George Gabriel Bird

Forenames

George Gabriel AWMM

Surname

Bird AWMM

Service number

4204 AWMM

Gender

Male AWMM

Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe

• Iwi Māori, Māori AWMM
• Mataatua, Waka o Ngā Iwi, Ngā Iwi, Māori AWMM

Date of birth

b. 1913

Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 25 July 2026 - Military record

Birth notes

son of Joseph Bird and of Anni Bird

Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 25 July 2026 - Military record

Address before enlistment

Unknown AWMM Murupara, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand AWMM

Next of kin

Mr W.F. Bird (grandfather), Murupara, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand AWMM

Relationship status

Unknown AWMM Single AWMM

War

World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM

Campaign

1941 AWMM Crete AWMM

Armed force / branch

Army AWMM

Service number

4204 AWMM

Enlistment

WW2 Unknown AWMM Carpenter/Civilian AWMM

Embarkation details

WW2 Lance Corporal/Military AWMM 28 (Maori) Battalion, B Company AWMM Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Second Echelon AWMM

Medical notes

Killed in Action, Cause of Death AWMM

Last rank

Lance Corporal/Military Gardiner, W. (2019). Ake ake kia kaha e!
28 (Maori) Battalion, B Company Gardiner, W. (2019). Ake ake kia kaha e!

Lance Corporal Bird was the son of Joseph Bird and of Anni Bird (nee Wharewera), of Murupara, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.

Enlistment details vary: they also show next of kin as Mrs M.M. Bird, Murupara. AWMM

Death

27 May 1941 AWMM
Age  28 AWMM

Cause of death

Killed in Action AWMM

Cemetery

Suda Bay War Cemetery, Crete, Greece AWMM 15. B. 8. AWMM

Memorial name

• Auckland War Memorial Museum, World War 2 Hall of Memories AWMM
• Auckland Domain, an Olive Tree (Olea europaea) planted close to the Auckland War Memorial Museum in the grounds of the Auckland Domain commemorates those who fought on Crete in 1941. AWMM
• Whakarewarewa, Te Hokowhitu-a-tu Memorial Gateway, Rotorua AWMM

Related objects

External links

• Cody, J. (1956). 28 (Maori) Battalion. Wellington: Dept. of Internal Affairs, War History Branch. Digital copy.
  https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/webarchive/20210104000423/http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Maor.html
  Sources Used
• 28th Maori Battalion Website 1941-1945
  http://www.28maoribattalion.org.nz/
  Further Reference
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission record
  https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/936547
  Sources Used

References

• Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. (1941). Nominal Roll Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force No. 2 (Embarkations to 30th June, 1940). Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
  WW2 2: WW2 19
• Gardiner, W. (2019). Ake ake kia kaha e! : Forever brave! : B Company 28 (Maori) Battalion, 1939-1945. Auckland : Bateman Books.
• Cody, J. (1956). 28 (Maori) Battalion. Wellington, N.Z.: Department of Internal Affairs, War History Branch.
• Auckland Museum. Roll of Honour, Auckland Province, 1939 - 1945. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS 93/139.
• McClymont, W. (1959). To Greece. Wellington, N.Z.: Department Internal Affairs, War History Branch.
• Davin, D. (1953). Crete. Wellington, N.Z.: Department of Internal Affairs, War History Branch.