The National Reserve of World War One Canterbury’s Contribution

[nbroadarrowz]

The National Reserve of World War One
Canterbury’s Contribution

During the First World War the National Reserve formed part of a second line of Defence throughout the Dominion of New Zealand.

The idea of a reserve had been around since first mentioned in the Defence Act of 1886. The Reserve was designed as a pool of ex-military men who could be called upon by the Government if necessary to defend the country. The commitment to the Reserve was less than that of the Volunteer units but they still had to attend parades and an annual camp each year to be considered efficient.

In 1909 a Reserve was included in the Defence Act, but the reservists only had to attend two parades per year. The National Reserve introduced into New Zealand was based on the model used in Great Britain. The role of the National Reserve was as a second line force that could serve in the field, as a garrison, or undertake administration duties. The National Reserve was voluntary and was open to ex naval, military, semi-military, police, St John Ambulance Association and Brigade and Red Cross members who wanted to help in the event that the Dominion was threatened. Membership was not open to the Territorial Force, the Territorial Force Reserve or to Rifle Club members. Some of the activities undertaken by the National Reserve were musketry practice, field of fire control, target practice and lessons on rifles, ammunition, and signalling. For the National Reserve, each military district was broken up into groups and these groups were run by an executive committee. Each group was in turn broken up into units and these units were run by elected committees who elected their own officers. The units were formed along military lines with platoons, companies, squadrons and batteries and were open to men aged between 25 and 60 years of age. The National Reserve was a standalone organization which could not rely on the Defence Forces for training, but the committees did receive advice and help from the military when needed and it was expected that the Military authorities would do all they could to give the National Reserve a prominent place at national and local ceremonial occasions. The Territorial Force system which was introduced at the same time as the National Reserve was the main focus of the Government for funding and organization, as such the National Reserve took a back seat, and it was not until the outbreak of the First World War that the need for a more active Reserve was recognized.

A Palmerston North contingent had 51 applicants in January 1913. The first formal National Reserve unit was formed in Dunedin on 6th February 1914. From small beginnings in the Otago District the National Reserve grew slowly until the outbreak of WW1 when membership grew rapidly. In August 1914 it was proposed to form a Christchurch Ambulance Detachment and a Nursing Unit of the National Reserve. Men and Women would be drawn from doctors, chemists, Red Cross members and retired medical men from the Volunteer force. Drivers, cooks and carpenters were also needed. A Bearer Corps was formed from ex members of the old Christchurch Bearer Corps. This body was attached to the Lyttleton National Reserve and the Christchurch Ambulance and Nursing units were attached to the Christchurch National Reserve units. The Selwyn Nursing Division held a meeting on Tuesday 10th August 1914 with the intention of forming a National Reserve Nursing Unit. The Christchurch No1 Nursing Detachment of the National Reserve was also formed in August. In October 1914 the Christchurch based Citizens’ Defence Corps had taken the initiative of forming a local home Defence group that was spread throughout Canterbury until mid-1916 when the National Reserve replaced the military section of the C.D.C. In October 1914, a Sumner unit was calling for names and a large number of men signed up, but instead, they may have called themselves a C.D.C. unit. A New Brighton unit (No.1) was established by November 1914. By December 1914, on the West Coast, both a mounted and an infantry section of the National Reserve were formed and were based in Greymouth. The N.Z. Railways was a major employer throughout New Zealand and as such they had a large body of men that could be mobilized. In Christchurch, a N.Z. Railways National Reserve branch was established in mid-1915. The railway branches focused on tasks that suited their occupation and operated as Engineer units. As well as basic infantry training and miniature rifle practice they worked on electric lines, undertook demolitions, trained in flag signalling and trained in pontoon, derrick and truss construction.

As the war progressed the National Reserve units acted as feeder organizations that nurtured and fostered eligible recruits to enlist into the Expeditionary force. Nevertheless, the National Reserve always seemed to be the poor relation to the Defence Force in the way of resources and recognition and in July 1915 there was discontent that warrants of rank were not being given to officers of the National Reserve. The Minister of Defence, Mr. Allan said; “at present we cannot recognize the National Reserve because the law does not allow it”. In August 1915 a conference of National Reserve branches and the C.D.C. was held in Wellington with the purpose of lobbying the Government for the inclusion of the National Reserve into the Defence Force.

