Quote:
Originally Posted by woronora
Hi Rob
Thank you for your reply to my query. Did the NZAOC who wore the badge with the NZ in the shield serve overseas as a Corps or was it a Home Guard group?
The benefit of this Forum is that it has shed an enormous amount of light on NZ badges, when and where they were worn, that was sorely lacking in Corbett and Oldham.
Cheers
John
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The members of the NZAOC who wore the badge with the NZ in the shield, were uniformed soldiers who had previous service in either, the predecessor to the NZAOC, the New Zealand Defence Stores Department (DSD) or joined on their return from the NZEF.
Prior to the creation of the NZAOC and NZAOD, the Defence Stores Department was all civilians, apart from the Head Storekeeper in Wellington and district storekeepers in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, who had Honorary rank in the NZ Staff Corps. The Royal New Zealand Artillery had it own Ordnance structure of storekeepers and artificers who were uniformed.
When the NZAOC was formed in 1917 all the DSD staff became member's of the NZAOC and RNZA members in Ordnance roles also transferred from the artillery into the NZAOC. All the Senior staff became members of the NZAOD. During the remainder of the war some of the younger and fitter were released to join the NZEF, but it it not clear to what units.
The NZAOC (NZEF) from all the accounts I have read was recruited from within the NZEF and not from directly from New Zealand except for a few exceptions.