Cenotaph Stories

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A collie for the service corps
Gail Romano, Associate Curator History
On this Purple Poppy Day, Associate Curator, Gail Romano acknowledges the contribution of the mascot Sam. Sam was ‘a handsome English collie dog’ gifted to the Canterbury section of the New Zealand Army Service Corps during WWI.
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September Somme
Martin Collett and Shaun Higgins
Collection Manager Documentary Heritage and Curator, Pictorial
On 15 September 1916 New Zealand soldiers joined the Battle of the Somme, one of the bloodiest battles of the time. Letters and images from those involved tell us of the horrors.
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Dear Mother this war is a bugger
Gail Romano
Associate Curator, History
When Private Donald Melville Wood Brown wrote home in June 1916, quoting a fellow soldier, he had changed his mind about soldiering. Sadly, his war ended when he was killed in action three months later on the Somme.
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'So what the hell'
By Gail Romano
Associate Curator, History
During the Battle of Britain there were indeed many New Zealanders contributing in important ways, ‘being New Zealanders’ both on the ground and in the air. By the end of July 1940 New Zealand’s Minister of Defence Fred Jones was noting 710 New Zealand pilots were in the RAF. In this article Gail Romano shares some stories of the New Zealanders who served in the Battle of Britain.
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Stranded on Emirau
Gail Romano, Associate Curator History
The first large group of New Zealanders taken prisoner during the Second World War were not military personnel but civilians. On Merchant Navy Day, we remember these events in the south Pacific over the turn of 1940-41, as we reflect on the important, risky yet subsequently under-recognised role played by our merchant seamen during the First and Second World Wars.
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World War Voices
By Sarah Johnston
Sound History Researcher (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Rākaipaaka)
During the Second World War the National Broadcasting Service Mobile Unit recorded interviews and reports about the fighting and the day-to-day business of war, as well as thousands of simple messages home from servicemen – and a few women. Sound History Researcher, Sarah Johnston explores their stories.
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May Palmer
By Georgina White
Curator, Cenotaph Galleries
Determined to offer her services during the First World War, Nurse May Palmer travelled from Wellington to France, where she joined the French Red Cross, nursing in Hospitals in Northern France and Belgium. Here is the story of May Palmer a truly remarkable nurse.
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Harold Winstone Butterworth
By Georgina White
Curator, Cenotaph Galleries
'It is great sport up on a bumpy day & as you first overcome one bump & then another you have a great feeling of joy over your imitation of the bird & the freeness of the air.' Harold Butterworth, a pilot with the Royal Flying Corps describes his experiences flying during the First World War.
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Anzac Day 2021
This year we highlight the contributions made by servicewomen in World War II and after. 2021 marks two significant anniversaries involving servicewomen: the establishment of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (formed 16 January 1941) and the landing in Japan of the main body of Jayforce (March 1946). The legacy left by these women paved the way for the thousands of women serving today.
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Niuean Service Personnel
List of identified Niuean Service personnel who have service with the New Zealand Armed Forces, during both the First World War, Second World War and later conflicts.
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