Defence Stores Staff and Quartermasters – November 1911

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Of all the photos published on this website, this photo is one of the most significant. First published in the New Zealand Graphic on 29 November 1911, the picture is titled ”. This photo is significant in that it is

  • A photographic record of the first batch of New Zealand regular soldiers to be trained explicitly in Quartermaster duties, providing one of the foundation legs of the modern Supply Technician Trade of the Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment.
  • It is the only know photo capturing the images of the principal staff of the Defence Stores Department, who in 1917 became the foundation officers of New Zealand’s Army Ordnance Services.

Following the South Africa War, New Zealand’s military forces began to undertake a transformation into a force better trained and equipped to participate in the Imperial Defence Scheme. Uniforms, weapons and equipment were standardised, and following the Defence Act of 1909, the Volunteer forces were replaced with a robust Territorial force maintained by Compulsory Military Training.

In 1910, Field Marshall Lord Kitchener, the British Empire’s foremost soldier, reviewed New Zealand’s military forces and made several recommendations, including establishing the New Zealand Staff Corps (NZSC) and the New Zealand Permanent Staff (NZPS). Established in 1911, the NZSC and NZPS were to provide a professional cadre of officers (NZSC) and men (NZPS) able to provide guidance and administration to the units of the Territorial Force.

Since the 1860s, the Defence Stores Department provided storekeeping and maintenance support to New Zealand’s military forces from its main Depot in Wellington, supported by District Stores in Auckland, Nelson, Christchurch and Dunedin. Since the 1880s, duties had been separated between the Defence Stores and the Permanent Militia, with the Artillery maintaining Artificers and Storekeepers to manage guns, stores and ammunition of New Zealand’s Garrison and Field Artillery units. Prior to implementing the Defence Act of 1909 and the transition to the territorial army, volunteer units had maintained Quartermaster Staff to receive and manage stores issued from the Defence Stores. However, in many units, quartermaster positions were elected and varied in the value they added to the maintenance and custody of military stores under their care. As the military transitioned from Volunteer Force to Territorial Army, the existing cadre of quartermaster staff inherited from the volunteer system was identified as not up to the task, and the need for a professional quartermaster cadre was identified.

Establishing a professional quartermaster cadre with the required knowledge became a priority. By late 1911, 29 soldiers with the right qualities from the Territorial Army and Permanent Forces had been selected for training in Quartermaster duties. Reporting to the Defence Stores Department, Buckle Street Depot in Wellington in November 1911, these soldiers undertook three weeks of practical and theoretical instruction in Quartermaster duties under the Director of Stores, Honorary Major James O’Sullivan and the senior staff of the Defence Stores Department.

The course curriculum included instruction on,

  • Weapon storage, inspection, maintenance and accounting, supervised by Chief Armourer of the New Zealand military forces, Armourer Sergeant Major William Luckman.
  • The correct storage methods, inspection and maintenance of leather items such as horse saddlery and harnesses were conducted by the Defence Stores Department Saddler Mr H McComish.
  • The correct storage methods, inspection and maintenance of canvas and fabric items such as tents, other camp canvas, and fabric camp equipment, conducted by the Defence Stores Department Sailmaker.
  • Stores Packing, provided by the Defence Stores Department Foreman, Mr D McIntyre.
  • Keeping accounts and maintaining documentation used throughout all the departments, conducted by the Defence Stores Department Accountant Mr R.H Williams and Defence Stores Department Clerks Mr C.P Hulbert and Mr J Hopkinson

The course was not just an attendance course but one where all students were required to complete examinations on all the subjects covered.

Records indicated that all candidates completed the examinations and, under General Order 112/10, were appointed as Quartermaster Sergeants in the NZPS and posted to each various regiments of the territorial army.

“Staff of the Quarter-master General—men who passed as Quarter-master instructors and are being drafted to the various districts, Colourised by Rairty Colour

The training graduates are the soldiers standing in the three rows behind the QMG and Defence Stores Staff sitting in the front row.

4th Row (Rear) Left to Right

  • Quartermaster Sergeant G.C Black – 5th Mounted Rifles (Otago Hussars)
  • Quartermaster Sergeant J.D Stewart – 11th (North Auckland) Mounted Rifles
  • Quartermaster Sergeant A Collins – 11th Regiment (Taranaki Rifles)
  • Quartermaster Sergeant B.E Adams – 15th (North Auckland) Regiment
  • Quartermaster Sergeant J.F Meade – 12th (Otago) Mounted Rifles
  • Quartermaster Sergeant F.T Bould – 3rd (Auckland) Regiment
  • Quartermaster Sergeant J.H Sharpe 5th Regiment (Wellington Rifles)

3rd Row

  • Quartermaster Sergeant H Robertson – 3rd (Auckland) Mounted Rifles
  • Quartermaster Sergeant W.N Bates – 12th (Nelson) Regiment
  • Quartermaster Sergeant E.M Finlayson – 2nd (South Canterbury) Regiment
  • Quartermaster Sergeant A Austin – 1st Canterbury Regiment
  • Warrant Officer L.F McNair – 9th Regiment (Wellington East Coast) Rifles
  • Warrant Officer F.W Kibblewhite – 10th Regiment (North Otago Rifles)
  • Quartermaster Sergeant W Bates – 13th (North Canterbury) Regiment
  • Quartermaster Sergeant C.G Davis – 2nd (Wellington West Coast) Mounted Rifles,
  • Quartermaster Sergeant T.J Denton – 10th (Nelson) Mounted Rifles
  • Quartermaster Sergeant E.J Butler – 6th (Manawatu) Mounted Rifles

2nd Row

  • Mr J Hopkinson -Clerk Defence Stores Department
  • Quartermaster Sergeant H.D Baddily – 4th (Waikato) Mounted Rifles
  • Quartermaster Sergeant G.D Dean – 6th (Hauraki) Regiment
  • Quartermaster Sergeant R.P Pearce – 16th (Waikato) Regiment
  • Quartermaster Sergeant D.P Pride – 14th Regiment (South Otago Rifles)
  • Quartermaster Sergeant J.S Muschamp – 4th (Otago Rifles) Regiment
  • Quartermaster Sergeant J.T Wilson – 9th (Wellington West Coast) Mounted Rifles
  • Quartermaster Sergeant H.G.V McKenzie – 8th (South Canterbury) Mounted Rifles
  • Quartermaster Sergeant J Spence – 7th Regiment (Wellington West Coast Rifles)
  • Quartermaster Sergeant R.P Robinson – 8th Regiment (Southland Rifles)
  • Quartermaster Sergeant L.S.D Graham – 7th (Southland) Mounted Rifles
  • Quartermaster Sergeant M.J Coffey – Royal New Zealand Artillery
  • Quartermaster Sergeant W.P Heald – 1st Mounted Rifles (Canterbury Mounted Rifles)
  • Mr H McComish – Saddler, Defence Stores Department

1st Row (Front)

  • – Clerk Defence Stores Department
  • Lieutenant A.R.C White – District Storekeeper, Defence Stores Department, Christchurch
  • Lieutenant O.P McGuigan – District Storekeeper, Defence Stores Department, Dunedin
  • Mr E.P Coady – Assistant Director of Stores, Defence Stores Department
  • Major J. O’Sullivan – Director of Stores, Defence Stores Department
  • Colonel H.O Knox, QMG
  • Captain H.H Browne – AQMG and Director of Supply and Transport
  • Lieutenant W.T Beck –    District Storekeeper, Auckland
  • Mr F.E Ford – Assistant Defence Storekeeper, Nelson
  • Mr R.H Williams – Accountant Defence Stores Department

Significant foundation members of New Zealand’s Ordnance Services

Lieutenant Arthur Rumbold Carter White – District Storekeeper, Defence Stores Department, Christchurch

  • Served in the Permanent Militia from 1897 to 1907
  • appointed as the Defence Storekeeper for the Canterbury District in 1906
  • granted the Honorary Rank of Lieutenant September 1911
  • Reclassified as the Assistant Director of Equipment and Ordnance Stores Canterbury Military District as an Honorary Captain in the NZSC in February 1916
  • Commissioned as Captain in the New Zealand Army Ordnance Department (NZAOD) in 1917.
  • 1921 Transferred the Canterbury Ordnance Stores from King Edward Barracks, Christchurch, to Burnham Camp, establishing the Southern Districts Ordnance Depot.
  • First Camp Commandant of Burnham Camp from 20 June 1921 until his retirement on 19 December 1930

Lieutenant Owen Paul McGuigan – District Storekeeper, Defence Stores Department, Dunedin

