A Field Officer's Notebook by Dan Davin

$29.95 NZD

Category: Second World War | Reading Level: New

Dan Davin, best known for his prose fiction, memoirs, and work in academic publishing, also wrote poetry. Not that he wrote poetry throughout his life; rather, it was almost exclusively written in three discrete periods: during the mid-to-late thirties while at university in New Zealand and England; dur ing the Second World War while on service in Greece, North Africa, and Italy; and after his retirement from the Clarendon Press in Oxford and in nearby Dorchester in the mid-eighties. A FIELD OFFICER'S NOTEBOOK makes this body of work available to general readers for the first time. Although all Davin's poems deserve to be read, those he wrote during his time as an intelligence officer with the Second New Zealand Division are revelatory and ought to be given their due as much by students of literature as by those of modern warfare. Quite unlike anything in New Zealand literature--exacting yet generous, angry but tender, almost sui generis--they speak strangely of even stranger things that defined a generation. Davin's poems speak unguardedly and disarmingly about one man's life . . . in a voice that haunts long after it has been heard.' --from the introduction by Robert McLean. ...Show more

Heroes of Gallipoli by Richard Stowers

$75.00 NZD

Category: First World War

With the centenary of the First World War upon us in 2015, Richard Stowers has written this book to increase the awareness of the unpretentious gallantry and service by New Zealanders during the Gallipoli campaign. The book details the bravery and distinguished service of men and women of the 1st echelo n of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force during the Gallipoli campaign. In some ways those listed in the book were the lucky ones whose courage was officially recognised. Many more who did heroic acts were not so fortunate, and their actions were never officially recognised due to the fortunes of war. Often overshadowed by the exploits of the Australians who were awarded nine Victoria Crosses during the Gallipoli campaign, time and time again the New Zealanders were denied gallantry medals by their high command. New Zealand can be rightly proud of these men and women who did extraordinary deeds during times of danger, hardship and peril. ...Show more

Safe Haven : The Untold Story of New Zealand's Largest Ever Military Camp Featherston 1916-1919 by Neil Frances

$30.00 NZD

Category: First World War

Safe Haven traces the life of Featherston Military Camp and, through letters, diaries and reminiscences, the men who lived there. The camp left a legacy in buildings, photographs and the site itself, now quiet land alongside State Highway Two, east of Featherston. The building of Featherston Military Ca mp in late 1915 transformed a stony paddock east of Featherston township in south Wairarapa into a ready-made barrack town which could house up to 8,000 raw soldiers at a time. Volunteers and conscripts from all parts of the country came to Featherston, spending two to four months in training, our largest military base their temporary home before they left the safety of New Zealand to endure the heaviest wartime casualties this country has suffered. They lived in barracks and tents, enduring the good and bad of camp life and Featherston's lively climate. The infantry then marched over the Rimutaka Range to Trentham Camp before taking ship for the Western Front. In total about 55,000 men trained at the Featherston Military Camp between 1916-19. ...Show more

To the Memory: New Zealand's War Memorials by Jock Phillips

$15.00 NZD

$59.99 (75% off)

Category: Military History

Over 30,000 New Zealanders have died in wars since 1840. They have been remembered in the more than a thousand memorials put up in public places throughout New Zealand. Except on Anzac Day, most people pass by these monuments without really looking at them. Yet a huge amount of social energy and resourc es went into creating the memorials, which were the largest act of artistic patronage in the country's history. This beautiful book, based on over 30 years of loving research by Jock Phillips, one of the nation's leading historians, tells the fascinating story of who erected them and why, and the diverse forms chosen for the memorials tells us much about New Zealand identity and the tragedy of war. The story begins with the memorials to the New Zealand Wars, explores the sculpted monuments to the South African and First World wars, and then the 'living memorials' to the Second World War, and concludes with the many imaginative creations in the 2000s. Illustrated with over 200 photographs, To the Memory will appeal to those whose relatives are named on memorials, those with an interest in war history, people who wish to discover the history of the creative arts, enthusiasts for New Zealand's built heritage, along with anyone who cares about this country, for its story goes to the heart of New Zealand identity ...Show more

Te Hokowhitu a Tu: The Maori Pioneer Battalion in the First World War by Christopher Pugsley

$40.00 NZD

Category: First World War | Reading Level: Very Good

Maori soldiers signing up for the First World War representing a formidable fighting force - Te Hokowhitu a Tu, or the Seventy twice-told warriors of the war god, Tumatauenga. Some 2,227 Maori and 458 Pacific Islanders enlisted with the Maori Pioneer Battalion, providing an essential element in the New Zealand Division's fighting effort, and earning a reputation for bravery and dependability in France, Flanders and beyond. Prejudice kept the Maori Pioneer Battalion well back from the front lines as support troops, but their war efforts won them rights as full citizens of their homelands. Drawing on rare archival material and previously unpublished diaries and letters, Te Hokowhitu a Tu is the authoritative account of Maori and Pacific Islanders in the First World War, and balances the wider story of the Pioneer Battalion's exploits with a portrait of daily life for soldiers who labored not only against the enemy but also racism behind their own lines. It includes numerous photographs and a full list of those who fought with the Battalion. ...Show more

