second world war

Michael James Herrick was one of five brothers to serve during the Second World War. He flew with distinction during the Battle of Britain and in the Pacific before being killed on air operations over Denmark.

Wilfrid Greville Clouston was one of the first New Zealand air aces of the Second World War. He survived the Battle of Britain only to spend the majority of the war in a Japanese prisoner of war camp.

Alan Christopher Deere is possibly New Zealand’s most famous fighter pilot of the Second World War. He was also one of the luckiest – surviving several near death experiences to become one of the outstanding pilots of the Battle of Britain.

In May 2007 the residents of the Scottish village of Cowie gathered to unveil a memorial to Pilot Officer Carlyle Everiss – a New Zealand fighter pilot whose heroic actions saved the lives of countless villagers during the Second World War.

At 6.21 a.m. on 13 December 1939, the cruiser HMS Achilles opened fire on the German ‘pocket battleship’ Admiral Graf Spee in the South Atlantic. It became the first New Zealand unit to strike a blow at the enemy in the Second World War.

With the New Zealand ensign flying proudly from its mainmast – as battle loomed, a signalman had run aft with the ensign shouting, ‘Make way for the Digger flag!' – Achilles was also the first New Zealand warship to take part in a naval battle.

As his damaged Hawker Typhoon fighter-bomber rapidly lost height, Pilot Officer James Stellin struggled to avoid crashing into Saint-Maclou-la-Brière, a village of 370 people in the Seine-Maritime region. He succeeded, but at the cost of his own life. The villagers gave him a hero’s funeral and have honoured his memory ever since.

The 16,712-ton New Zealand Shipping Company liner MV Rangitane was sunk by two German auxiliary cruisers (armed merchant raiders), Orion and Komet, 550 km off East Cape. The British-owned vessel was the largest Allied merchant ship to be sunk by a German surface vessel during the Second World War (although German submarines and aircraft sank many larger ships).

Geoffrey Cox in 1932, the year he left New Zealand for Britain on a Rhodes Scholarship. Cox forged a successful career as a journalist and wrote several books based on his experiences in Europe during the 1930s and 40s, notably Defence of Madrid (1937). During the war he was responsible for the ill-fated paper Crete News.

Just how did a boy born in Palmerston North come to witness first hand the impact of Stalinism, the rise of Hitler and the Spanish Civil War?

New Zealand, British, Australian and Greek forces defending the Mediterranean island of Crete fought desperately to repel a huge airborne assault by German paratroopers.

The Battle for Crete raged for 12 days before the Allies were driven off the island. Casualties were high on both sides. More than 650 New Zealanders were killed and 2000 taken prisoner. Read more...

Image: German paratroops over Crete