On the 12th of October 1915 the National Reserve was enshrined into law in an amendment to the 1909 Defence Act. Section 3 of the 1915 Act put the National Reserve on a military footing for service within New Zealand and specified that it would be formed on the day that a notice was placed in the New Zealand Gazette. This gazette notice was dated 1st March 1916 and was to take effect on the day of publication, 9th March 1916. The National Reserve was formed to support and co-operate with the existing military forces. The gazette notice detailed the regulations for the organization, training and control of the National Reserve. While still voluntary, National Reserve members were to make a declaration of military service to conform to the regulations of the Military Forces of the Dominion and the conditions of the Kings Regulations. The National Reserve is often miss-credited as being formed on 26th October 1915, but this is the date of the Registration Act of 1915.

With the new official recognition came the need for a different system of appointing officers. An officer selection board was put in place and was responsible for appointing honorary officers and confirming existing officers to their honorary positions. A new syllabus and examinations were put in place to govern future officer appointments. Officers under the rank of captain were elected by the members, whereas captains and over were recommended by the district commandant and had to pass an examination. Existing honorary officers had to take examinations before they could be confirmed. The country was divided into four National Reserve Districts and two specialist sections, of which one was Railways and the other was Post and Telegraph. The Canterbury Military District had two sub districts of Marlborough and Nelson/Westland and was divided into five National Reserve groups; No 9 (Christchurch); No 10 (South Canterbury); No 11 (North Canterbury); No12 (Nelson); and No 21 (West Coast).

The officer appointed to establish the National Reserve in Canterbury was Lieut-Colonel Creswell, who had been appointed in October 1913. In May 1916 Captain John Joseph Dougall (retired list), the Commandant of the C.D.C. transferred to the National Reserve and was appointed as District Commandant of the National Reserve. With the National Reserve now being officially recognized, the semi military side of the C.D.C. lost some of its membership and rolls began to fall. The Christchurch branch of the C.D.C called a meeting in July 1916 and decided to adopt the National Reserve badge and 200 were ordered from Dunedin. In August 1916, the St Albans unit of the C.D.C officially signed up for the National Reserve, and the Sumner unit of the C.D.C. also decided unanimously to transfer to the National Reserve.

In Christchurch there was some discontent surrounding the respect shown to the National Reserve and with falling membership a meeting was held in May 1917. A motion was accepted to disband the National Reserve as a military body, but that it would still assist the C.D.C when needed.

The Women’s National Reserve was formed to train women so that they could take the place of men in some clerical tasks and to help with welfare work. There were two divisions of the Women’s National Reserve: one was for honorary members who, because of home commitments could not undertake an active role: the second division was for those women who could actively participate in the Reserve. A special function of the Women’s Reserve was to look out for and support the wives and mothers of men on active service. The Women’s Reserve was like a bond of motherhood: there were no class distinctions, no politics and no creeds. A Christchurch branch was established on 5th March 1915 with the wife of the mayor as patroness. Two of the committee were the wives of C.D.C officials and the two organizations worked closely together and shared facilities. The C.D.C. raised the money for a club room to be used by soldiers on leave and the Women’s National Reserve ran the club and provided the refreshments.
The Christchurch branch, like other branches throughout New Zealand trained women in bookkeeping, telegraphy and gardening etc. 150 women underwent training in Christchurch. They undertook visits to soldiers in hospitals and home visits to the wives and mothers of soldiers. They also held patriotic fetes, worked in Red Cross shops and assisted at the Nurse Maude supply store during the Influenza epidemic. In March 1916 a New
Brighton branch of the Women’s National Reserve was established and by April a Burwood Branch was also established. In Sumner a Women’s branch was established in September 1916.

