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NZDF research reveals thousands of Second World War campaign medals were never claimed by veterans

For the first time since the 1950s, in-depth research has been carried out into how many Second World War campaign medals awarded to ex-serving New Zealand veterans were never claimed, and what may...

Last man out of Freetown: Lieutenant Colonel John Dyer’s experiences in Sierra Leone

Lieutenant Colonel (retired) John Dyer, NZGD, was born in Gisborne and joined the New Zealand Army in 1981. He trained as an officer and served for 20 years. Together with training deployments to...

Saving her team and their families — Dr Ellen Nelson

Dr Ellen Nelson and her team spent 10 months to get her former Afghan team members and their families out of Afghanistan after the country had fallen. Ellen joined the New Zealand Army in 2003 as an...

Pacific voyage a life changing experience for veteran

When Wayne Matthews’ case manager from Veterans’ Affairs told him of a sponsored sailing trip he seized the opportunity to step out of his own comfort zone. The sponsored trip aboard...

Looking after plaques and headstones

Public cemeteries are maintained to a high standard by their local authority. This maintenance includes mowing lawns and ensuring general upkeep. People often want to commemorate their loved ones by...

Twenty years in Sudan

Since 2005, the New Zealand Defence Force has been supporting the United Nations peacekeeping missions in Sudan, both before and after the country's independence. Prior to South Sudan's independence,...

Kāhui St David's: A Place of Gathering for Music and Remembrance

"At Kāhui St David’s, everyone is welcome. Whatever religion, non-religion, cultural background, ethnicity and however you identify, please feel at home here” — Paul Baragwanath, Director of Kāhui St...

Online Cenotaph: Reflecting on 2024

The following article was written by Victoria Passau, Online Cenotaph and Enquiry Services Manager, Auckland War Memorial Museum, Tāmaki Paenga Hira: As we move through 2025, the Auckland War...

Te Arataki: Social Wellbeing Agency analysis of our veteran population

The Social Wellbeing Agency carried out an analysis of the veteran population using data from the Statistics New Zealand Integrated Data Infrastructure. Their work has come about from their...

80th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War

It began with Hitler's invasion of Poland in September 1939, and is generally considered to have ended on 15 August 1945 with the surrender of Japan. 2 September is also celebrated in the United...