  • McGuigan was a West Coaster of considerable administrative ability, served in the Permanent Artillery from 1896 to 1908
  • Appointed as the District Storekeeper in Dunedin in 1908
  • Granted the Honorary Rank of Lieutenant in September 1911.
  • Reclassified as the Assistant Director of Equipment and Ordnance Stores Otago Military District as an Honorary Captain in the NZSC in February 1916,
  • Commissioned as Captain in the New Zealand Army Ordnance Department (NZAOD) in 1917.
  • Closed the Dunedin Ordnance Depot in 1921, transferring with its staff and stores to Burnham Camp.
  • Retired 15 October 1922

Major James O’Sullivan – Director of Stores, Defence Stores Department

  • Enlisted into the Armed Constabulary in 1878,
  • Transferred into the Defence Store as a clerk in 1884
  • Appointed as Defence Stores Chief Clerk in March 1886
  • Appointed as Defence Storekeeper in 1900
  • Confirmed as the Director of Stores in New Zealand’s military forces headquarters staff as Quartermaster and an Honorary Captain in the New Zealand Militia in 1906.
  • Promoted to Honorary Major as the Director of Equipment and Stores in September 1911 as a subordinate of the Quartermaster General
  • Appointment in the Quartermasters General department retitled as QMG-3
  • Appointed as Deputy Inspector, Equipment and Ordnance Stores in March 1916
  • Retired in January 1917

Lieutenant William Thomas Beck – District Storekeeper, Auckland

  • Entered the Torpedo Corps on 5 March 1891 and continued to serve in the Permanent Militia until 23 December 1903
  • Placed in charge of the Auckland Defence Stores in 1903
  • Appointed as the District Storekeeper in Auckland in 1908
  • Granted the Honorary Rank of Lieutenant in September 1911
  • Seconded to the NZEF as the Deputy Assistant Director of Ordnance Services in 1914 and sailed with the main body to Egypt
  • Was the first New Zealander of Godley’s force ashore at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915
  • Evacuated from Gallipoli and Repatriated to New Zealand in August 1915
  • Mentioned in Dispatches and awarded the DSO for his services in Gallipoli
  • Reclassified as the Assistant Director of Equipment and Ordnance Stores Auckland Military District as an Honorary Captain in the NZSC in February 1916
  • Commissioned as Captain in the New Zealand Army Ordnance Department (NZAOD) in 1917.
  • Retired from the NZAOC in March 1918.

Mr Frank Edwin Ford – Storekeepers Assistant, Nelson

  • Served in the Permanent Artillery from 1901 to 1908
  • Appointed as the Mobilisation Storekeeper Nelson in 1908
  • Reclassified as the Assistant Defence Storekeeper, Nelson in 1911
  • Appointed as District Storekeeper Wellington Military District, Palmerston North in 1915
  • Attached to the NZSC Corps as an Honorary Lieutenant on 13 February 1916,
  • Commissioned as Captain in the New Zealand Army Ordnance Department (NZAOD) in 1917.
  • Closed the Palmerston North Ordnance Depot and appointed as the Ordnance Officer Featherston Camp in 1921
  • The NZAOD was reconstituted into the NZAOC in 1924
  • Appointed as Ordnance Officer Northern Command at Mount Eden on 12 September 1926
  • Transferred the Norther Command Ordnance Depot from Mount Eden to Hopuhopu camp In the Waikato in1927
  • Remained as the first Commandant of Hopuhopu Camp until his retirement on 30 January 1931

Quartermaster General of New Zealand’s Military Forces, Colonel Henry Owen Knox.

Although an Army Service Corps Officer, Knox through his position as Quartermaster General influenced the development of New Zealand’s Army Ordnance Services. Knox was a British Army Service Corps officer seconded to New Zealand in 1911 to organise the New Zealand Army Service Corps (NZASC). Appointed as the first Director of Supply and Transport (DS&T), over the next three years, Knox laid the foundations of the NZASC so that by 1914 the NZASC was able to field ten companies and be in a position to provide a significant contribution to the NZEF. At New Zealand’s military reorganised in 1912, the position of Adjutant General and Quartermaster General was split with Knox in addition to his DS&T duties and assumed the role of Quartermaster General of New Zealand’s Military Forces.

Knox concluded his New Zealand secondment in April 1914, returning to the United Kingdom and retiring in August 1917. Still on the Reserve list, Knox was recalled for war service and was appointed as the AQMG for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during the Gallipoli Campaign, where he was responsible for the supply arrangement (Rations, Fuel and Forage) of the ANZAC Corps.

Following the Gallipoli Campaign, Knox served in several roles in the British Army ASC for the remainder of the war, attaining the rank of Honorary Brigadier General.

Many thanks to the relatives of Lieutenant Owen Paul McGuigan who provided me with the links to the original photo.

Defence Preparations – New Zealand Defence Stores 1911

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The passing of the Defence Act 1909 heralded a transformation of the Defence Forces of New Zealand, establishing a military system that influenced the organisation, training and recruitment of the New Zealand Army into the early 1970s. Coming into effect on 28 February 1910, The Act abolished the existing Volunteer system, in its place creating a citizen-based Territorial Army from the units, regiments and Corps of the Volunteer Army.[1]  The Territorial Army’s personnel needs would be maintained by a system of Compulsory Military Training (CMT), requiring the registration of all boys and men between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one years of age.[2] The challenge for Captain James O’Sullivan and the staff of the Defence Stores, an organisation already markedly transformed since 1900, was to meet the material need needs of the growing citizen army that New Zealand was creating.

At Buckle Street, Wellington, during the 1913 waterfront strike. Smith, Sydney Charles, 1888-1972: Photographs of New Zealand. Ref: 1/2-048786-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22820606

The following article published in the New Zealand Times on 8 December 1911 provides an eyewitness account of the activities of the Defence Stores in support of the growing citizen army.[3]

While politicians are prating about the cost of the defence scheme, and its more direct enemies are peregrinating from street corner to street corner with soap boxes, the scheme itself is being steadily proceeded with. Some people probably fail to realise what it means to inaugurate an entirely new system of military defence. The necessary legislation came first, then the mapping out of the requirements in men and money, then the excitement of enrolling, and now there is proceeding the part, of which the public see little and hear little, but which perhaps is the most troublesome of all, and materially the most important, viz., the arming and the equipment of themen.

This task is being carried out at the Defence Stores in Buckle Street, Wellington. It requires a visit there to realise the thought, the work, the experience, that are necessary to carry out a big work of this description. When you enter the Buckle Street stores and see the busy toilers and the preparations for the distribution of arms and clothing over the Dominion, you realise that a big work is in progress.

For instance, the uniforms for the territorials have for the past week or two been arriving. So far the outfits for about nine thousand men in a more or less state of completion, have come, to hand. These all have to be sorted out and shelved. They are in graded in sizes, an ingenious system of measurement, the product of the brain of Captain O’Sullivan, Director of Defence Stores, has been applied, whereby almost any sized youth be fitted. Measuring has been proceeding in the various centres. A form is filled up by the regimental quartermaster for each recruit, and these forms are now arriving at the depot. Next weak commences the task of sending out the uniforms. Each man also gets an overcoat, a felt hat, and a forage cap. Every branch of the service will wear putties instead of leggings. The uniforms in hand at present fill multitudes of shelves—indeed, the place wears the appearance of a busy warehouse. Every article of clothing is the product of New Zealand mills. There is a absolute uniformity of colour, so that the whole New Zealand defence force, from the North Cape to the Bluff, will on mobilisation, present no spectacle of detached units, but one uniform whole. Distinguishing colour badges and trouser stripes will mark the branches of the service, green denoting the mounted, men, and red the infantry. The senior cadets will have neat blouses and long trousers. So far the uniforms in stock comprise only a small portion of what yet remains to be handled. A new brick building is in the later stages of completion for their safer storage. The felt hats are the product of the National Hat Mills, Wellington, and are really a very excellent article. Many large packing cases are stacked in the yards waiting to be dispatched with these goods to the territorial centres.

But this is only one branch of the industry. In other sheds are stacked camp paraphernalia, tents, marching outfits of the latest pattern, containing, in addition to bayonet, water-bottle, overcoat, etc., a handy trenching tool, bandoliers, field outfits, including telephones and heliographs; much leather goods; service boots, which the department is selling, at option, to the men at a low fee, and many other requisites.  Outside in the yard is a new pontoon bridge, lately come to hand, a rather bulky apparatus that has not yet been used. Elsewhere are stored transit water tanks, a sample transport waggon (from which others will be manufactured in the Dominion). Necessary appliances for the eighteen-pounder guns have also been coming to hand, though the guns themselves have not yet arrived.

