NZE Solider in WW2 - Can anyone help?

[gilly]

Hello,



I am researching the movements of my Grandfather in World War 2, he was part of the NZE div (Engineers). Below is what I have been able to decipher from the records so far, I still have 1944 and 1945 to check. I would love some help if anyone can offer any information as I am getting to the limits of information I can find.

I am looking for help with regards to where the 10 Royal Constabulary Company would have been in 1942 as there is very little listed for that year, and I cant find much online about this unit.

It appears he was in hospital/field ambulance for a time, is there anyway to find out why? Would any record have been kept?

Some of the wording is very hard to read or doesn't make much sense, so any comments on the information below would be great.

The embarked and disembarked dates in his records only seem to match with "Fourth Māori Reinforcements", I am unsure why he would have gone to Egypt with the Maori reinforcements rather than his own unit. (He wasn't Maori, he was born in Ireland) Would anyone know?



Army Transcript
29 Jan 1941 Marched out Transferred 1st posting to 10 Royal Constabulary Company

30 Jan 1941 Marched in posted from RFTS (Reinforcement ?)

5 July 1941 Admitted 11 Field Ambulance

7 July 1941 Discharged 11 Field Ambulance to Unit With effect from..

17 August 1941 Applied Lance Corporal

24 September 1941 Granted rank of Lance Corporal

7 November 1941 Marched in: Base RD or RN? Nisel ? - Middle East

12 November 1941 Marched Out: Base RD or RN? To imgo omd tmng rebatuif ? (Operational Management Document?)

26 November 1941 Marched in: from NZ Royal Company GP Reinforcements posted to 10th Royal Constabulary Company, New Zealand

6 August 1942 Admitted 5 3 03h Gen Hospital

30 August 1942 Discharged 1 coner (?) department. To 10 roy.cons.coy

Revert to Ranks AOR 21 September 1942

Corrigendum R040 Delete all reference

21 June 1943 Returned to ranks at own request 10 NZ Royal Constabulary Company

16 August 1943 Marched Out: to fd HQ 2NZ Div Sigs (10 NZ Royal Constabulary Company)

Marched Out: to NZ engingers - dep NZE DIV

Cossig ref rfd 35-24.8.43 Delete All

18 September 1943 NZE RLY COTN TO XIV NZE DIV

20 September 1943 Marched out: 10 ynz fld coy s10xivnze

From 10/nz rly const coy to eng dep div



After the War my Grandfather worked a Tunneler he was one of the men that built the Homer Tunnel, and was a survivor of the Kaimai Tunnel collapse, Like alot of people he never spoke to the family about his time at War so I am really trying to decipher his Army Records. 

Thank you to anyone who is willing to help me!
Best Wishes

[Dave Homewood]

Nov 1, 2015 3:17:26 GMT 12 gilly said:

The embarked and disembarked dates in his records only seem to match with "Fourth Māori Reinforcements", I am unsure why he would have gone to Egypt with the Maori reinforcements rather than his own unit. (He wasn't Maori, he was born in Ireland) Would anyone know?

Hi Gilly,

He will have been part of the Fourth Reinforcements, they all went together (Maori and Pakeha). He will not have had a unit at all while part of a Reinforcement draft. The draft was his unit. Only the 28 (Maori) Battalion would form reinforcement drafts in NZ and went over knowing it was that Battalion they were going to. All other battalions and units who were not part of the tribes that formed Maori Battalion would be assigned to a unit on arrival at Maadi in Egypt - based on whichever unit needed reinforcing on their arrival.

The reinforcement drafts usually numbered thousands of men but within the drafts the members of 28 (Maori) Battalion would only be a few hundred.

I hope that makes sense.

[gilly]

Hi Dave,

Yes that makes perfect sense, I assume that could be why he seemed to move around quite a bit.

Would you know where I could find more information on the 10th Royal Constabulary Company at all?

Many Thanks

[angelsonefive]

I believe the reference to "10th Royal Constabulary Company " is erroneous, and actually should read "10th Railway Construction Company", a unit of the NZ Engineers.

a15

[Dave Homewood]

Yes, that makes a lot of sense.

[delticman]

It sounds like he was in the 10th Railway Operating Company. What was his name and was he a railway man before the war? My father and uncle were in the 16th ROC's.

[angelsonefive]

There appears to have been 5 Companies in the NZ Engineers Railway Group operating in the Western Desert.

9 Railway Survey Company

10 and 13 Railway Construction Companies ( Also referred to as Railway Construction and Maintenance Companies )

16 and 17 Railway Operating Companies

Link here : www.nzresearch.org.nz/records/36148766?locale=en&search[primary_collection]=Massey+Research+Online&search[page]=

a15

[ErrolC]

You might be interested in this book:
The Desert Railway: The NZ Railway Group in North Africa and the Middle East during the 2nd World War
Brendon Judd
2003
Penguin NZ Ltd
ISBN 0 14 301915 5 (paperback)

[delticman]

That's correct Errol, I've got the book sitting next to the keyboard. R

[ErrolC]

I assumed you had it, I meant Gilly! :-)

[gilly]

Hi All,
Thanks for the replies!

The Railway company would make more sense, its so difficult to read the army record, a friend of a friend was helping me decipher it and he thought it said Royal - but it does just state RY frequently so that could be the confusion.

I will have a look for the book.

I don't think he was working on railways before the war, he was a miner and a tunneler. Before the war he was working on the Homer Tunnel, and after the war he would travel around New Zealand working at various places including the Kaimai tunnel. He was mentioned in the Listener article a few years ago about the collapse of the tunnel. - His name:Hugh Neely.

My aunt said she can remember him mentioning fighting against Rommel, that "he wasn't a nice man" is the phrase she can remember him saying, do you know how close contact the railway companies would have got to Rommel's Unit?

[angelsonefive]

Hi Gilly,

As far as I know the NZ Engineers Railway Group never came into direct contact with Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel's famed Afrika Korps , but I think their locomotives got a lot of attention from the Luftwaffe !

I really recommend Brendon Judd's book.

a15

[richardc]

According to Brendan's (excellent) book, NZ Desert Railwaymen were recruited from the NZ Public Works Department (roadworks, bridges etc - may have included tunnels too), in addition to the NZ Railways.

[delticman]

I could not see the name in Brendan's book. The book only contains the names of the railways groups that left New Zealand on various ships.
A quick look through the book found that No10 was involved in some tunnel work in Lebanon, so your grandfather night have been seconded.

When the work in North Africa was complete and the railway men returned to New Zealand, a lot stayed and were transferred to the NZ Army and went to Italy.

[angelsonefive]

" a lot stayed and were transferred to the NZ Army and went to Italy."

Delticman, they were already members of the NZ Army.

a15

[curatorecmc]

If you can give me a name and a service number I can give a little further info. He was definately a member of 10 (NZ) Railway Operating Company.

[curatorecmc]

Correction. He was definately a member of 10 (NZ) Railway CONSTRUCTION Company.

[Max Kirk]

Hi Gilly ,
here is some info on the 2NZEF Railway Companies

nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Gree-c22-2.html