Harding Waipuke Leaf
Born 6 Oct 1890 - Died 22 May 1941
- Service number
- WWI 16/336 AWMM
- WWII 6116 AWMM
- Also known as
- Haringi AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Last rank
- WW1 Sergeant AWMM New Zealand (Maori) Pioneer Battalion AWMM
- WW2 Captain/Military AWMM 28 (Maori) Battalion AWMM
- War
Images
Documents
About birth
- Birth
- 6 Oct 1890 AWMM
- Date of birth
- —
- Place of birth
- —
- Birth notes
- Son of John Edward Leaf and Matu Leaf (nee Kemara)Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 11 March 2016 - Research
- Address before enlistment
- WW1 Pre 04 Nov 1914 AWMM Whirinaki, Hokianga, New Zealand AWMM
- WW2 Whirinaki, Hokianga, New Zealand AWMM
- Post war occupation
- —
- Next of kin
- WW1 Henry Leaf, Whirinaki, via Rawene, Hokianga, New Zealand AWMM
- WW1 Mrs Helene Leaf (wife), Whirinaki, Hokianga, New Zealand AWMM
- Relationship status
- Pre 14 Feb 1915 AWMM Single/WWI AWMM
- Pre 02 May 1940 AWMM Married/WWII AWMM
Wars and conflicts
- War
- Campaign
- 1915-1916 AWMM Gallipoli AWMM
- 1914-1919 AWMM Western Front AWMM
- 1941 AWMM Crete AWMM
- 1914-1916 AWMM Egypt AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Service number
- WWI 16/336 AWMM
- WWII 6116 AWMM
- Military service
- —
- Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers
- —
Military decorations
- Medals and Awards
- Military Cross (MC) AWMM
Citation for Military Cross (MC): "For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when in charge of a wiring party. He was taking his party up to the outpost line with wiring material under the most adverse circumstances, as it was very dark and raining heavily. When just outside the frontline, they came under a heavy barrage, but by his fine person example of keeping his men together andled them through the barrage to their work which they completed satisfactorily." (London Gazette, 9 January 1918) AWMM - 1914-1915 Star AWMM
- Victory Medal AWMM
- British War Medal (1914-1920) AWMM
- War Medal 1939-1945 AWMM
- New Zealand War Service Medal AWMM
- British War Medal
Victory Medal
WWII: Defence Medal
1939-1945 War Medal
NZ War Service MedalPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 11 March 2016 - Military Record
- Military Cross (MC) AWMM
Training and Enlistment
- Military training
- Waiatarua Camp (in Avondale, Auckland, on the racecourse grounds) AWMM
- Branch Trade Proficiency
- —
- Enlistment
- WW1 04 Nov 1914 AWMM
Age 24 AWMM
Sawmill hand/Civilian AWMM - WW2 Inspector of Health (Native Department)/Civilian AWMM
- WW1 04 Nov 1914 AWMM
- Age on enlistment
- WWII: 49yrsPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 11 March 2016 - Military Recod
- Occupation before enlistment
- —
Embarkations
- Embarkation details
- WW1 14 Feb 1915-26 Mar 1915 AWMM
HMNZT 20 AWMM Vessel was Warrimoo AWMM Sergeant AWMM A Company AWMM New Zealand Expeditionary Force AWMM - WW2 Vessel was Aquitania AWMM Lieutenant/Military AWMM 28 (Maori) Battalion, Headquarters AWMM Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Second Echelon AWMM
2nd Embarkation AWMM
- WW1 14 Feb 1915-26 Mar 1915 AWMM
Prisoner of war
- Capture details
- —
- Days interned
- —
- Liberation date
- —
- POW liberation details
- —
- Liberation Repatriation
- —
- POW serial number
- —
Medical history
- Medical notes
- Killed in Action, Cause of Death AWMM
Last known rank
- Last rank
- WW1 6 May 1919 AWMM Sergeant AWMM
New Zealand (Maori) Pioneer Battalion AWMM - WW2 Captain/Military AWMM
28 (Maori) Battalion AWMM
- WW1 6 May 1919 AWMM Sergeant AWMM
- Last rank
- —
Biographical information
- Harding Leaf was the son of John Edward Leaf and Matu Leaf (née Kemara) and husband of Hellen (later known as Helene) Hendry (born Halkirk, Caithness, Scotland).
A Company was made up of men from the West Coast, North of Auckland and the South Island. The Maori Contingent boarded the ship Wairrimoo at Auckland. The ship then sailed to Wellington, took part in the march there, and then boarded again to leave Wellington for Egypt. The Maori Contingent landed at Gallipoli on 3 July 1915. The Maori Pioneers took part in several major British offensives when at the Western Front. AWMM - Harding Waipuke Leaf was a captain in 28 Maori Battalion in the Second World War. You have him recorded as being a sergeant in the Maori Pioneer Battalion in the First World War, but since he was awarded the Military Cross, he must have been an officer - the MC was only awarded to commissioned officers. His WWI service record in Archives NZ shows him to have been a private, then a corporal and then a sergeant, before being made a Lieutenant on 21 May 1915. He was Temporary Captain between 14 August and 24 October 1917, in the absence of the Captain. He then resumed the rank of Lieutenant, which he held until the end of the war. He enlisted as a 1st Lieutenant in WWII, and was made Captain almost immediately, a rank he held until his death.