In other sheds are many large black cases. These contain the service rifles. It is not permitted that the public should know what stock of these is kept. It is a state secret that not even an Opposition order for a “return” could cause to be divulged. Recently, however, ten thousand were added to the stock. Just at present workmen are spending busy hours cleaning up and inspecting the rifles that have been received from the old volunteer corps. Every Government arm in the Dominion has been called in, and as a result every, man will have issued to him a nice clean rifle. It will be a new start over the whole Dominion. It would grieve the heart of the military enthusiast to see the condition in which some of the rifles have been sent In. There is undoubtedly great need for the new quartermasters in the various regiments, to see that this sort of thing does not recur. Some of the Wellington corps have been rather bad offenders. The comparatively slow process of cleaning these arms has been the cause of the delay in their reissue. Every rifle has 104 parts, and these parts are stocked in large quantities.

Of the Dominion’s ammunition store, also, the outsider can know nothing. This much, however, is for public information, that every Saturday morning the Director of the Defence Stores produces his ammunition balance book, to the Commandant, who then known from glancing over the pages exactly how every packet has been distributed and how each part of the Dominion is served.

The Buckle Street stores do not yet present the aspect of a Woolwich Arsenal, but things are very busy there; the will of the people is being given effect to at as rapid a rate as opportunity will permit; evidences are offered of the effective defence scheme now in active operation; and pleasing, indeed, is the outstanding fact that local industries are benefiting to an enormous degree from a new departure in defence that after all, is an admitted necessity.

Arms and Uniforms,” New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7978, 8 December 1911
Defence Stores, Bunny Street, Wellington. Goggle Maps/Public Domain
Former Defence Stores Compound, Buckle Street, Wellington The building on the right of the photo is the original 1911 Defence Stores building. The building on the left is the 1916 extension.
Former Defence Stores Compound, Buckle Street, Wellington.
Former Defence Stores Compound, Buckle Street, Wellington The building on the right of photo is the original 1911 Defence Stores building. The building on the left is the 1916 extension.

Notes

[1] Peter Cooke and John Crawford, The Territorials (Wellington: Random House New Zealand Ltd, 2011), 153.

[2] I. C. McGibbon and Paul William Goldstone, The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Military History (Auckland; Melbourne; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000, 2000), Bibliographies, Non-fiction, 109-10.

[3] “Arms and Uniforms,” New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7978, 8 December 1911.

William Saul Keegan

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Like many of his age group who were keen to serve, William Saul Keegan was too young to see service in the First World War but volunteered for service in the Second World War. Serving in the Permanent Forces in the early interwar era, Keegan transferred into the civil service in 1931 as part of the force reductions brought on by the great depression. Keegan continued to serve as a civilian in the Main Ordnance Depot at Trentham in the years leading up to the Second World War. Volunteering for service in the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Keegan was found to have a medical condition which precluded overseas service but allowed him to serve at home. Commissioned into the New Zealand Temporary Staff and attached to the New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps, Keegan continued to serve until 1947. Keegan’s service is significant in the history of the Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps as he was the wartime Officer Commanding of No 2 Ordnance Depot at Palmerston North and the First Officer Commanding of the Linton Camp Ordnance Depot that remained a vital unit of the Corps until 1996.

William Saul Keegan was born in Wellington on 23 February 1900 to William and Susan Keegan. Keegan had two siblings Francis Martin Keegan who was born on 10 September 1903, and Nora Constance Keegan, born on 29 December 1906 at Te Horo. Spending his early years in Wellington, Keegan moved with his parents to Otaki sometime after 1906, where he attended the Otaki State School. In 1913 Keegan came sixth in the Wellington Education Board examinations, gaining him a scholarship to Wellington College.[1] While at Wellington College, Keegan completed three years in the senior school cadets. In January 1917, Keegan passed the university matriculation examination with a pass in Matriculation, Solicitor’s general knowledge and Medical Preliminary.[2] Despite passing the university entrance exams, Keegan did not attend university but was mobilised into the Temporary Section of the New Zealand Garrison Artillery (NZGA), where he spent a year working in the Wellington forts.[3]

Keegan began his career in the Ordnance Corps on 30 August 1918, when he enlisted as a private into the Temporary Section of the New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (NZAOC) at Wellington and was allocated the NZAOC Regimental Number 213. With the Armistice on 11 November 1918 ending the war, Keegan missed seeing active service, but with the demobilisation of men, the closing down of training camps and the arrival of New Equipment from the United Kingdom to equip the peacetime army, Keegan’s position in the NZAOC was assured for the near future. Stuck down with influenza during the 1918 outbreak, Keegan made a full recovery but later in life developed health problems which might have developed because of influenza.

Ordnance 1918

The New Zealand Ordnance Corps 1918, Buckle Street Wellington. RNZAOC School

Promoted to Lance Corporal on 1 July 1919, Keegan remained at Wellington until 1 April 1921, when the NZAOC shifted the bulk of its services to Trentham Camp; Keegan was relocated to Trentham Camp. It was during this time that Lieutenant Charles Ingram Gossage returned from service as the DADOS of the NZ Division and introduced a modern cost accounting system based upon the best practices learnt during the war, and it is highly likely that in Keegan’s role in the clerical section he was involved in the introduction and upkeep of the new accounting system.

From 1919, in addition to his military duties, Keegan was also an active participant in the community by serving on the committees of the Wellington College Old Boy Cricket Club, The Wellington College Old Boys Rugby Club and the Hutt Valley Lawn Tennis Association as a member, Treasurer or Auditor.[4] [5] [6] In the late 1930s, Keegan was also coach and president of the Upper Hutt Rugby Club and auditor of the Upper Hutt Cricket Association. [7] [8]

Promote to Corporal on 1 July 1922, Keegan remained posted to the NZAOC Temporary Section until 1 August 1924, when he was enlisted into the Permanent Section of the NZAOC.  Sitting the two papers for promotion to NZAOC Sergeant (Clerical Section), Keegan attained a score of 82 and 83, leading to accelerated promotion to Sergeant on 1 October 1925. Keegan sat the four examinations for promotion to Staff Sergeant in June 1926 with a score of 78,90,89 and 68 but was not promoted to Staff Sergeant until 1 September 1929. The delay in promotion could be attributed to Keegan’s appearance in the Upper Hutt court on 18 April 1927, when he was fined £1 and costs of £10 after being found on the premises of the Provincial Hotel after opening hours by the Police.[9] Having passed the four examinations for promotion to Staff Quartermaster Sergeant(SQMS) with a score of 98,76,98, and 80 in June 1930. Keegan would not attain the rank of SQMS as on 6 June 1930, he was convicted in the Wellington Magistrates court after being found in a state of intoxication while in charge of a motor car, receiving a fine of £20, costs £10 and mileage £2.  After a period, Keegan would have been promoted to SQMS, but the worldwide depression and economic recession led to the implementation of the Finance Act, 1930 would bring a sudden end to his time in uniform

Due to the worldwide depression and economic recession, the Government was forced to savagely reduce the strength of the Army by using the provisions of section 39 of the Finance Act, 1930 (No. 2) where military staff could be either.

  • Transferred to the Civil staff, or
  • Retire on superannuation any member of the Permanent Force or the Permanent Staff under the Defence Act, 1909, or of the clerical staff of the Defence Department whose age or length of service was such that if five years was added thereto, they would have been enabled as of right or with the consent of the Minister of Defence to have given the notice to retire voluntarily.

Using this act, on the 31st of March 1931, the NZAOC lost.

  • Six officers and Thirty-Eight Other Ranks who were retired on superannuation
  • Seventy-four NZAOC staff (excluding officers and artificers) who were not eligible for retirement were transferred to the civilian staff to work in the same positions but at a lower pay rate.

For the soldiers who were placed on superannuation, the transition was brutal, with pensions recalculated at much lower rates and, in some cases, the loss of outstanding annual and accumulated leave. For the Soldiers such as Keegan who were transferred to the civilian staff, the transition was just as harsh with reduced pay rates. The 31st of March 1931 was the blackest day in the New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps History.

Keegan continued to serve at the NZAOC Main Ordnance Depot (MOD) at Trentham in the role of Accountant throughout the 1930s. Keegan married Grace Helen Dalton on 27 March 1937 at St. John’s Church, Trentham. The wedding was a double wedding with Grace’s older sister Margaret.[10]

With the declaration of war in September 1939, Keegan immediate offered up his services, enlisting into the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force(2NZEF) with the rank of Lieutenant t in the New Zealand Ordnance Corps (NZOC) on 5 October 1940. Selected to be the Ordnance Officer for the Base Ordnance Depot (BOD) for “B” Force (8th Brigade Group) of the NZEF, which was destined to provide the garrison in Fiji, Keegan assembled with seven other ranks at Hopuhopu Camp.  A final medical board immediately before departure found evidence of a partially healed tubercular lesion in Keegan’s lungs which made him unfit for active service, and he was classified as Grade 2, fit or home service.  Keegan’s appointment to Ordnance Office BOD 8 Brigade group was filled by a co-worker from the MOD, Mr Percival Nowell Erridge, who was immediately commissioned as a Lieutenant in the NZEF.