In March 1918 a meeting was held in Christchurch with the purpose of presenting the mothers and wives of soldiers with a special badge. Among those dignitaries present were the Countess of Liverpool, the Mayor and the national president of the Women’s National Reserve. The first woman to be presented with her badge was Mrs. Nicholas, the mother of Henry Nicholas VC, followed by Mrs. Foster and Mrs. Burt who had seven sons and five sons, on active service respectively. Two designs of badges were issued by the Women’s National Reserve to the mothers and wives of active service men. The mothers’ badge was silver with two fern fronds around the outside. At the base was a shield with the letters N.Z. In the centre of the badge were the words ‘Mothers of the Empire’ around the letters SS (Soldiers, Sailors). At the top was a crown. The Wives’ badge was silver in the form of a circle with a blue enamel centre and the words ‘Wives of New Zealand’ around the outside. Through the centre was a bar with a crown at each end and bearing the words ‘Sailors and Soldiers’. (The Soldiers & Sailors badge had been given out since at least June 1917)
The Christchurch Branch of the Women’s National Reserve disbanded on 31st October 1919 with the Returned Soldiers Association taking up the welfare work.
The issue of uniforms for the National Reserve was discussed at meetings through-out the country. A small number of units did adopt a uniform dress code, and some adopted a hat or cap on which they could wear their badges. Most of the units had no uniform and only wore a badge as a mark of distinction. The Nelson National Reserve unit adopted a cap that was the same as the Wellington unit, to whom they were affiliated. The cap was described as being a “semi-military, convertible one to semi-golf and is inexpensive. Removable badges of [the] National Reserve and emblems of all ranks will be worn upon the band in front”. It is not known if any of the other Canterbury units adopted a uniform or any form of head wear.

Badges were of a fairly uniform design throughout the country. They were oval and with a crown in the centre. Around the outside was an enamel border with the words NATIONAL RESERVE in the top half and with the provincial district name and N.Z. in the lower half. The colour of the enamel, however, could differ between districts and some badges had districts codes and sub district names under the crown. The Greymouth badge had the date ‘1914’ in the base of the crown and the women’s badge was slightly more ornate. The Canterbury, Marlborough, Greymouth, Women’s and NZ Railways badges all had a blue enamel border. For officers, rank was shown by a crown above or a series of stars attached to the sides and or top of the badge. Non-commissioned officers had a series of rank chevrons below the badge. In 1914 Badges were available for purchase from J. Ballantyne and Co.

The National Reserve of the First World War may not have met its full potential, but the lessons learnt helped with the establishment, in May 1939, of a similar three class system that was called the National Military Reserve.

If anyone has any addition information, surviving paper items or artifacts relating to the National Reserve of the First World War then I would be happy to know about them.

(Badges are not mine)
Barry

[kingsley]

Thanks, Barry, I live and learn and have never before seen illustrations of these badges (or the information itself).
I have always wanted to know more about the related NZ Compulsory Training scheme for junior and senior Cadets after 1911, copied from the Australian scheme. I have seen EdV11 and Geo V universal pattern NZ cadet badges, and NZ marked Martini .310 and .22 cadet rifles. In Australia my father turned 12 in 1915, and had to do Junior Cadets age 12 to 15, Senior Cadets from 16 to 18, and Militia from the ages of 18 to 25. Compulsion was no longer enforced after victory in WW1.
NZ certainly had an intense defence effort and it must have involved a large proportion of the small NZ population at the time.

[nbroadarrowz]

I have not looked in depth into the pre ww1 cadet scheme but there is a lot of information about on the subject.
Whether NZ 'copied' the australian model or whether it was the standard thinking of the time needs further research.
Barry

[KapitiDave]

FYI my collection of Reserve and CDC badges

[nbroadarrowz]

Hi,
Thanks for the pictures.
Can you list the suburb names of the CDC badges please.
My next thread will be on the National Reserve nationwide and will include some badges which will include the difference between silver and gilt badges.
Thanks
Barry

[KapitiDave]

They are … CITY, RICHMOND, ST.ALBANS, (grenade is CHCH), RICCARTON, LINWOOD

Cheers

[Wayne Ihaka]

Here are my National Reserve, main one missing is Cambridge

[Wayne Ihaka]

Here are my National Reserve, main one missing is Cambridge

I do however have Wairoa who I have never seen elsewhere

[nbroadarrowz]

Thanks for the photos.
My list has 28 different names/colours, and this does not consider the combination of silver badges or brass.
Barry