Army Museum New Zealand
The National Army Museum ( mi, Te Mata Toa) is the museum of the New Zealand Army. It was formerly known as the Queen Elizabeth II Army Memorial Museum.National Army Museum www.armymuseum.co.nz Retrieved 22 March 2009. It is located on State Highway One, on the southern side of the small military town of . The 1300 square metre museum is fortress-looking in design, complete with a bridge and moat. It took the 2nd Field Squadron of the (RNZE) 276 days to build, [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Keith Elliott
Keith Elliott, VC (25 April 1916 – 7 October 1989) was a New Zealand soldier who served with the New Zealand Military Forces during the Second World War. He was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces, for his actions in the First Battle of El Alamein. Born in Āpiti, near Kimbolton, New Zealand in the Manawatu, Elliott was a farm manager when the Second World War began. He volunteered for service abroad with the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF) and was posted to the 22nd Battalion. He saw action during the Battles of Greece and Crete and then in North Africa. By now a sergeant, during Operation ''Crusader'' in November 1941, he was one of 700 New Zealanders made prisoners of war when their position was overrun by the Germans. Freed two months later, he was serving as a platoon commander during the First Battle of El Alamein. After he was awarded his VC, he wa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Albert Medal (lifesaving)
The Albert Medal for Lifesaving was a British medal awarded to recognize the saving of life. It has since been replaced by the George Cross. The Albert Medal was first instituted by a royal warrant on 7 March 1866. It was named in memory of Prince Albert and originally was awarded to recognize saving life at sea. The original medal had a blue ribbon " (16 mm) wide with two white stripes. A further royal warrant in 1867 created two classes of Albert Medal, the first in gold and bronze and the second in bronze, both enamelled in blue, and the ribbon of the first class changed to 1 " (35 mm) wide with four white stripes. The medal was made of gold (although early examples are gold and bronze), which was enameled blue. There were miniatures of all four types (two classes each for sea and land, with the gold awards believed to be gilt. The first recipient of the medal was Samuel Popplestone, a tenant farmer, who on 23 March 1866 helped to rescue four men after the cargo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Murray Hudson
Murray Ken Hudson, (24 February 1938 – 13 February 1974) was a Sergeant with the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment who lost his life when trying to protect soldiers under his command at Waiouru Military Camp in New Zealand. He was awarded the George Cross posthumously on 11 October 1974. Born in Ōpōtiki in the Bay of Plenty, where he attended Ōpōtiki College, Hudson enlisted in the New Zealand Army on 24 May 1961. He served in Malaya, Borneo and Vietnam, serving with the New Zealand Special Air Service The 1st New Zealand Special Air Service Regiment, abbreviated as 1 NZSAS Regt, was formed on 7 July 1955 and is the Special forces unit of the New Zealand Army, closely modelled on the British Special Air Service (SAS). It traces its origins .... Sergeant Hudson was a drill instructor at Waiouru supervising a training exercise when an NCO accidentally armed a grenade he was about to throw. Hudson saw the soldier freeze, and immediately ordered him to th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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David Russell (George Cross)
David Russell (30 March 1911 – February 1945) was a lance corporal with the 22nd (Motor) Battalion, New Zealand Infantry, 2nd NZEF, who was awarded the George Cross posthumously after being executed by German forces in Italy. Russell was born in Ayr, Scotland, son of James and Jessie Russell, of Corsehill, Ayrshire, but the family emigrated to New Zealand. He worked as an orderly at Napier Hospital in Hawke's Bay before enlisting in the New Zealand Army in September 1939. He was captured at Reweisat Ridge in Egypt in 1942 and taken to a POW camp in Italy. He escaped and helped Italians who were assisting other Allied POWs to escape. He was particularly active in the Ponte di Piave township and district between 22–28 February 1945 but was recaptured. Russell refused to name the Italians he had assisted, and was shot by firing squad. A German officer who witnessed the execution said he died very bravely. His George Cross is displayed at the QEII Army Memorial Museum, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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George Cross
The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been equal in stature to the Victoria Cross, the highest military gallantry award. It is awarded "for acts of the greatest heroism or for most conspicuous courage in circumstance of extreme danger", not in the presence of the enemy, to members of the British armed forces and to British civilians. Posthumous awards have been allowed since it was instituted. It was previously awarded to residents of Commonwealth countries (and in one case to Malta, a colony that subsequently became a Commonwealth country), most of which have since established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians including police, emergency services and merchant seamen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Charles Upham