Placed into a holding pattern and still on the strength of the NZEF, Keegan was sent to Waiouru, where he was employed as an advisor on accounting matters to the newly established Motor Transport Branch (MT Branch). Unfit for active Service but with skills that were desirable to the service, Keegan ceased to be seconded to the NZEF on 28 May 1941 and transferred into the New Zealand Temporary Staff (NZTS) and attached to the branch of the Quartermaster General, Army Headquarters Wellington. By April 1942 Keegan had been appointed as the Brigade Ordnance Officer for the 7th Infantry Brigade, which had its headquarters at the Carterton showgrounds.

With Japan’s entry into the war on 7 December 1941, New Zealand mobilised as the threat of invasion loomed. To support the mobilised forces in the lower North Island, the Central Districts Ordnance Depot was established at the Palmerston North showgrounds, and as of 1 March 1942, Keegan was appointed Ordnance Officer, Central Military District and Officer Commanding, Central Districts Ordnance Depot. On 1 May 1942, Keegan was promoted to Captain (Temporary), and on 20 August 1942, the Central District Ordnance Depot has renamed No 2 Ordnance Depot with an establishment of three officers and eighty-one Other Ranks.

pnorth showgrounds 2

Palmerston North Showgrounds, Cuba Street, 1939. Palmerston North Libraries and Community Services

Keegan attended, along with one other Ordnance Officer, Two Artillery Officers, and Thirteen Infantry Officers, the General Knowledge Course7/17 in December 1942. The ten-day course run by the Amy School of Instruction covered the following subjects.

  • Weapon Training – Characteristics of all Infantry Weapons
  • Anti-Gas – War gas, equipment, decontamination
  • Map reading – All lessons, night marches
  • Minor Tactics – Patrols, Day and Night
  • Fieldworks – Field Defences, Obstacles
  • P & RT – Bayonet Fighting
  • Drill – Individual, Mutual
  • Engineering – Bridging, Landmines, Traps, Demolition, Camouflage
  • Camp Sanitation – Field Hygiene
  • Demonstrations – Field Cooking, Live fore of all Infantry Weapons
  • Signals – Organisation and intercommunication in the field
  • Movement by MT – lectures and Practical work
  • Security
  • Discipline and Military Law
  • Patrols
  • Movement by road

Unknown Military Unit 2

No 2 Ordnance Sub Depot. Group of soldiers – Elmar Studios, 459 Main Street, Palmerston North circa 1942 to circa 1945, No Known Restrictions

By the end of 1944, the threat to New Zealand had passed, the Territorial Army had been stood down, and their equipment returned to Ordnance.  Much of the Central Districts’ equipment was stored at No 2 Sub Depots premises in Palmerston North when disaster struck on 31 December 1944. Just after midnight, a fire destroyed a substantial portion of the Palmerston North Showgrounds display halls, which housed much of the Ordnance Depot. This resulted in stock losses valued at £225700 ($18,639,824.86 2017 value). Keegan provided evidence to the court of enquiry in March 1945, with the court finding that with no evidence found of sabotage, incendiaries, or any interference, the cause was judged to be accidental.

pnorth showgrounds

The aftermath of the December 1944 Showground fire. Evening Post

With the MOD in Trentham establishing a satellite Bulk Store at the new Linton Camp a few kilometres from South of Palmerston North, No 2 Sub Depot was seen to have served its wartime purpose and was no longer necessary, and the depot was closed down on 14 December 1945, and its functions assumed by MOD Trentham,  with some residual responsibility for finalising the accounts of No 2 Sub Depot, Keegan returned to Trentham as an Ordnance Officer at MOD.

From 31 July 1946, Keegan was placed in charge of four Warrant Officers from MOD, and an SNCO from No 3 Depot, Burnham, to stocktake No 10 MT Stores in Wellington before that unit’s hand over to the Rehabilitation Department on 1 September 1946. Concurrent to Keegan carrying out this work in Wellington, recommendations that the MOD Bulk Stores located in Linton and Waiouru Camps were to be combined as a standalone Ordnance Depot were made. This proposal was agreed to by Army Headquarters, and No 2 Ordnance Depot was to be reconstituted on 1 October 1946 with the responsibility to provide Ordnance Support to Linton and Waiouru. Keegan was to return to No 2 Ordnance Depot as its first Officer Commanding on 16 September 1946 while also carrying out the duties of the Ordnance Officer of Headquarters Central Military District.

Keegan’s time in Linton was short as the pressures of service since 1940 were becoming to have a toll on Keegan’s personal life and health. His wife had filed for legal separation in June 1946, and Keegan’s health was also beginning to fail. Keegan’s health issues saw him medically downgraded, and he had to spend time at Wellington hospital receiving treatment. On 26 April 1947, Keegan handed over command of No 2 Ordnance Depot to Captain Quartermaster L.H Stroud. Keegan then assumed a position with the War Asset Board on 30 April 1947 and was posted to the supernumerary List on 6 December 1947 and to the retired list with the rank of Captain on 11 November 1956.

Keegan remained in the Wellington area as a public servant and, at the time of his death, was employed as a clerk for the Ministry of Works. Keegan passed away on 24 December 1963 and was cremated at the Karori Crematorium.

Copyright © Robert McKie 2019

 Notes

[1] “District News,” Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1961, 19 January 1914.

[2] “NZ University,” Evening Post, Volume XCIII, Issue 15, 17 January 1917.

[3] “William Saul Keegan,” Personal File, New Zealand Defence Force Archives 1918.

[4] “Cricket,” New Zealand Times, Volume XLIV, Issue 10396, 29 September 1919.

[5] “Old Boys Football Club,” Evening Post, Volume CI, Issue 59, 10 March 1921.

[6] “Lawn Tennis,” Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 68, 17 September 1930.

[7] “Annual Meeting Upper Hutt Rugby Club,” Upper Hutt Weekly Review, Volume III, Issue 14, 25 March 1938.

[8] “Upper Hutt Cricket Association Annual Meeting,” Upper Hutt Weekly Review, Volume II, Issue 43, 8 October 1937.

[9] “Upper Hutt Sitting,” Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 90, 18 April 1927.

[10] “Weddings,” Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 127, 31 May 1937.

The Pātaka of Ngāti Tumatauenga: NZ Ordnance Corps Locations 1840 to 1996

2 Comments

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 in1840, the organisation grew through the New Zealand Wars, the World Wars and 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:

Pataka (1)

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, single battalion-sized unit, the name were 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 been 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

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 Operational from 1943, closed1962.

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 provided 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

Ammunition Depot

  • Mount Eden Magazines – 1873-1929
  • Northern Districts Ammunition Depot, Ardmore – 1942 – Present

Other Units

  • Bulk Stores Mangere, the 1940s (Part of MOD Trentham)
  • DSS Fort Cautley.

Workshops

Located at the Torpedo Yard, North Head

  • Ordnance Workshop Devonport, 1925-1941
  • No 12 Ordnance Workshop, Devonport, 1941–1946

Workshop Stores Section

  • 1 Infantry Workshop, Stores Section, Papakura 1962–1986
  • 1 Field Workshop Store Section, Papakura
  • 1 Transport Company Workshop, Stores Section, Fort Cautley

Belmont

Operational from 1943

  • MOD Trentham, Ammunition Group, Ammunition Section

Burnham

Stores Depot

1921 saw the establishment of a single Command Ordnance Depot 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.
  • 1 (NZ) Division OFP, Tech Stores Platoon, 28 June 1955 -,

Workshops

  • No 14 Ordnance Workshop, until 1946.

Workshop Stores Section

  • Southern Districts Workshop, Stores Section,
  • 3 Field Workshop, Store Section.

Christchurch

Stores Depot

  • Canterbury and Nelson Military District Stores Depot, King Edwards Barracks, Christchurch, 1907 to 1921.

