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  #91  
Old 26-05-14, 08:03 AM
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atillathenunns atillathenunns is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PaddyWW View Post
Kia ora atillathenunns,
Great post. I'm very interested in your statement indicating that Rere Nikitini gave the particular piupiu that Capt Halsey wore; have you any special evidence that it was this one rather than the one given by Taare Parata MP a few days earlier in Wellington? Thanks
Kia ora Paddy,

Interestingly, Wikipedia quotes “HMS New Zealand contributed to the destruction of two cruisers during her wartime service and was hit by enemy fire only once, sustaining no casualties; her status as a "lucky ship" was attributed by the crew to a Māori piupiu (warrior's skirt) and hei-tiki (pendant) worn by the captain during battle.”

It is recorded in 1937 by the NZ Navy League that Captain Halsey wore the piupiu— “twice in the North Sea, [at Heligoland Bight on August 28, 1914, and Dogger Bank, January 24, 1915] and his successor also had cause to don the emblems [Captain J. F. E. Green at Jutland, May 31, 1916]. When a third captain took over command of the New Zealand and it appeared that action was imminent [on November 17, 1917]. —“Early in the morning some German light cruisers were sighted and engaged by our light cruisers and in the New Zealand we went to action stations/ wrote an officer. "The Admiral, the Captain (now Captain R. Webb), and myself were all on the upper bridge when I saw a sailor come up the ladder, peep round the corner, and then disappear. 'It's all right, he's got it on,' I heard him tell several men on the lower bridge, from which I understood that he was a scout sent out when there was a possibility of an action to make sure that the Captain actually was wearing the piu-piu and the tiki."

It is also recorded during that 1937 Navy League meeting that the piupiu in question was presented by the “Maoris of Rotorua.”

For those who are interested.— “When H.M.S. Ramillies visited Wellington in December 1939, as one of the escorts of the ships which carried the First Echelon 2NZEF, to the Middle East, her captain was presented by the members of the Ngati-Poneke Club with a Maori piu-piu, or flax kilt A which he was enjoined to wear whenever the ship went into action. The piu-piu a greatly treasured possession of the Ramillies, has been so worn several times since 1939, the most recent occasion being on June.6 (D Day) and succeeding days when this battleship, among others, supported the landing operations on the coast of Normandy by shelling enemy batteries and other positions.
The Captain of H.M.N.Z.S. Tui, was presented by Maoris of the Waikato, a Kowowai mat and a 400-year-old tiki loaned by the Arawas which were worn by him on a number of occasions in the South Pacific.

Taare Parata was MP for the Southern Maori Electorate, and the piupiu presented by him on behalf of chief Mana Hiniona appears to me to have taken place on the 21st of April 1913, which is four days after the piupiu presented to Capt Halsey by the chiefs of Ngati Raukawa which took place on the 17th of April.

The last photo in post # 42 originally came with the following photo, which shows Captain Halsey’s cabin with a selection of Maori gifts that were received that day.


Last edited by atillathenunns; 26-05-14 at 08:15 AM.
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  #92  
Old 27-05-14, 12:06 AM
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Brent,

As per postcard in post 88 .Clearly showing 4 bands on the puggaree
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  #93  
Old 27-05-14, 06:10 AM
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atillathenunns atillathenunns is offline
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Puk I’ll be honest, I looked long and hard at your photo, and after zooming in a few times I was about 95% convinced that the puggaree’s were of a four colour combination. However as a couple of chaps in the photo had what could be possibly claimed as just being 3 fold puggaree’s, I just wasn’t quite ready to bet the family farm on it.

Then I got to thinking when the British Section first received their uniforms which included the standard Service Dress cap, an impromptu march past of the New Zealand High Commission took place.

This then got me to thinking when would your photo of the British Section marching in slouch hats have been taken???

It could have been taken on their way to be embarked for Egypt, but the lack ok kit being carried suggested to me it may have been earlier. So I started searching when they were likely to have been officially paraded, which according to the writings of the NZ High Commissioner Mr MacKenzie, would have most likely been the Lord Mayor's Show on the 11th November 1914.

At first I started looking through the film footage that was available online, and then I started looking at New Zealand newspapers for mention of the Lord Mayor's Show, and that’s when I got lucky.

The following newspaper clipping suggests my theory (Post #6) that the British Section puggaree was indeed (from top to bottom) red/khaki/red/khaki.
It also suggests that the New Zealand shoulder title was “Red” and not black as is mentioned in our badge books.


Last edited by atillathenunns; 27-05-14 at 06:32 AM.
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  #94  
Old 30-05-14, 12:43 AM
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atillathenunns atillathenunns is offline
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The “laurel leaves onward badge” has passed into legend and has become a myth of the NZEF British Section subscribed to by all previous NZ badge book writers, and although the word has now got out and most collectors and badge dealers agree that the oak leaf onward badge is just a “NZ General Service” badge, it is sadly still misrepresented by a certain well known NZ curio dealer.

Interestingly, this thread of analysis of the so called “British Section oak leaf onward badge” all began just after Puk emailed me that he had just received his New Zealand Army Patch books by Malcolm Thomas and Cliff Lord, and pointed out the “curved white and black New Zealand cloth title” that is pictured and mentioned on page 14.

The interesting part is that the previous Newspaper clipping suggests that colour of the British Section curved cloth title was red and not black.
Which means the question needs to be asked of Malcolm and Cliff. —
Was it a guess as to the colour of the British Section cloth shoulder title?
Or is there any other historical mention that the British Section cloth shoulder title was black and white?

Top row, from left: Unidentified, F W McIntosh, P E L R Holmes.
Front row: M O'Brian, W Reynolds.


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  #95  
Old 11-01-16, 12:12 PM
woronora woronora is offline
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Hi

On eBay there is currently listed a WW1 oak-leaf Onward sweetheart Stirling silver collar sized badge (Item no. 191779332977). It is hall marked Birmingham 1915, which give a very good indication that this style of badge was first produced in 1915 or earlier. I contacted the seller who informed me that the badge was 3.25 x 2.25 cm which corresponds to the size of a collar badge.

Could it be that these oak leaf badges were originally produced for NZ volunteers in the UK, initially in collar size and then later extended to normal cap size? Just a thought.

Cheers

John
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File Type: jpg NZ Sweetheart 3.jpg (46.2 KB, 15 views)
File Type: jpg NZ Sweetheart 1.jpg (45.3 KB, 18 views)
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  #96  
Old 12-01-16, 11:42 AM
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atillathenunns atillathenunns is offline
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John I am still researching this particular badge, JWT (James Walter Tiptaft) so far they are all dated 1915.




Last edited by atillathenunns; 13-01-16 at 05:44 AM.
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