electoral Rolls. Waikouaiti Otago. 1900.
Glackin, Rusell (2009). In Defence of our land. Penguin. p. 71. ISBN9780143011866.
“W T Beck Defence Storekeeper,”. archway.archives.govt.nz.
New Zealand, Electoral Rolls. Eden Auckland. 1905–1906.
“AUCKLAND TERRITORIALS” (VOLUME LI, ISSUE 15594). NEW ZEALAND HERALD,. 28 April 1914.
Bolton, Major J.S (1996). History of the Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps. p. 53. ISBN0477015816.
Pugsley, C (1998). Gallipoli: the New Zealand Story. Reed New Zealand. ISBN9780790005850.
Harper, Glyn (2015). JOHNNY ENZED: The New Zealand Soldier in the First World War 1914–1918. Exisle Publishing. ISBN9781775592020.
“Brave New Zealanders”. The Hawera and Normanby Star. 24 June 1916. p. 5.
Stowers, Richard (2015). Heroes of Gallipoli. John Douglas Publishing. ISBN9780994105950.
New Zealand Army Shoulder Titles C1979. Robert McKie Collection
Brass Shoulder Titles
Authorised in Army Dress Regulations for 1912 [1], shoulder titles were to be affixed to the shoulder strap (Epaulette) of the Service jacket. Shoulder titles were to be metal denoting the Corps or Regiment of the wearer. With the establishment of the NZEF, New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (NZAOC) in 1916 and the Home Service NZAOC and New Zealand Army Ordnance Department in 1917, the introduction of brass NZAOC and NZAOD shoulder titles soon followed.
The Dress Regulations of 1923 further clarified their use “The shoulder titles of the unit or corps, in brass letters will be worn by Officers, Warrant Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and men on the shoulder straps of jackets (service and blue) and great coats. They will not be worn on mess jackets”. The approved Ordnance shoulder titles were, [2]
New Zealand Army Ordnance Department – NZAOD
New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps – NZAOC.
NZAOC Shoulder Titles. Robert McKie Collection
With the disestablishment of the NZAOD on the 27th of June 1924 [3], and official use of the NZAOD shoulder title was discontinued, and the NZAOC shoulder title remained in use for all ranks, its use confirmed in the 1927 Dress regulations. [4]
Early in World War Two saw the establishment of the NZEF and Territorial Army ‘New Zealand Ordnance Corps’, again as in the case of the NZAOC 24 years earlier, shoulder titles were soon provided.[5]
Worn early in the war, the adoption of new uniforms and universal “New Zealand” flashes saw that existing stocks of brass shoulder titles, including the NZAOC and NZOC shoulder titles, were wasted out until stocks were exhausted. [6]
Cloth Titles
The adoption of cloth shoulder titles was first proposed in 1948. Screen printed samples like the current British pattern were proposed in 1949.
RAOC 1940’s screen printed shoulder titles. Robert McKie Collection
Desiring something more durable and presentable, it was decided that embroidered shoulder titles were the way ahead. After much deliberation, the Army Board approved the introduction of shoulder titles in 1954. After much bureaucratic discussion over costings and developing requirements, it was not until 1961 that the first samples were approved. The shoulder titles for the Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps were to have a Post Office red background with purple navy lettering in “Serif” Font. Over time there were variations in colour and size of lettering due to manufacture variations, with the final versions featuring lettering in a “Sans Serif” font and an overlocked edge. [2]
As part of a significant overhaul of New Zealand’s Army Service Dress, corps shoulder patches, including the RNZAOC pattern, were replaced with a universal “NEW ZEALAND” shoulder title from 1 January 1996.
Notes
Dress Regulations 1912, GHQ Circular No 5, Wellington: General Headquarters, 1912.
M. Thomas and C. Lord, NZ Army Distinguishing Patches 1911-1991, Wellington: Malcolm Thomas and Cliff Lord, 1995.
“NZAOD and NZAOC,” New Zealand Gazette, p. 1605, 3 July 1924.
“Shoulder Titles,” New Zealand Gazette, p. 1599, 19 May 1927.
G. Oldham, Badges and Insignia of the New Zealand Army, 2 ed., Auckland: Milimen Books, 2011.
B. O’Sullivan and M. O’Sullivan, New Zealand Army Uniforms and Clothing 1910-1945, Christchurch: Wilson Scott, 2009.
Charles Gossage enlisted in the Otago Mounted Rifles in September 1914. Serving in the Dardanelles, Gossage transferred into the NZAOC in February 1916. On the 24th of July 1916 with the rank of Company Sergeant Major, Gossage was promoted to Warrant Officer Class 1 with the Appointment of Conductor. Gossage would hold this appointment until the 24th of Jan 1917 when he was commissioned as a Lieutenant. Gossage would remain on the New Zealand Division DADOS staff, finishing the war as a Major and NZ Div DADOS. Awarded the OBE, Gossage would continue to serve in the Home Service NZAOC as an Accounting Officer until December 1922.