Workshop Stores Section

  • Southern Districts Workshop, Stores Section, Addington,
  • 3 Infantry Brigade Workshop, Stores Section, Addington,
  • 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]

Lower Hutt

Ordnance Field Parks

  • 1 (NZ) Division OFP, Tech Stores Platoon, 28 June 1955 –

Mangaroa

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]

Workshops

  • Main Ordnance Workshop, 1917 to 1946.[22]

Workshop Stores Section

  • 1 Base Workshop, Stores Section

Ordnance Field Parks

  • 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]

 Workshops

  • Armament Workshop, Alexandra Military Depot.[29]

Ammunition Storage

  • Mount Cook, Powder Magazine,  1847 – 1879
  • Kaiwharrawharra Powder Magazines, 1879-1920
  • 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.

Egypt

  • Ordnance Depot, Zeitoun Camp, 1914-16
  • Ordnance Depot Alexandra, 1915-16
    • 12 Rue de la, Porte Rosette, Alexandria. [31]
    • New Zealand Ordnance Store, Shed 43, Alexandria Docks.[32]
  • NZ Ordnance Section, NZEF Headquarters in Egypt
    • Qasr El Nil Barracks, Cairo.[33]

Fiji

  • NZAOC Detachment, Fiji Expeditionary Force, Suva – February- April 1920

Germany

  • Ordnance Depot, Mulheim, Cologne

 Greece

  • Ordnance Depot, Sapri Camp, Lemnos Island, October – December 1915

Samoa

  • 1 Base Depot

 Turkey

  • Ordnance Depot, ANZAC Cove, Gallipoli, April – Dec 1915

 United Kingdom

  • New Zealand Ordnance Base Depot Farringdon Street, London
  • Ordnance Depot, Cosford Camp

Unit locations overseas, 1939–1946

Egypt

Headquarters

  • Office of the DDOS 2NZEF, 22 Aig 1941 to Sept 1942
  • Office of the ADOS 2NZEF, Sept 1942 to 1 Sept 1945

Base Units

Supply

  • New Zealand Base Ordnance Depot, Maadi, 1940 to 19 Feb 1944
  • No 1 New Zealand Base Ordnance Depot,  16 Feb 1944 to 1946

Workshops (until Sept 1942 when transferred to NZEME)

  • NZ Base Ordnance Workshop

Laundry

  • NZ Base Laundry, 30 Sept 1942 – 30 Sept 1943

Training

  • Engineer and Ordnance Training Depot, Maadi Camp

Field Units

Supply

  • 2 NZ Divisional Ordnance Field Park, 28 Jul 1941 – 29 Dec 1945
  • NZ Divisional Mobile Bath Unit, 6 Sept 1941  –  30 Sept 1942
  • NZ Divisional Mobile Laundry & Decontamination Unit, 22 Sept 1941 – 27 Mar 1942
  • NZ Divisional Mobile Laundry, 27 Mar 1942 – 30 Sept 1942
  • NZ Salvage Unit, 16 Aug 1941 – 20 Oct 1942

Workshops (until Sept 1942 when transferred to NZEME)

  • 2 NZ Divisional Ordnance Workshops
  • 1 NZ Field Workshop
  • 2 NZ Field Workshop
  • 3 NZ Field Workshop
  • 14 NZ Anti-Aircraft Workshop Section
  • 9 NZ Light Aid Detachment (attached 4 Fd Regt)
  • 10 NZ LAD (attached 5 Fd Pk Coy)
  • 11 NZ LAD (attached HQ 4 NZ Inf Bde)
  • 12 NZ LAD (attached 27 NZ (MG) Bn) Disbanded 15 Oct 1942
  • 13 NZ LAD (attached 2 NZ Div Cav)
  • 14 NZ LAD (attached 2 NZ Div Sigs)
  • 15 NZ LAD (attached 7 NZ A Tk Regt)
  • 16 NZ LAD (attached HQ 5 Fd Regt)
  • 17 NZ LAD (attached HQ 5 NZ Inf Bde)
  • 18 NZ LAD (attached 6 NZ Fd Regt)
  • 19 NZ LAD (attached HQ 6 NZ Inf Bde)

Greece

  • 2 Independent (NZ) Brigade Group Workshop.[34]
  • 5 Independent (NZ) Brigade Group Workshop. [35]
  • Light Aid Detachments x 11
  • 1 Ordnance Field Park (British OFP attached to NZ Division).[36]

Italy

Headquarters

  • Office of the ADOS 2NZEF, 6 Jun 1945 to 1 Sept 1945

Base units

  • No 2 New Zealand Base Ordnance Depot, Bari, 16 Feb 1944 – 2 Feb 1946.[37]
    •  Advanced Section of Base Depot, Senegallia, Sept 44 – Feb 46.
  • NZ Advanced Ordnance Depot,   1943- 14 Feb 1944 (Absorbed into OFP)

Field units

  • NZ Division Ordnance Field Park OFP, – 29 Dec 1945
  • NZ Advanced Ordnance Depot, 27 Oct 1945- 1 Feb 1946
  • NZ Mobile Laundry Unit, 1 Oct 1943 – 16 Feb 1944
  • NZ Mobile Bath Unit, 18 Oct 1943 – 16 Feb 1944
  • MZ Mobile Laundry and Bath Unit, 16 Feb 1944 – 8 Dec 1945
  • NZ Vehicle and Stores Reception Depot, 27 Oct 1944 – 1 Feb 1946
    • Vehicle Depot, Assisi, 27 Oct 1945 – Jan 1946.[38]
    • Stores Depot, Perugia, 27 Oct 1945 – Feb 1946.[39]

Fiji

  • Divisional Ordnance Headquarters
  • Base Ordnance Depot
  • Division Ordnance Workshop
  • ‘A’ Workshop Section
  • ‘B Workshop Section
  • 20th Light Aid Detachment
  • 36th Light Aid Detachment
  • 37th Light Aid Detachment

New Caledonia

  • Base Ordnance Depot
  • Division Ordnance Workshop
  • 20th Light Aid Detachment
  • 36th Light Aid Detachment
  • 37th Light Aid Detachment
  • 42 Light Aid Detachment
  • 64 Light Aid Detachment
  • 65 Light Aid Detachment
  • 67 Light Aid Detachment

Solomon Islands

  • Advanced Ordnance Depot, Guadalcanal. Officer Commanding and Chief Ordnance Officer, Captain Noel McCarthy.

Tonga

  • 16 Brigade Group Ordnance Field Park
  • 16 Brigade Group Workshop

Unit locations overseas, 1945–1996

Japan

  • 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.

ADO Gate

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:

  • Headquarters Vietnam Force (HQ V Force)
  • 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF)
  • 1st Australian Logistic Support Group (1 ALSG)
  • 161 Battery Attachments (161 Bty Attached)
  • New Zealand Rifle Companies
  • 161st (Independent) Reconnaissance Flight

Copyright © Robert McKie 2018

Notes

[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.

[8] “RNZAOC Triennial Conference,” in Handbook – RNZAOC Triennial Conference, Wellington,”  (1981).

[9][9] “NZ P106 Dos Procedure Instructions, Part 1 Static Support Force. Annex F to Chapter 1, Rnzaoc Director of Ordnance Services,”  (1978).

[10] ” Featherston Military Training Camp and the First World War, 1915–27,”  https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/featherston-camp.

[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).

[21] “NZ Army Ordnance Stores, ,”  https://manawatuheritage.pncc.govt.nz/item/c7681d2d-c440-4d58-81ad-227fc31efebf.

[22] “Pataka Magazine. RNZAOC, P. 52,,”  (1994).

[23] “Waiouru Camp  “, Ellesmere Guardian, vol. LXI, no. 90, p. 2, 12 November 1940

[24] Bolton, A History of the Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps.

[25] Ibid.

[26] Ibid.

[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. .

[31] Ibid.

[32] Ibid.

[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

[Limited Leather Bound Edition], 2015), Bibliographies, Non-fiction.

[34] A.H. Fernyhough, History of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps 1920-1945 (Royal Army Ordnance Corps, 1958).

[35] Ibid.

[36] Ibid.

[37] New Zealand War Histories – Italy Volume Ii : From Cassino to Trieste,  (Victoria University of Wellington, 1967).

[38] Ibid.

[39] Ibid.

[40] “Somalia: 1992 – 1995,” NZ Army,” http://www.army.mil.nz/about-us/what-we-do/deployments/previous-deployments/somalia/default.htm.

New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps Puggaree

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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

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]

New Zealand Artillery Puggaree. Robert McKie collection
New Zealand Engineers Puggaree. Robert McKie collection
New Zealand Infantry Puggaree. Robert McKie collection
NZ Signals Puggaree. Robert McKie collection
NZ Medical Corps Puggaree. Robert McKie collection
New Zealand Army Service Corps Puggaree. Robert McKie collection
Ordnance Puggaree, RNZAOC 1947-53 Badge. Robert McKie collection
Royal New Zealand Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Puggaree. Robert McKie collection
NZ Dental Corps puggaree. Robert McKie collection
New Zealand Education Corps Puggaree. Robert McKie Collection
NZ Chaplains Department puggaree (1st Pattern). Robert McKie Collection
NZ Chaplains Department puggaree (2nd Pattern). Robert McKie collection

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]

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NZMR

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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.