As well as the memorials you list, he is also commemorated on a memorial in his home district of Whirinaki, erected by his son Lomond Leaf.Public - Stuart - Researcher - 10 June 2015 - Rank and decoration from his military personnel file. The Whirinaki memorial is included in Heritage New Zealand's database, and its erection is referred to in New Zealand Herald, 12 January 1991 p 9
- Harding Leaf was the son of John Edward Leaf and Matu Leaf (née Kemara) and husband of Hellen (later known as Helene) Hendry (born Halkirk, Caithness, Scotland).
About death
- Death
- 22 May 1941 AWMM
Age 52 AWMM - Date of death
- —
- Age at death
- —
- Place of death
- —
- Cause of death
- Killed in Action AWMM
- Death notes
- —
- Cemetery
- —
- Cemetery name
- —
- Grave reference
- —
- Obituary
- OFFICER WITH MAORIS SERVICE IN TWO WARS (0.C.) WHANGAREI, Wednesday Captain Harding Leaf, who has been reported missing in the Middle East, saw service with the Maori Battalion in the last war, and at the outbreak of this war immediately offered his services, and went away again with the Maori Battalion. He was a of the Maori Advisory Council of the New Zealand Rugby Union, a member of the North Auckland Union, and co-manager of the Maori All Black team that toured Fiji a few years ago. During the years between the two wars, Captain Leaf was an official of the Native Department, and worked among the Maoris in Northland, aiming at the promotion of better health and living conditions. He was actively associated with the organisation of the Waitangi and Centennial celebrations. He married in England, and Mrs. Leaf now manages the farm at Whirinaki, Hokianga, where Captain Leaf has made his home since the last warPublic - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 20 September 2024 - New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 24019, 17 July 1941, Page 16
- Memorial name
- —
- Memorial reference
- —
Memorial
- Memorial name
- Athens Memorial, Phaleron War Cemetery, Athens, Greece AWMM
- Auckland War Memorial Museum, World War 2 Hall of Memories AWMM
- Hokianga Arch of Remembrance, Kohukohu, Hokianga, New Zealand AWMM
Related objects
Sources
- External links
- Military Personnel File
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R24060722
Further Reference - Military Personnel File
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R24169960
Further Reference - New Zealand Electronic Text Collection topic page
http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/name-027849.html
Further Reference - 28th Maori Battalion Website 1941-1945
http://www.28maoribattalion.org.nz/
Further Reference - Cody, J.F. (1956). 28 (Maori) Battalion. Wellington, N.Z.: War History Branch, Dept. of Internal Affairs.
http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Maor.html
Further Reference - Online Cenotaph Feature
http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/features/harding-waipuke-leaf
Further Reference - 'Memories of a Ngapuhi legend', Northland Age, 4 August 2015.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northland-age/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503402&objectid=11491649
Further Reference - Commonwealth War Graves Commission record
https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2628926
Sources Used - 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
Further Reference - Cowan, J. (1926). The Maoris in the Great War. Auckland, N.Z.: Maori Regimental Committee by Whitcombe & Tombs.
https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/webarchive/20201108000000/https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-CowMaor.html
Further Reference
- Military Personnel File
- References
- Leaf, J.M. (1983). Sons of Te Ramaroa = Nga tama a Te Ramaroa. Kaikohe, N.Z.: Author.
- Auckland Museum. Roll of Honour, Auckland Province, 1939 - 1945. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS 93/139.
- Gardiner, W. (1992). Te mura o te Ahi = The story of the Maori Battalion. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed.
- New Zealand Army Expeditionary Force. (1914-1919). Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Volume I. Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
Vol1: 409 - 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 108 - Leaf, J.M. (1990). Leaf family reunion, 1832-1990. Kaikohe, N.Z.: Author.
- Gardiner, W. (1992). Te mura o te Ahi = The story of the Maori Battalion. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed.
pp. 25-6 - Dyer, H. (1953). Ma Te Reinga = By way of Reinga : the way of the Maori soldier. Ilfracombe, England: Arthur H. Stockwell.
- New Zealand. Army. 1st Maori Contingent. Scroll of the 1st New Zealand Maori Contingent, 1915. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS-624.
- Beattie, P.J. & Pomeroy, M. (2013-2020). Onward : portraits of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (vols 1-5). Auckland, New Zealand: Fair Dinkum Publications
Vol. 3: Includes portrait - Soutar, M. (2019). Whitiki! Whiti! Whiti! E!: Maori In the First World War. New Zealand: David Bateman Ltd.
- Cody, J. (1956). 28 (Maori) Battalion. Wellington, N.Z.: Department of Internal Affairs, War History Branch.
- Information kindly provided by family
- McDonald, W. (2013). Honours and Awards to the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Great War, 1914-1918. (3rd ed.). Hamilton, N.Z.: Richard Stowers.
- 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.
- Cowan, J. (1926). The Maoris in the Great War. Auckland, N.Z.: Maori Regimental Committee by Whitcombe & Tombs.
- Pugsley, C. (1995). Te Hokowhitu a Tu : the Maori Pioneer Battalion in the first World War. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed.
- Waite, F. (1919). The New Zealanders at Gallipoli. Auckland, N.Z.: Printed and published under Authority of the New Zealand Government by Whitcombe & Tombs.
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