“Dale, tena koe. Firstly, let me congratulate you for completing this monumental task. It will be a most valuable source for families as we remember these men and women.
Would love to talk with you in person about our project as your list will be most valuable in helping us.
My father is Lt Col James C Henare 63390 28 Maori Battalion”.
Erima Henare – Celebrated Ngati Hine leader and Te Reo Maori Advocate
(RIP, Erima .. Sadly, we were not to meet, as Erima passed away on the eve of writing this message to me).
The Rolls Of Honour
Yes, there are actually several Rolls of Honour.
It is to the compilation of the first and largest of these rolls, the Freedom’s Call 2nd N.Z.E.F. Roll of Honour, to which I have devoted so many years and so many thousands of hours.
As has been stated, this roll lists those soldiers and nurses with Northland connections who served with the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Pacific.
This is a ‘one of a kind’ resource, the likes of which you will not find for any of the other regions within New Zealand. That said, it is not just for Northlanders, but will be of interest to many other families and researchers living outside of the region, for reasons which will soon become apparent.
The roll honours not only those who paid the ultimate price for their service, but all who served overseas, including those in J-Force.
You can immediately run a search for an individual, just by entering a surname, or a specific name, in the search box through this link to 2nd N.Z.E.F. personnel.
You can also access this roll via the link to be found in the submenus in the top and upper right hand side of this page.
Italian women with rifles and captured German stick grenades at Massa Lombarda, Italy, during World War II. New Zealand. Department of Internal Affairs. War History Branch :Photographs relating to World War 1914-1918, World War 1939-1945, occupation of Japan, Korean War, and Malayan Emergency. Ref: DA-03285-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/23097723
“Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.”
The Lest We Forget Roll of Honour is an extrapolation from the 2nd N.Z.E.F. and Other Forces Rolls, and memorialises those who died or who were killed on active service.
It was never my intention to compile a Roll for those who served in the air force, the navy or in overseas forces, e.g. Great Britain, Australia, etc, but with the advancement of technology, it has been possible to create a roll, of sorts. This is less detailed and in a somewhat cruder form than its bigger brother, but as at 6 July 2024, there are 1720 entries.
The Freedom’s Call Other Forces Roll of Honour would likely never have materialised had it not been for the numerous recent entries added to the Auckland Museum Cenotaph database. A few years ago, it was exceedingly difficult to find much at all as regards the war histories or biographies of our air force and navy personnel, and that was the primary reason why I decided at that time to confine myself just to army personnel who served overseas.
In Column D, all names bolded in RED, are as they appear on the 2nd N.Z.E.F. Roll, in other words as they appear on the Nominal Rolls. Any other known names are included, but are bolded in parentheses. Those names bolded in BLUE, are to be found of the Other Forces Roll of Honour. Those bolded in BLACK appear on neither roll, by virtue of the fact they did not serve overseas, or I was unable to establish a connection to Northland. (Yes, it is possible for one family member to have a connection, but not another).
Some further names I instinctively felt should be included, but I was unable to do this because of the difficulty in proving the connection. Quite a few of the Maori soldiers, fall in this category, but it is my hope that with the passage of time, we will see quite a few more names added.
Other Lists
Other lists have also been produced and I will touch on these here.
There are bound to be men and women who never made it onto these rolls, although the original goals I set myself have certainly been met.
Some veterans lying in RSA plots in Northland cemeteries, were not picked up on checking the Nominal Rolls, Cenotaph database and the websites Billiongraves.com and FindaGrave.com. Some time in the future though, as more information comes to hand, we may see some of them on the Other Forces Roll.
The same might be said of the 2nd N.Z.E.F. Roll, where we have just cremations recorded or burials in public plots showing up on the cemetery databases. That said I think we have captured most of these.
Lists of those for whom I am seeking more information are to be found HERE and HERE.
Note: Important: * © Copyright D W Calder, Auckland, New Zealand, 2014. Neither the rolls nor the lists are to be reproduced in any way, without prior written consent from the author.
Wounded soldiers hiding in a ditch, Crete, during World War II. Foley, Thomas Joseph, 1914-2008 :Photographs of the Battle of Crete. Ref: PAColl-6677-2. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/32049920
“Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.”
Embarkation Lists
In all there were 16 Nominal Rolls for each of the embarkations between the period to the end of March 1940 and through to the end of June 1948.
As with the other rolls these too are to be found via the link on the top and top right of this page.
Some who served only appear on the one roll, others on multiple rolls, in some cases as many as four.
Credits:
Information has been largely drawn from the following sources:
Hi There
My Grand-Dad was in the Air Force in World War 2 i cant seem to find his name on any speed sheets?
Just wondering if you may have any information his name was Noel James Rusk
Thank you
Hi there Dyarna ..
The main spreadsheet (the one with the nearly 5,000 names on it), is just for Army and Nursing personnel. Unfortunately, the record keeping by the NZ Defence Dept during the war years was pretty abysmal as regards airforce and navy personnel.
You will see that I have a small secondary list as regards airforce and navy staff, gleaned from the Auckland Museum Cenotaph records, but it is hardly a database. Unfortunately, your grand-dad does not show up there.
Did he serve overseas? Any and all information you can give me would be helpful, to see whether I can add him to the secondary list.
Cheers
Dale
Hi – do servicemen married to women from Northland qualify for these records? My father died in active service in WW2, he was originally from Auckland, but my mother was from the Far North. In his MIA notice in a copy of a 1943 NZ Herald (which I have), he was recorded as being from Awanui, Northland.
He is noted on the Auckland Museum Cenotaph – his name is Anthony Stuart Roberts
Hi there Toni .. I am delighted to tell you that I already have your Dad on the Freedoms Call Other Forces Roll of Honour. Perhaps you looked at the 2nd N.Z.E.F. Roll in which case you wouldn’t have found him there.
In the interest of completeness though, I would appreciate it if you could give me his place of birth and also your mother’s maiden name.
I will send a copy of this response to your email address as well, directly.