British Army Ordnance Corps 1915_zpsaibxjzox

New Zealand Supply Depot Staff at Zeitoun Camp, 1915. Note Ordnance solder front row 3rd from left. National Army Museum of New Zealand

British Army Ordnance Corps_zpshkmjkhxu

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.

Ordnance 1918

The New Zealand Ordnance Corps 1918, Buckle Street Wellington. RNZAOC School

1918

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.

NZ Ordnance Staff 1919

New Zealand Ordnance Corps demobilisation Staff at Mulheim, Germany, February 1919. Alexander Turnbull Library/Public Domain

t falvey

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]

ww2

Lemon Squeezer as worn by members of the 2nd NZEF NZOC, Middle East, Italy 1939-44.

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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.

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RNZAOC Territorial Force 3rd intake Ngaruawahia Camp 1951. RNZAOC School Collection

camp commandants bodyguard 1954

RNZAOC Camp Commandants Bodyguard, Trentham Camp 1954. RNZAOC School Collection

Copyright © Robert McKie 2019

Notes:

[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.

[10] “New Zealand Troops Wear Turbans,” Evening Star, Issue 23432 (1939).

[11] The NZOC was formed as a unit of the NZED in 1939 and a unit of the Territorial Army in 1941.

The NZAOC and the 1918 Influenza epidemic

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Natural calamities in New Zealand have proved the worth of the military, which with a trained and disciplined workforce and access to resources, can respond efficiently in a manner that few civilian organisations can match. Be it floods, heavy snow, cyclones or earthquakes, the men and women of New Zealand’s Armed Forces have often been found at the front line of relief efforts.

One of the earliest examples of New Zealand’s Military Logistic Services providing emergency relief was during the Influenza epidemic of October 1918. The Influenza epidemic of 1918 was the most massive public health crisis ever to strike New Zealand occurred when the worldwide influenza epidemic reached New Zealand shores. Between October and November 1918, an estimated 9000 New Zealanders would perish due to the Influenza epidemic.[1] In the capital city of Wellington, the onset of the Influenza epidemic caused the existing medical facilities to be overwhelmed and unable to cope with the unprecedented number of people struck down with Influenza.  Stepping up to assist the Public Health Department, The New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps based at Alexandra Barracks was mobilised to establish emergency hospitals around the Wellington region.

McCristell

Major Thomas James McCristell, Director of Equipment and Ordnance Stores, 10 April 1916 – 20 January 1920.

Under the management of the Director of Equipment and Ordnance Stores, Major Thomas McCristell, the 123 men of the Ordnance Corps equipped the various emergency hospitals with over 300 beds, supplied the stores and supervised the hospital arrangements and general machinery of each establishment in and about Wellington, so that by 20 November the following hospitals and convalescent hospitals had been established:[2]

  • Hospitals
    • Normal School, 91 women,
    • Sydney street Schoolroom, 41 men.
    • Missions to Seamen, 65 men.
    • John’s Schoolroom, 67 men and women.
    • Alexandra Hall, 20 men.
    • Wellington College, 105 men and women.
    • Patrick’s College, 48 men.
    • Brooklyn Hall, 32 men and women.
    • Johnsonville, 23 men and women.
    • Seatoun, 10 men and women.
  • Convalescent Hospitals
    • Thomas’s Hall, 35 men.
    • Wellington Convalescent Home, 24 women.
    • Salvation Army Training College, 16 women.
    • Anne’s Hall, 30 men.
  • Untended Children’s Home
    • Miramar Golf Club, 56 children

The 1916 census listed the population of Wellington as 95235, deaths in Wellington attributed to influenza were 795, which gave Wellington a death rate of 7.9 per 1000. This rate was slightly higher than Auckland but well below the death rate found in other North Island Locations, which was as high as 43 per 1000.[3] It would be optimistic to believe that the work carried out by the Ordnance Corps in establishing emergency hospitals contributed to Wellington’s low death rate.

hero_wellington-ambulances

Emergency ambulances alongside the Wellington Town Hall during the 1918 flu pandemic. Ref: PAColl-7489-69 Alexander Turnbull Library

The Ordnance men were not immune to the effects of the Influenza, and at one stage, 7O men were laid up with influenza, placing extraordinary demands onto the very much reduced staff.[4] Private Frederick William Maynard, a 35-year-old Ordnance Soldier, died due to complications caused by Influenza on 28 November.[5]

By December 1918, the influenza epidemic was under control, and the crisis had passed with the emergency hospitals progressively shut down. Much of the credit for successfully setting up and managing the emergency hospitals can be placed directly on Major McCristell and his team from the New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps.

Copyright © Robert McKie 2018

flu-poster

Influenza instructions for nurses. Ref: Eph-B-HEALTH-1918-01, Alexander Turnbull Library

Notes

[1] Manatū Taonga – Ministry for Culture and Heritage, “100 Years since Influenza Pandemic, 28 September 2018,”  https://mch.govt.nz/100-years-influenza-pandemic.

[2] “Revelations,” New Zealand Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 10133, 22 November 1918.

[3] “North Island Influenza Death Rates, 11 January 2018,”  https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/influenza-pandemic/north-island-death-rates.

[4] “Under Control,” New Zealand Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 10131, 20 November 1918.

[5] “Soldiers Deaths,” Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 131, 29 November 1918.

NZAOC June 1923 to May 1924

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Personnel

The strength of the NZAOC on the 31st of May 1924 was 108, consisting of:[1] [2]

  • 6 Officers
  • 69 Permanent Other Rank
  • 33 Temporary Other Ranks

Director of Ordnance Services

  • Lieutenant Colonel H. E. Pilkington, RNZA

Chief Ordnance Officer

  • Captain T.J King

Ordnance Accounting Officer

  • Lieutenant T.W Page

Northern Command Ordnance Officer

  • Lieutenant A. W. Baldwin

Central Command Ordnance Officer

  • Lieutenant H.H Whyte

Southern Command Ordnance Officer

  • Captain A.R.C White

Featherston Camp Ordnance Officer

  • Captain F. E. Ford

Ordnance Accounting Officer

  • Lieutenant T.W Page

Inspecting Ordnance Officer and Acting Inspector of Ordnance Machinery

  • Captain William Ivory, RNZA

Proof Officer, Small Arms Ammunition

  • Captain E.H Sawle
NZAOC appropriations year ending 31 March 1924

NZAOC appropriations year ending 31 March 1924

Ordnance Stores

The provision of proper Ordnance Depots in all three commands had become an urgent matter, for economic as well as strategic and tactical reasons. Valuable equipment was stored in temporary structures, which in most cases was quite unsuitable for the purpose. As a necessity, the bulk of the equipment was held at Trentham and Burnham in wooden buildings erected as temporary accommodation for troops, not as permanent storage for valuable equipment. The development of Burnham and Ngaruawahia as ordnance depots was a matter of some urgency and would be put in hand as soon as funds for the purpose are available.[3]

At Burnham and Ngaruawahia, high charges for maintenance of the temporary buildings were being incurred, the cost of transportation of stores and equipment was increasing, and proper supervision and control was becoming very difficult.[4]

Northern Command

The Northern Command was the worst off in this respect. The site at Ngaruawahia was suitable, but with no buildings there, equipment for Northern Command was held partly at Featherston and partly at Trentham.[5]

Southern Command

The Southern Command was in a better position. The buildings at Burnham, though inadequate for the storage of all the equipment for Southern Command, were more or less satisfactory.[6]

Central Command

The Central Command had ample accommodation, of a kind at Trentham and Featherston, but proper fireproof stores needed to be erected at Trentham, and the buildings at present in use for storage of equipment can then be taken into use for the purpose for which they were built, the accommodation of troops. Featherston will be dismantled when Ngaruawahia depot is built.[7]

Magazines

The magazine accommodation for both gun and small-arms ammunition was quite insufficient for the army’s requirements, and all sorts of temporary accommodation in unsuitable buildings was being utilized. In consequence, the usual safety precautions could not be adhered to, and there was the danger of accidents and deterioration of ammunition. Proposals had been submitted for the erection of up-to-date magazines at Ngaruawahia for gun ammunition, and for small-arms-ammunition magazines in each command at Ngaruawahia, Trentham, and Burnham.[8]

Stores and Equipment

Stores and equipment generally were in a satisfactory position, but as a consequence of the unsuitable accommodation, they were subjected to considerable deterioration. The capacity and efficiency of the Ordnance workshops were considerably increased by the installation of new machinery; and the arrears of work which were accumulating overhauled, and that the deterioration that was threatening material, vehicles through lack of attention as prevented.[9]

The Cost Accounting system of accounting for stores was proving successful, and everything in connection with this was satisfactory with few losses occurring.[10]

The sale of surplus stores was still proceeding, although the returns had fallen off, for various reasons. The total receipts for the year were approximately £52,000, making a grand total, to date of approximately £424,000. The present method of sale was considered more satisfactory in every way than a sale by auction; it enabled the general public throughout New Zealand to obtain the stores at low prices and provided an efficient organization to deal with surplus stores as they became available from time to time. The dyeing of surplus khaki uniforms for sale to the public was proving a successful venture and was the only satisfactory method of disposing of those large stocks.

Vacancies

Applications were requested to fill Vacancies for Armourers in the NZAOC. The call was for Qualified Armourers and Gunsmiths who had previous experience in the repair of small-arms and machine guns. Mechanics would be considered if they had had training in armourer s duties.

1924 Ad

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 114, 15 May 1924. Papers Past

Gallant Conduct

On 11 March 1924 Corporal Artificer John William Dalton, NZAOC was instrumental in saving the lives of four non-swimmers during extreme flash flooding which destroyed the encampment of the 6th Battery, NZA during their camp at Eskdale.[11] [12] [13]

GO 164 of 1924

General Order 164

 

eskdale flood 1924 07b

Corporal Artificer Dalton supervising the recovery of guns after the Eskdale flood 1924. Norm Lamont Collection

 

eskdale flood 1924 07a

Corporal Artificer Dalton supervising the recovery of guns after the Eskdale flood 1924. Norm Lamont Collection

 

dalton jw 11c eskdale flood 1924

Corporal Artificer Dalton supervising the recovery of guns after the Eskdale flood 1924. Norm Lamont Collection

 

dalton jw 11b eskdale flood 1924

Corporal Artificer Dalton supervising the recovery of guns after the Eskdale flood 1924. Norm Lamont Collection

 

eskdale flood 1924 08b

Corporal Artificer Dalton supervising the recovery of guns after the Eskdale flood 1924. Norm Lamont Collection

 

eskdale flood 1924 08a

Corporal Artificer Dalton supervising the recovery of guns after the Eskdale flood 1924. Norm Lamont Collection

 

eskdale flood 1924 06b

Corporal Artificer Dalton supervising the recovery of guns after the Eskdale flood 1924. Norm Lamont Collection

 

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Corporal Articifer Dalton supervising the recovery of guns after the Eskdale flood 1924. Norm Lamont Collection

 

dalton jw 11c eskdale flood 1924

Corporal Articifer Dalton supervising the recovery of guns after the Eskdale flood 1924. Norm Lamont Collection

New Zealand Rifle Team

Sergeant Ching a member of NZAOC, was invited to join the New Zealand Rifle Team for the shooting competition to be held at Bisley in the United Kingdom in September.[14]

NZ Army Dress Regulations 1923

The following extracts are from the 1923 NZ Army Dress Regulations that relate to the NZOC.  The 1823 Dress Regulations were the first update to the Dress Regulations since 1912.[15]

Director of Ordnance Services

The Director or Ordnance Services was authorized to wear the following dress distinctions 

  • Blue Gorget Patches
  • Blue Cap Band on the Khaki Service Dress Cap
  • Lion and Crown Cap Badge

Overalls (Trousers)

Ordnance Corps – Two 1/4 in stripes, maroon cloth 1/2 in apart

Mess Kit Jacket

Blue Cloth with Scarlet cloth roll collar and pointed scarlet cloth cuffs. Cuffs 6in deep at the points and 23/4in behind, a 1in slit at the seams. Shoulder straps of blue cloth 11/2 wide at the base, tapering to about 1in at the points, rounder points fastened with a small button, the shoulder straps to be sewn at the shoulder. Badges of rank in metal. No buttons on the front of the jacket and no gold braid or piping. Collar Badges as on service Jacket.

Mess Kit Waist Coat

Blue cloth, open in front, no collar, fastened with four ½ in mounted buttons

Forage Cap Band

Scarlet.

Shoulder Titles

Brass letters, worn by officers, warrant officers, Non-commissioned officers and men on the shoulder straps of jacks (service and blue) and greatcoats. The will not be worn on mess-jackets.

NZAOC STAB

NZAOC Shoulder Titles. Robert McKie Collection

Puggaree

Ordnance Corps – Red-Blue-Red

RNZAOC_PUG

NZAOC Puggaree. Robert McKie Collection

Obituary

Corporal Peter Gow Scrimgeour passed away at his residence at William Street, Upper Hutt, on Wednesday 24 October 1923. Joining the NZEF with the Eighth Contingent, Scrimgeour saw considerable service in France and at the time of his death was employed with the Trentham Detachment of the NZAOC.[16]  Scrimgeour was provided with a military funeral on 26 October 1923.[17]

 

Personnel Movements -July 1923 to June 1924

Releases

  • 176 Armorer Private Reginald Albert Percival Johns
  • 820 Private James Clements
  • 838 Lance Corporal William Robert McMinn
  • 914 Armourer Sergeant John Boyce
  • 954 Company Sergeant Major Joseph Arthur Head

Deaths

  • 666 Corporal Peter Gow Scrimgeour

Copyright © Robert McKie 2018

 

Notes:

[1] “H-19 Defence Forces of New Zealand, Annual Report of the General Officer Commanding the Forces from 1 June 1923 to 30 June 1924,” Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives  (1924).

[2] “B-01-Part02 Public Accounts for the Financial Year 1923-1924,” Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives  (1924).

[3] “Hydro-Electric Development,” Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17850  (1923).

[4] “H-19 Defence Forces of New Zealand, Annual Report of the General Officer Commanding the Forces from 1 June 1923 to 30 June 1924.”

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Ibid.

[11] “Caught by the Flood “, New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18659, 15 March 1924.

[12] “Gallant Conduct,” New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18725, 3 June 1924.

[13] “Courageous Conduct,”  in New Zealand Army General Order 164 (Wellington1924).

[14] “Personal Matters – Ching,” Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 113, 14 May 1924.

[15] 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, 34.

[16] “Scrimgeour, Peter Gow “, Personal File, Archives New Zealand  (1914-1918).

[17] “Personal Matters – Ching.”

The First Cohort – Ordnance Soldiers of 1917

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Who were the first Ordnance Soldiers on the formation of the New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps in 1917?  The names of the original New Zealand Ordnance Officers are well recorded; Major McCristell, Captains King, Beck and White are names familiar to those knowledgeable in the History of the RNZAOC, but who were the original men of the Permanent Force NZAOC that came into life in 1917?

Not to be confused with New Zealand Expeditionary Force NZAOC, which was formed in 1915/16 as a unit of the NZEF. The formation of the Permanent Force NZAOC had been under discussion since 1904 and was finally established by regulations published in the NZ Gazette on 1 February 1917 and continued to serve the nation until 1996, when its successor, the Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps, was absorbed into the Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment,

The NZAOC was to be organised to completely replace the existing Civil Service-run Defence Stores Department, additionally incorporating many of the Ordnance functions carried out by the New Zealand Permanent Forces. Using Ordnance personnel records held by Archives New Zealand, I have reconstructed the 1917 NZAOC nominal roll. This identifies information about the soldiers, their previous military service, dates they were transferred if already serving, or attested into the NZAOC if previously a civilian and a raft of other information on promotions, postings, and discipline issues. These records are not complete but do provide enough information when combined with other sources to build a picture of the events of 1917.

Once the regulations authorising the formation of the NZAOC were published in the NZ Gazette on 1 February 1917, I am of no doubt that much of the planning for the establishment of the new Corps had already been undertaken. Between March and November 1917, approximately 140 men were either transferred or recruited directly into the NZAOC from four manpower pools consisting of:

  • Serving soldiers of the Permanent Forces,
  • Members of civil service employed by the existing Defence Stores Department and other Government departments,
  • Returned servicemen from the NZEF who had to be returned to New Zealand as unfit for overseas service but suitable for home service, and
  • Direct Entries from civilian occupations.

The available records indicate that the men initially required to form the NZAOC were identified in February/March 1917. The first cohort of men was drawn from the Permanent Force and transferred into the NZAOD starting on the 15th of March 1917, followed by the Defence Stores Department Civilian Staff who had been selected for militarisation, beginning in July 1917.