Charles Hazlitt Upham, (21 September 1908 – 22 November 1994) was a New Zealand soldier who was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) twice during the Second World War - for gallantry in Crete in May 1941, and in Egypt, in July 1942. He was the most recent of only three people to receive the VC twice, the only one to receive two VCs during the Second World War and the only combat soldier to receive the award twice. As a result, Upham is often described as the most highly decorated Commonwealth soldier of that war, as the VC is the Commonwealth's highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy. Early life Upham was born in Christchurch on 21 September 1908, the son of John Hazlitt Upham, a lawyer, and his wife, Agatha Mary Coates. His father was a great-grandson of artist John Hazlitt, while his mother was a granddaughter of pioneer colonist Guise Brittan. He boarded at Waihi School, near Winchester, South Canterbury, between 1917 and 1922 and at Christ's College, Christchurc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Harry John Laurent
Harry John Laurent, VC (15 April 1895 – 9 December 1987) was a New Zealand recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Born in Tarata, Laurent was a grocer's assistant when he volunteered in May 1915 to serve in the First World War with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF). He was posted to the 2nd Battalion of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade and from 1916 served on the Western Front. It was on 12 September 1918, during an engagement that followed the Second Battle of Bapaume, that he performed the actions that led to him being honoured with the VC. He ended the war as a second lieutenant. Discharged from the NZEF, he returned to civilian life but was recalled to active duty during the Second World War and was involved in the Home Guard. He was the last surviving New Zealand VC recipient of the First World War at the time of his death in 1987. Early life Henry Jo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Reginald Stanley Judson
Reginald Stanley Judson, (29 September 1881 – 26 August 1972) was a New Zealand recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest military award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" given to British and Commonwealth forces. He was awarded the VC for his actions in the Second Battle of Bapaume during the First World War. Born in Wharehine, Judson was a boiler maker when he enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force for service in the First World War. He was severely wounded in September 1916 during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. After two years of medical treatment and recovery, he returned to active duty in France in June 1918. Prior to the Second Battle of Bapaume, he had already received the Distinguished Conduct Medal and the Military Medal, with all three medals being earned in a four-week period between July and August 1918. After the war he joined the New Zealand Staff Corps as a commissioned officer. He retired in 1937 and performed secretarial work as wel ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alfred Hulme
Alfred Clive Hulme VC (24 January 1911 – 2 September 1982) was a soldier in the New Zealand Military Forces and a recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award of the British Commonwealth, for gallantry "in the face of the enemy". He received the VC for his actions in the Battle of Crete during the Second World War. Born in Dunedin, New Zealand, Hulme enlisted in the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF) shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War and was posted to the 23rd Battalion. By the end of 1940, he was the battalion's provost sergeant. He was with the battalion during the invasion of Greece and the subsequent Battle of Crete. From 20 to 30 May, he was heavily involved in the fighting on Crete, performing a number of actions that saw him recognised with an award of the VC. Wounded during the final days of the battle, he was repatriated to New Zealand. He served on the Home Front for several months before being discharged from the military. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Daniel Hinton
John Daniel Hinton, VC (17 September 1909 – 28 June 1997) was a New Zealand soldier who served during the Second World War. He was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces, for his actions at Kalamata on 29 April 1941 during the Battle of Greece. Born in 1909, Hinton was a foreman at the Public Works Department when the Second World War began. He volunteered for service abroad with the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force and was posted to the 20th Battalion. Wounded during the fighting at Kalamata, he was made a prisoner of war and made several escape attempts from camps in Germany. He was freed in April 1945 by advancing American forces. After the war, he managed several hotels and was also involved in horse racing industry until his retirement in 1980. He died in 1997 at the age of 87. Early life John Hinton, known as Jack, was born in Colac Bay in Southland, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Gildroy Grant
John Gildroy Grant, VC (26 August 1889 – 25 November 1970) was a soldier in the New Zealand Military Forces during the First World War. He was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that could be awarded at the time to British and Commonwealth forces. Born in Hāwera, Grant was a builder when he volunteered in June 1915 to serve in the First World War with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF). He was posted to the 1st Battalion of the Wellington Regiment which began its service on the Western Front in 1916. It was on 1 September 1918, during an engagement at Bancourt, France, that he attacked two machine-gun posts, which led to him being awarded with the VC. He ended the war as a second lieutenant. Discharged from the NZEF, he returned to civilian life and then joined the Territorial Force. In his later years, he struggled to hold down regular employment due to the effects of what was most likely post-traumati ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |