[atillathenunns]

Major J. H. Luxford, official historian of the New Zealand Machine Gun Corps (With the Machine Gunners in France and Palestine) sadly has only dedicated one brief paragraph on the pioneering work of Captain Wallingford and his officers. This omission fortunately was not lost on Major General Edward Chaytor who wrote the second forward for the book on page 14. —

“Starting with the advantage of instruction by such musketry experts as Captains Wallingford, Rose, and Henderson, the New Zealand Machine Gunners, from the first, accepted the doctrine that their work must be of the highest possible standard, and that no difficulty, however insurmountable it might appear, must be allowed to prevent them from giving their comrades the full support of their guns.
This doctrine soon became a tradition which was fully maintained when the Machine Gun Sections were formed into Squadrons and Companies of the New Zealand Machine Gun Corps, and all ranks of the Mounted Rifles and of the Infantry know, far better than this short history can tell, how much they owe to the efficiency and to the devoted gallantry of their comrades of the New Zealand Machine Gun Corps.
E. W. C. Chaytor
Major-General,
Commanding New Zealand Military Forces.”

The following is Major Luxford’s brief paragraph that is mentioned in the Preface on page 19. —

“The New Zealand forces before the war had been extremely fortunate in having three of the ablest machine gun instructors in the British Army to assist in the training of the machine gun sections: Majors P. B. Henderson, J. M. Rose and J. A. Wallingford. These officers demonstrated on Gallipoli that not only were they able instructors, but were equally able fighters. The wonderful achievements of the New Zealand Machine Gun Corps in the Great War are in no small measure due to the work and example of these three officers.”

In reality, the New Zealand forces before the war had been extremely fortunate in having “four” of the best machine gun instructors in the British Army to assist in the training of the machine gun sections.
The fourth Hythe musketry instructor was Sergeant Major (Later Captain) Edward Purdon (New Zealand Staff Corps), who prior to WW1 was the musketry instructor for the Dunedin military area.
(Pre war, Captain Wallingford was the musketry instructor for the Auckland military area, Lieutenant Rose was the musketry instructor for the Wellington military area and Lieutenant Henderson was the musketry instructor for the Christchurch military area)

Captain Edward Purdon is important to the understanding of the weapons training that was received by the NZ Reinforcements, as well as the formation of the Specialist Machine Gun Section. As when Wallingford, Rose and Henderson embarked with the NZEF Main Body, Captain Purdon remained behind and replaced Wallingford as Chief Musketry instructor. (From the establishment of the Reinforcements training camp at Trentham, up until the 22nd Reinforcements, Captain Purdon was chief musketry instructor of the instructional staff at Trentham camp)

The last of the four musketry instructors to arrive in New Zealand, Sergeant-Major Purdon was initially placed in the New Zealand Permanent Staff. On his promotion to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant (Gazetted July 1914) Purdon was transferred to the New Zealand Staff Corps. In early September 1914, Purdon was attached to the General Staff at Headquarters, with the temporary rank of lieutenant while so employed.
On the 14th October 1914, Purdon was appointed Chief Musketry Instructor, N.Z. Expeditionary Force Training Camps, and was given the temporary rank of captain whilst so employed.