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Cenotaph Stories

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Cenotaph Stories

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  • Medals returned home: The Blanks family

    Sophie Elborough (Collection Technician, Research Support) & Scott Blanks

    After 45 years abroad, one set of World War I medals will be returning to Auckland in time for Anzac Day 2025. This story was recently shared with the Online Cenotaph team by Scott Blanks, whose grandfather’s medals made their way across the Tasman and are now in the care of Scott’s son, Nicholas.

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  • Remembering the Fallen: Memorials and Memory in post-War New Zealand

    Matthew Nickless
    Collection Technician - Research Support

    In towns and cities across Aotearoa New Zealand, war memorials stand as quiet witnesses to sacrifice, loss, and remembrance. The story of a lamp-post in Rakaia, gifted in memory of one young soldier, reminds us of the deeply personal motives behind these public memorials.

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  • Upholding Māoritanga: Stories of Māori Prisoners of War in WWII

    Sophie Elborough
    Collection Technician, Research Support

    While stories of New Zealand’s prisoners of war during WWII are plentiful, there has been little focus on the experiences of Māori POW. Their stories reveal that despite hardship, significant displays of Māoritanga broke through the mundanity and hopelessness of their time as prisoners and demonstrate the importance of their experiences in New Zealand’s history.

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  • Dick Owen and the Arctic Convoys

    Sophie Elborough (COLLECTION TECHNICIAN) & Judy Owen (Volunteer)
    Online Cenotaph

    Pou Maumahara volunteer Judy Owen shares a story written by her father Malcolm (Dick) Cunningham Owen about his experience in the Arctic Convoys during World War II.

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  • A Year in Review: Online Cenotaph 2024

    Online Cenotaph team

    As another year draws to a close, the Online Cenotaph team at Auckland War Memorial Museum reflects on a year of community-driven commemoration. In this end of year review, we've compiled some highlights showing how, together with our community, we have honoured New Zealand's veterans in 2024.

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  • Echoes across the waves: The Wally Ware story

    Sophie Elborough (Collection Technician) and Victoria Passau (Online Cenotaph & Enquiry Services Manager)

    Wally Ware served in the Royal New Zealand Navy during World War II, witnessing key moments aboard HMNZS Achilles and Gambia. His remarkable experiences, from naval battles to coded letters home, shaped his post-war life as a pioneering farmer and community leader.

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  • The Kokoda Legacy: New Zealanders among the ranks

    Matthew Nickless
    Collection Technician - Research Support

    New Zealand has always had a close military connection with Australia. This is the story of two New Zealanders who served with the Second Australian Imperial Force in one of Australia's most famous campaigns - the Kokoda Trail.

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  • A message home: Connecting whānau through Online Cenotaph

    Victoria Passau, Online Cenotaph & Enquiry Service Manager

    In 2024, sound history researcher Sarah Johnston shared a poignant story about a World War II sound disc that reconnected the family of Daniel Joseph Clifford, a young New Zealand airman, with the voice of their long-lost loved one.

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  • Life after Armistice: William Osborne Liggins

    Sophie Elborough
    COLLECTION TECHNICIAN - RESEARCH SUPPORT

    While Armistice Day was not an official end to World War I, it did mark a vital turning point in the conflict. For the approximately 52,000 New Zealand service personnel overseas, including William Osborne Liggins, the news meant leaving behind muddy trenches and starting a long journey back home.

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  • ‘Kia kaha nu Tereni’: 125th anniversary of New Zealand in the South African War

    Gail Romano, Curator, War History

    On 21 October 1899, New Zealand's first overseas military contingent departed for the South African War, marking a significant moment in the nation's military history. The 125th anniversary commemorates this milestone, reflecting on the troops' experiences and New Zealand's evolving identity within the British Empire.

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