During the period around Messines and 3rd Ypres some of the formations in II. ANZAC Corps wore temporary distinguishing signs, or 'destination patches' on operations for control and identification during the battles.
For instance at Messines 25 Div wore green patches, 4 Aust Div wore pink armbands or patches, and 3 Div wore patches on the back of the right arm depending on which Line they were assaulting (as well as company patches in some cases).
His patch seems to be just 'tacked' on, so perhaps this was a patch worn by the NZ Div for the same purpose. They were supposed to be removed after the operation but I imagine that wounded or gassed personnel still had theirs attached after they were evacuated.
Keith
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