The uniforms, insignia and personal equipment of New Zealand forces in ww1 was essentially that of the British Army apart from several unique variations of leather and web equipment. War photographs show that New Zealand`s were`nt too concerned about dress regulations which were strictly enforced by the British Army.Men without badges on headgear or uniforms, collar badges or shoulder titles worn as hat badges , insignia such as rank stripes and skill at arm badges sewn too high or too low or on the wrong sleeve, soldiers wearing equipment not normally associated with their rank, corp or unit , officers wearing 1908 pattern web shoulder braces as belts and so on.Most troops were issued with the NZ manufactured Pattern 1905 Forage Cap,mostly seen without badges or a chin strap also worn was the dented crown slouched hat with a wide brim either horizontal or turned up on one side made of felt
The felt hat was originally worn in the Australian style with a crease running from front to back. However, a hat with the crown shaped into four dents rising to a peak and a horizontal brim was first adopted by the Wellington Infantry Battalion and the New Zealand Field Artillery, became associated with the Gallipoli Campaign and was adopted by the New Zealand Division in 1916 as the iconic New Zealand military "lemon squeezer". In the reorganisation after the Gallipoli campaign Major Genral Godley endeavoured to standardize headgear and the Lemon squeezer was adopted. A coloured puggaree was worn denoting the appropriated regiment or corps A puggaree is the coloured cloth band worn on the felt hats, the colours identify the branch of service within the New Zealand Army.
nz-artillery-puggaree The scarlet-on-dark blue puggaree (hatband) worn by all New Zealand Field Artillery units. https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/new-zealand-artillery
Dark Blue Scarlet Dark Blue
British Manufactured Lemon squeezers had higher peaks than the NZ made hats .In the photo I have of my Pop he is wearing a Lemon Squeezer felt hat and it looks like a New Zealand made one , ie not very high peaked In Gallipoli some troops wore the cork Wolseley pith helmet and at the western front the New Zealanders wore a 1916 pattern shrapnel helmet ( the rounded ‘Brodie’ pattern steel helmet )
steel hat Photo by Mr W Peach
steel hat Photo by Mr W Peach
bbh Cap badge A gun surmounted by ‘NZ’ in a scroll, and a crown. Below, a scroll reading Quo fas et gloria ducunt (Where right and glory lead). https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/new-zealand-artillery
This is the Cap badge which goes on the felt hat ,usely on top of the unit Puggaree It is a gun surmounted by ‘NZ’ in a scroll, and a crown. Below, a scroll reading Quo fas et gloria ducunt (Where right and glory lead).There are a dozen or so different types all with the Gun in the middle but different writing on the top and bottom scrolls also cast in different metals and the officers one the wheel of the cannon moves
New Zealand Army other ranks’ uniforms, introduced in 1912, were modelled on the British 1902 Pattern uniform, with a four-pocket tunic and trousers, Serge service dress tunic was buttoned up to the collar, unlined with 2 pleated breast pockets and 2 lower tunic pockets with buttoned exposed flaps only. Inside the base of the tunic is a wound dressing pocket ,sewn in . Some where made in Britian , these were more brown khaki (drab) whereas the New Zealand made were more olive green
Most NZ uniforms had the Four Star tunic button. The Artillery buttons featured a cannon device in the centre in place of the stars.Apart from the smaller pocket, cuff and shoulder straps buttons ORs tunics had 5 buttons, officers had 4 buttons
Collar badge: a seven-flame grenade. On both left and right collars
mkjn Collar badges: a seven-flame grenade. https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/new-zealand-artillery
Brass shoulder titles sometimes in conjunction with unit number were worn to indicate which corp or regiment they belonged to
nzfa-title-badge Shoulder title worn by the NZFA https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/new-zealand-artillery
The type of trousers depended on what you were doing. Gunners and Mounted troops would wear riding breechers with puttees or leather leggings and boots with spurs. Infantry would wear service issue trousers with the lower half tucked into woollen puttees wrapped from knee to the ankle just above the boots In summer shorts and undershirts were popular attire
Brigade or Corp patches also known as Battle patches were introduced in 1916 as battlefield identification insignia so an observer could quickly identify the wearers unit at a glance. Also used to identify the dead or wounded. Made of Felt they were worn on the upper sleeve of each arm or in the middle of the upper back just below the collar
