Other Forces Roll of Honour

A second Roll of Honour

When I first set out on this project I had firmly decided that I would confine myself to the creation of a Roll for 2nd N.Z.E.F. personnel. It was never my intention to reach out to create a roll for the other arms of the forces, for reasons I have already touched upon.  But as records for these started appearing up on the Cenotaph database , it seemed sensible to at least try and build a list of sorts, as I worked my way through the Cenotaph entries.

Then other avenues opened up. I was able to tie up some loose ends from the Commonwealth War Graves site, and from the likes of gravestone inscriptions, casualty and POW lists in Papers Past, information on the Find a Grave and Billiongraves websites, etc.

The result is the Freedom’s Call Other Forces Roll of Honour.

This will automatically download, when you click on the link.

Creation of this roll has thrown up its own set of problems. Unlike the 2nd N.Z.E.F. Roll which only lists those who served overseas, there was no way I could readily ascertain whether someone in the R.N.Z.A.F. for example ever left New Zealand on active service overseas; or whether someone who was shown to have served in the Welsh Guards regiment actually saw service overseas. I was left with the choice of not proceeding or of compiling a Roll and turning a blind eye.

So, please do bear in mind the following:

1. I offer no assurance that everyone who appears on the roll actually saw active service, overseas.
2. The roll at this point in time is somewhat more sketchy, than the ‘big’ roll, despite having undergone an extensive revamp.
3. There will be many who are not on this roll. Some may be added in the future, but there is every chance that a good many simply will not be picked up. See also my notes via the Cemetery Records link above.
4. Some wives of servicemen who married post war, who saw service in the W.A.A.F or the W.A.A.C. and whose surname pre-marriage is unknown, have not ended up on the appropriate Roll. If more information comes to hand then some of these names may be added.

The Columns:

Column A: Displays whether on the Cenotaph database, or not. Y=Yes, N=No. 

Column B: Surname.

Column C: Christian Name.

Column D: Arm of the Forces. A = Airforce, (e.g. Royal Air Force (R.A.F.). Royal New Zealand Airforce (R.N.Z.A.F.)  and W.A.A.F. (Women’s Auxiliary Air Force); N = Navy, (Royal Navy, R.N., the Fleet Air Arm, Royal New Zealand Navy, (R.N.Z.N.) and the Merchant Navy. Army = An overseas army where this person served.

Column E: The service number where known.

Column F: An alias or nickname.

Column G: Rank as listed per the Cenotaph entry or per a known gravestone.

Column H: Arm of the service in which served, e.g. British Army – Royal Engineers.

Column I: Place of death.

Column J: Date of birth. These are grayed out as and when a check to the BDM Birth Index has been undertaken.

Column K: Date of Death. Entries highlighted in yellow denote those who were killed or otherwise died on active service.

Column L: Age at Death.

Column M: Whether taken Prisoner of War

Column N: Cemetery or memorial.

Column O: Whether there is a profile on the Find a Grave website.

Column P: Whether there is a photo on the Find a Grave website.

Column Q: Whether there is a photo on the Billiongraves or Cenotaph websites.

Column R Next of Kin and Other Information.

Note: If a POW, this is highlighted in blue at the beginning of the entry. Likewise, for all awarded gallantry medals and citations, military long service and good conduct medals, other service medals, civic awards and honours, etc. 

Where a spouse has also served in the forces this has also been highlighted in blue.

Other family members who served, whether in NZ, or overseas, are also highlighted in blue, in this column.

Some of the information here has been derived from genealogical records.

If you have a loved one or know of anyone at all whom you feel should have been included on the roll please check out the Freedom’s Call Facebook group and contact me there.