Echoes of Gallipoli: In the Words of New Zealand's Mounted Riflemen by Terry Kinloch

$15.00 NZD

Category: First World War

First published ten years ago to enthusiastic reviews and critical acclaim, this classic celebrated readable scholarship is now available in paperback. Using their letters and diaries, Echoes of Gallipoli tells the story of Gallipoli through the eyes of the men of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade with the immediacy of actually being there. It is a fresh way of telling history, and one that is sure to find a response among New Zealanders today. The full story is here: the call-up, the sea journey, camp in Egypt, the eventual arrival in Gallipoli, all the battles and skirmishes that were fought there, and finally the remarkable evacuation several months later. ...Show more

Le Quesnoy 1918 by Christopher Pugsley

$40.00 NZD

Category: Second World War

The New Zealand Division's capture of the French town of Le Quesnoy was its last and most successful action in the First World War. Breaking through defensive lines and scaling the town walls by ladder, the New Zealanders overwhelmed the defenders, freeing the town after years of German occupation. It w as a victory that resounded around the world, and helped convince German high command they could no longer hold the front. Based on his intimate knowledge of the landscape and those involved, Christopher Pugsley puts together the story with his mastery of drama and detail - producing a book that is thrilling at the same time as a tribute to the New Zealanders who died (and whose details are fully recorded here for the first time). Strikingly illustrated with maps, photographs and the stunning paintings of the battle by George Butler, Le Quesnoy 1918 will be an inspiring read for this summer and many seasons beyond. ...Show more

Brothers in Arms: Gordon & Robin Harper in the Great War by Jock Phillips

$20.00 NZD

Category: First World War

A powerful and beautifully-illustrated story of two New Zealand brothers at Gallipoli and the Sinai Desert. Bringing together original letters, stunning photographs and extraordinary objects sent back from the front, Brothers in Arms evokes the experience of the Great War in a uniquely moving and access ible way. ...Show more

A History of the Wairarapa Aero Club 1929-2019 by John G. Hill; Carol Hill; Wairarapa Aero Club Staff (Contribution by)

$20.00 NZD

Category: First World War

Dunkirk by A. D. Divine

$28.00 NZD

Category: Second World War

This is the story of Dunkirk and of the men who planned it (insofar as it was planned) and of the men who carried it out, and of their ships. Mr Divine, who was himself with the small boats, writes with the authority of direct knowledge. He had the assistance of the men who were intimately concerned wit h planning and organising the operation. This is the true story of Dunkirk from its almost nebulous beginnings to the astonishing triumph of its end. ...Show more

Ketchil: A New Zealand Pilot's War in Asia and the Pacific by Neil Frances

$24.95 NZD

Category: Second World War

In April 1940, a 20 year-old farm boy from South Wairarapa joined the RNZAF as a trainee pilot. By war's end, in August 1945, Vic Bargh had flown 17 aircraft types, including the ill-fated Brewster Buffalo, survived almost 200 operations in the Far East and the Pacific, and been awarded the Distinguishe d Flying Cross. His dreams of flying were fulfilled in DH60 Moths and Chance Vought Corsairs - 100-hp to 2200-hp. At wars end, Vic Bargh turned his back on aviation and became an innovative, large herd dairy farmer. Ketchil is the war story of Charles Victor Bargh, published to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. He was a survivor of the largely forgotten air war over Burma and India. In bringing his war to life, and that of many other New Zealand airmen, Neil Frances has combined oral history, wartime letters, unpublished photographs and three years of research. ...Show more

Devils on Horses : In the Words of Anzacs in the Middle East 1916-19 by Terry Kinloch

$20.00 NZD

Category: First World War | Reading Level: Very Good

'Devils on Horses is a very important book for New Zealanders, and for those who read military history. We now have an account of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade in Sinai and Palestine that at last does justice to their story. This was perhaps the finest body of New Zealanders ever to serve overs eas, and now we can see why.' (From the Foreword by Dr Christopher Pugsley). Reunited with their horses in Egypt after the shattering experience of Gallipoli (a story recounted in Terry Kinloch's earlier book, Echoes of Gallipoli), the Anzac mounted riflemen and light horsemen were initially charged with the defence of the Suez Canal, then with the clearance of the Sinai peninsula, and finally with the destruction of the Turkish armies in Palestine and Syria. At last they could pursue the style of warfare for which they had been trained: on horseback. The First World War battlefields in the Middle East have long been overshadowed by those of Gallipoli and the Western Front. Yet the story of the mounted riflemen in Sinai and Palestine is a truly fascinating one. Using the soldiers' original letters and diaries wherever possible, Kinloch vividly describes every battle and skirmish in the long campaign against the Turks: the crucial Battle of Romani, the defeats at Bir el Abd, Gaza and Amman, and the successes at Beersheba, Ayun Kara and elsewhere. He explains the reality of tactical operations in the harsh desert environment, the ever-present necessity of securing water for the precious horses and the remorseless tenacity of the enemy. The horses play a major part in the story, but of the thousands of faithful animals involved, only one would ever return home after the war. Devils on Horses is a gripping read that offers new information about a theatre of war that has been overlooked for decades. Based on original research, it is sure to be the standard reference work on New Zealand's Middle East campaign for years to come. ...Show more