nz-field-artillery-cloth-patches Cloth patches worn by (l to r) the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Brigades of the New Zealand Field Artillery. Cloth patches sewn on the backs of uniform jackets from October 1916 identified which unit – or part of a unit – an individual belonged to. https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/new-zealand-artillery
div-ammo-column-cloth-patch Cloth patch worn by the New Zealand Field Artillery’s divisional ammunition column. Cloth patches sewn on the backs of uniform jackets from October 1916 identified which unit – or part of a unit – an individual belonged to. https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/new-zealand-artillery
Leather crosstrap in combination with 1903 Pat brass buckled belt or a Sam browne belt with single or double cross braces. Snake buckle belts were popular off duty but had to be purchased privately as they were not regulation
New Zealand Infantry were issued with the regulation Pattern 1908 Web equipment. It was based on a 3 inch wide waistbelt with short straps and brass buckles on the back and 2 inch wide braces passing over the shoulders and crossing at the back to which the pack was buckled. On the belt is fasterened 5 x15 round pouches , 3 on the belt and 2 above. On the free end of the braces was fasterened a haversack on the left and the water bottle on the right. Also attached on the left was a bayonet and frog , and the wooden handle of the entrenching tool
Prior to the war and in early campaignes the New Zealanders wore a variation of the 1908 web known as Mills equipment . Different in that it had only 8 ammunition pouches instead of 10 .The pouches held only10 rounds instead of 15. it held one 5 round clip and a slotted front section for 5 single sounds. This was probably due to the NZ forces being issued with .303 Enfield MK1 Long Tom which had a magazine cut off to enable single shot firing. After 1915 this was replaced by the SMLE No 1 MK III
The New Zealanders also carried a British-made ‘PH Hood’ gas masks for protection against chlorine and phosgene poison gas, or a box pattern respirator
Infantry were equipped with a New Zealand modification of the 1908 Mills Burrows webbing equipment, manufactured by the Mills Equipment Company, while Engineers were provided with a basic webbing garrison rig. Mounted Rifles Regiments used New Zealand designed and manufactured bandolier equipment, while the New Zealand Field Artillery wore the standard British 1903 Pattern leather bandolier. Greatcoats came in 2 patterns (1) Mounted ..especially cut and designed to be worn on horseback (2) Dismounted ..a longer coat used by troops other than mounted. New Zealanders preferred to wear the British warmcoat a shorter version of the dismounted pattern greatcoat which proved more practical in the muddy waterlogged , boggy trenches of France The Greatcoat was carried ,folded and secured high on the shoulders in a webbing harness attached by clips and straps to the Pat 1908 web equipment Later in the war soldiers were issued a more practical alternative to the greatcoat the sleeveless leather jerkin.These werepopular as they were warmer and harder wearing and didnt restrict movement Proficiency Badges were worn to indicate a trade , proficiency ,skill or rank and were made in brass or on a white ,brown cotton sewn on to a patch of khaki material Depending on what they indicated they could be warn above rank chevrons or on the lower sleeve of either arm
Ordance QF 18 pounder ( 18 pounder Gun ) Designer Armstrong Whitworth Vickers Royal Arsenal Designed 1901 Manufacturer Armstrong Whitworth Woolwich Arsenal Royal Ordance factory Vickers Beardmore Bethlehem Steel Produced 1903–1940 No. built approx. 10,469 (Mk I & II) Weight 1.282 tonnes 2,825 lb (1,281 kg) Barrel length 7 ft 8 in (2.34 m) Width 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Crew 6 Shell 84 x 295mm R Shell weight 18.5 lb (8.4 kg) projectile 23 lb (10 kg) total including case. Armour piercing ,Smoke ,Gas ,Star ,Incendiary ,Shrapnel Shell, High explosive Calibre 3.3in (83.8mm) Recoil 41 in (1.0 m) (Mk I – II);26 in (0.66 m) to 48 in (1.2 m) (Mk III - V) Carriage pole trail (Mk I & II) box trail (Mk III & IV) split trail (Mk V) Elevation -5° to +16°(Mk I & II) +30° (Mk III) +37°(Mk IV & V) Traverse 4.5° left and right (Mk I – IV) 25° left and right (Mk V) Rate of Fire 20 rpm (max); 4 rpm (sustained) Muzzle velocity 1,615 ft/s (492 m/s) (Mk I & II) 1,615 ft/s (492 m/s) (Mk IV) Effective firing range 6,525 yd (5,966 m) Mk I & II 7,800 yd (7,100 m) with trail dug in 9,300 yd (8,500 m) (Mk III, IV & V) 11,100 yd (10,100 m ) ( streamlined HE Shell Mk IC)
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Between 1914 and 1916 the New Zealand government acquired more than 10,000 horses to equip the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. It was very difficulty to securing this many horses
The Department of Agriculture purchased the horses paying an average of 17 pounds ($34 in today’s money) for riding horses and 24 pounds for transport and artillery horses.
The Horses were carefully tested at the depots and any slight sign of unsoundness meant they were rejected. They went through severe “try-outs” to prevent unfit horses unable to handle the harsh conditions of war, The horses were then classified for artillery being light and heavy draught, pack and troop work. Identification notes on every horse at the depots were made – colour, sex, height, marks and other details entered into a ledger. The ledger subsequently showed any change of camp, or use the animal might have had. As far as possible the horses of each class retained a uniform appearance by having the same cut of mane and tail.
All horses had to be obedient, steady in and out of the ranks, used to weapons firing near them, good jumpers, unafraid of deep water and swimming, willing to stand still when being mounted and happy to be led., The recruits were required to pass horsemanship tests before they were sent overseas
Nearly all the horses that went overseas were ridden by mounted troops , 4000 were draught, heavy draught or packhorses used for artillery and transport purposes.
The horses were transported from New Zealand by sea, 4000 went with the Main Body in October 1914 and smaller groups of between 300 and 1000 followed until late 1916,then sending horses overseas stopped due to the lack of shipping
Thanks to lessons learnt in transporting horses from New Zealand to South African during the‘Boer’ War, improvements were made . More ventilation, better hygiene, more space, feeding and watering procedures were improved’. This made the experience more bearable for the horses (and the men), and meant horses arrived in better shape.
The horsemen used the excellent British Universal Pattern (UP) 1902 saddle which was designed to spread the weight of the rider and his equipment evenly over the horse’s back. The total weight carried by a troopers horse was about 110kgs – 70kg rider, 20kgs for saddlery and the balance for clothing and personal effects, rations, weapons and ammunition.
boer_war_saddle http://www.nzmr.org.htm
Strapped to the saddle were two leather wallets (usually containing spare clothes, toiletries and emergency rations), a great coat, a rubberised groundsheet, a canvas water bucket, one or two shoe cases, a sand muzzle, a second saddle blanket, a picketing peg and a rope, mess tins and a nose-bag or sack holding grain for the horse. With all his kit around him, it was virtually impossible for a rider to fall off a horse except sideways. Later in the war, a second ammunition bandolier was place around the horse's neck. The leather Universal Pattern 1902 bridle consisted of two parts: a head collar, which was never removed unless the horse was in a fenced enclosure. The bridle head was issued with a reversible port mouth bit but a simpler and less harsh snaffle or Pelham bit was almost invariably used in the field. Whenever time permitted, bridle-heads were removed to allow horses to drink and eat more comfortably. A head-rope, used to secure the horses in camp, was attached to the head-collar and looped around the horse’s neck At sometime in Frederick Churchill Peach`s military service he was the Batman for Major Northcroft Batman ( a soldier assigned to an army officer as a servant .Macquarie Dictionary 4th edition) ( orderly in charge of the Bat horse which carried the officers baggage… The Australian Concise Dictionary ) Erima Harvey Northcroft was Captain of the 3rd Battery in early 1917 then Adjutant for the 1st Brigade New Zealand Field Artillery and then on 1 February 1918.he was promoted to Major and Officer Commanding (OC) of 1st Battery, New Zealand Field Artillery (NZFA), I have no idea when they first meet but pop was with him in the 3rd Battery in 1917 and later in the 1st Brigade, my mum always said he was Major Northcroft so im thinking they crossed path after February 1918 when he was a Major and not when he was a captain They must have been friends of some sort because when Pop was injured and his horse was killed Major Northcroft made the horses hoofs into ink stands and sent one to Churchill