war objects

Anzac Jack knife

In 1916 John (Jack) Hoey Moore sent his mother in New Zealand a selection of ‘curios’ he had collected from Gallipoli. Amongst them was a bone-handled knife, which Moore's mother enclosed in an ornate wooden case and used to raise funds for war-ravaged Belgium.

Armour and weapons of an Ottoman Sipahi cavalryman, circa 1550, on display at the Musée de l'Armée in Paris, France.

The Lewis Gun was an American-designed light machine gun used by the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade in Sinai and Palestine between July 1916 and March 1917.

Gas-operated and air-cooled, the Lewis Gun fired .303 inch rounds from a 47-round drum magazine. It had a firing rate of 600 rounds per minute and was effective to a range of about 750 m.

Hotchkiss M1909 light machine gun.

The New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade was equipped with Hotchkiss light machine guns after the First Battle of Gaza, March 1917. Each mounted squadron (160 men) received four Hotchkiss guns in place of the single Lewis machine gun they had been equipped with previously.

German-made version of the Ottoman War Medal, often mistakenly referred to as the 'Gallipoli Star' by Anzac and British troops. These medals were highly sought-after battlefield 'souvenirs' amongst New Zealand and Australian troopers in the Sinai and Palestine. They were taken from dead or captured Ottoman soldiers whenever they were found on them.

The back of a 1900 medal commemorating the early part of the South African War. The edge of the medal reads 'Success to New Zealand Contingent 1899-1900'.

The flag depicted is the Flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand, chosen by northern Maori in 1834. (The current New Zealand Flag became our official flag in 1902.)

The front of the medal shows a portrait of Queen Victoria.

Chrome-plated cigarette case engraved on the lid with 'A. D. K. [Kennedy] HMS ACHILLES 1940'.

A brass hat badge belonging to the Camel Transport Corps. The badge is in the form of a large leaf with 'CTC' voided in the centre.

From the earliest days of the First World War camels played a role in the logistics chain supplying British field forces in Egypt but this support was initially on an ad hoc basis using local Egyptian camel handlers hired on civilian contracts. The use of camels was placed on a much more formal footing with the formation of the Camel Transport Corps in December 1915. 

This is an unofficial First World War bronze New Zealand Imperial Camel Corps hat badge. The badge features a camel facing left, with the Kings Crown on the hump and the letters 'NZ' in the centre of the body. Reflecting its origins as a wartime ad hoc unit the Imperial Camel Corps was never officially issued with cap and collar badges of its own. The New Zealand, Australian, British and Indian soldiers who served in the Camel Corps were expected to just continue wearing the badges of the units they had belonged to before joining the Camel Corps. 

This jersey was worn by Stan Young during the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF) rugby team tour of the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Germany, 1945-46.

The 2NZEF team, dubbed the 'Kiwis', played 33 matches on tour, losing only two, and scoring over 600 points. Known for their entertaining brand of rugby, the team included All Black greats such as Bob Scott, Fred Allen and Charlie Saxton.