For the Men of the new NZAOC apart from some administrative changes, new cap badges for the serving soldiers and uniforms, military rules, and regulations for the civilian staff, there probably was not much change to their daily routine, just a change in names and appointments. The NZAOC was organised into Clerical, Stores, Ammunition and Maintenance sections located at:

  • Wellington; with NZAOC Headquarters, Stores and Workshops at Alexandra Barracks. Stores Depots at Te Aro, Taranaki Street and Trentham. Ammunition Section at Fort Ballance at Mahanga Bay.
  • Auckland, Mt Eden and Narrowneck
  • Palmerston North,
  • Featherston Camp,
  • King Edwards Barracks, Christchurch and
  • Dunedin, Otago Districts Stores Depot, St Andrews Street.

So, who were the first Ordnance Soldiers?

The first 10 Soldiers of various trades and ranks who joined the NZAOC were transferred from the Permanent Forces on the 15th of March 1917; they were:

  • Auckland
    • NZAOC No 17 Quartermaster Sergeant Artificer George Bush, Armaments Artificer.
    • NZAOC No 20 Armament Sergeant Major (WO) Thomas Edward Bryce, Armaments Artificer.
  • Palmerston North
    • NZAOC No 132 Armourer Staff Sergeant Andrew Archibald Young, Armaments Artificer.
  • Wellington
    • NZAOC No 1 Private Hugh John Adams, Ammunition Section.
    • NZAOC No 58 Staff Sergeant Artificer Thomas Reid Inch, Armaments Artificer.
    • NZAOC No 68 Private Patrick Keeshan, Ammunition Section.
    • NZAOC No 75 Private Charles William Marshall, Ammunition Section.
    • NZAOC No 82 Artificer Sergeant Major (WO) William Edward Moore, Armaments Artificer.
    • NZAOC No 100 Conductor William Ramsey.
    • Conductor William Henry Manning
  • Dunedin
    • NZAOC No 23 Armament Sergeant Major (WO) William Carroll, Fitter.

Many of these men had served in the Permanent Force for some years, some as far back as the days of the Army Constabulary. Some reached retiring age in a few years, while some continued to serve into the early 1940s, but although advanced in years, they provided a strong experience base in not only trade but also military experience for the fledgeling Corps.

Dress Embellishments

The NZAOC was authorised to wear the following dress embellishments.

  • Cap and Collar Badges.  The home service NZAOC badge was based on the UK Army Ordnance Department badge. The New Zealand version modified the UK AOD badge by Having the letters NZ replace the centre cannonball in the top panel of the shield and with the inscriptions Army Ordnance Department on the scroll beneath the shield. The New Zealand Pattern Ordnance Corps Badge is unique in the world as it is one of the few Ordnance cap badges where the cannons face in the opposite direction to all other ordnance badges. Current evidence indicates that this badge was produced in Brass and Bronze
    The Collar badge was a simple version of the Cap badge without the scroll with the cannons facing inwards.

     

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NZ Army Ordnance Corps badge 1917-1937. Robert McKie Collection
  • Brass Shoulder Titles. Although not authorised for wear until 1923, there is some photographic evidence showing that the brass NZAOC shoulder titles were worn as early as 1918.
    • NZAOC STAB
    NZAOC Brass Shoulder Titles. Robert McKie Collection
    • Puggaree with Ordnance Flash. The Puggaree worn at the time was Black/Khaki/Black. (The Red/Blue/Red Ordnance Puggaree was not adopted until 1923) Soldiers of the NZAOC wore this with the Ordnance badge and a 1.5 Inch x 1.5-inch blue and red distinguishing patch on the left-hand side of the hat. Due to a shortage of Lemon Squeezer hats in early 1918, forage caps were substituted.
    NZAOC HOME SERVICE PATCH
    NZAOC Home service patch (Reproduction). Robert McKie Collection

    Soldier Profile

    One member of the original cohort who I have decided to profile is the soldier who was allocated NZAOC Service Number 1.

    NZAOC No 1 Private Hugh John Adams

    Although technically not the first member of the NZAOC, but as a member of the first cohort to join the NZAOC and having NZAOC Service Number 1, it could be said that NZAOC No 1 Private Hugh John Adams was the first New Zealand Ordnance soldier and one of the first Ammunition Technicians.

    Hugh Adams was the son of Irish/Scottish immigrants Adams was born at Lyttleton on the 21st of July 1874. Adams only completed school up to Standard Four (today’s year 6) and was working as a labourer in Blenheim at around 1892 when at 18 years of age, he enlisted in the Blenheim Rifles Volunteers (B Company of the First Battalion of the Nelson Infantry Volunteers.

    Serving in the volunteers for five years, Adams resigned from the Blenheim Rifles in March 1897, moved to Wellington and was attested for service as a Gunner 3rd class into the Wellington Detachment of No 1 Company of the New Zealand Permanent Forces, Based at Fort Balance at Mahanga Bay Wellington.

    Over the next few years, Adams consolidated himself in the Artillery earning promotion to Gunner 2nd Class on 1 Sept 1899 and then promotion to Gunner 1st Class on 11 March 1901.

    Around 1900 Adams married Ada Charlotte McKenzie, with whom he had three children May, Cyril and Lyall.

    1902 saw the reorganisation of the New Zealand Forces when, on the 15th of October, the Wellington Detachment of No 1 Company of the New Zealand Permanent Forces became the Wellington Detachment of the Royal New Zealand Artillery.

    As a measure to assure some self-sufficiency in the inspection and supply of Artillery Ammunition the decision was made in 1914 to create as part of the Royal New Zealand Artillery an Ordnance Section to inspect and manufacture artillery ammunition. On 1 April 1915, authority was granted under New Zealand Defence Forces General Order 90 to raise the New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps Section.

    The section was small, and Adams, along with seven other members of the Royal New Zealand Artillery, were the foundation members whose primary duties were the assembling of ammunition components for the artillery.  With the creation of the NZAOC in 1917, the responsibility for the Ordnance Section passed from the Royal New Zealand Artillery to the NZAOC with Adam and the other members becoming Ordnance soldiers.

    The immediate post-war years into the mid-1920s were a busy time for the NZAOC. Substantial amounts of equipment from mobilisation camps in New Zealand and returned from Europe as the NZEF was demobilised needed to be sorted, graded, repaired, disposed of, redistributed, or placed into storage. For the Ammunition Section based at Mahanga Bay, it was a time of expansion. The Kaiwharawhara Magazine close to the city was closed, and the Mahanga Bay facilities expanded from the original magazine and laboratory building on the foreshore to include Fort Balance, Fort Gordon, and the Kau Point Battery, as these were decommissioned. Their armaments were removed, and gun pits were covered over with roofs and turned into additional magazines. The area went from being Wellington’s premier Defensive location to quite possibly the 1st large-scale ammunition depot of the NZAOC, a role it filled until the 1940s when purpose-built facilities were constructed at Belmont and Kuku Valley.

    mahanga-bay-miramar-wellington-ca-1910c
    Mahanga Bay, Miramar, Wellington, c1910 (Colourised) Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand

    Adams remained employed in the Ammunition Section and was primarily the 2IC of the Section during the busy years of the early 1920s, his duties included making up ammunition, and he was responsible for the care of the magazines and surrounding areas. In a 1921 review of the Ammunition Section, Adams was deemed necessary for the operation.

    Few if any photographs exist of the work carried out by Adams and the Ammunition Section at Mahanga Bay, but these examples from the Australian War Museum provide some perspective.

    newington_laboratory_1949_b

    Removing primer from a round of fixed QF ammunition. Australian War Memorial

    cordite_bundling_001636
    RAN personnel inspecting cordite and then tying it into bundles. Australian War Memorial
    newington_laboratory_1949_a
    Base fuse or plug being removed from or replaced in a large calibre BL projectile. Australian War Memorial

    Reaching the retirement age of 55, Adams retired on 21 Feb 1929 after 31 years and 343 Days of service.

    Remaining in the rank of Private all his career, due to his lack of education past standard 4, Adams was recognised as a competent soldier in his role in the Ammunition Section and was no novice when handling explosives. Adams was awarded the following medals:

    • Permanent Forces of the Empire Beyond the Seas Medal, and the

    • New Zealand Long and Efficient Service Medal

    Adams Group
    NZAOC No 1 Private Hugh John Adams, Permanent Forces of the Empire Beyond the Seas Medal and New Zealand Long and Efficient Service Medal

    Adams passed away in August 1955, aged 81 years and is buried at the Karori cemetery in Wellington.

    Copyright © Robert McKie 2017