New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps

The New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (NZAOC) was a Corps whose function was to provide, receive, store, repair, maintain, and issue: ordnance stores, vehicles, ammunition, foodstuffs, and ammunition. Ordnance Organisations had previously existed in the Royal New Zealand Artillery[1] and the New Zealand Defence Stores Department, who for the Territorial Army established a temporary Ordnance Deport organisation and trained staff in Ordnance functions for the 1913 and 1914 Annual camps,[2][3][4][5][6] so that on the eve of the great war a cadre existed within the Territorial Army to establish an Ordnance Corps to support the NZEF.

New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps
ActiveNZAOD (NZEF) 1914–1921
NZAOD (NZ) 1917–1947
Country New Zealand
Branch New Zealand Army
RoleStorage, Issuing, Repair and Maintenance of Ordnance stores
Garrison/HQAlexandra Military Depot, Mount Cook, Wellington 1917–1920
Trentham Military Camp 1920–1947

Between 1914 and 1947 the New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps existed in three distinct iterations;

  • NZAOC as part of the NZEF, 1914–1919
  • NZAOC alongside the NZAOD, 1917–1924
  • NZAOC 1924–1947

NZEF (1914–1920)

The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was originally established with Captain W T Beck as Deputy Assistant Director of Ordnance Services(DADOS),[7][8] and a small staff. On the arrival of the main body in Egypt, Temp Sergeant Levien was attached to the British Ordnance Corps Depot at the Citadel in Cairo to study the Ordnance systems in use with the Imperial forces in Egypt. As preparation for the Gallipoli campaign progressed, the New Zealand Ordnance organisation was developed and equipped the force in accordance with Instruction G1089. To support the force a depot was established at No. 12 Rue de la, Porte Rosette and a warehouse at Shed 43, Alexandra Docks in Alexandria.[9] After the withdraw from Gallipoli, the New Zealand Division was reorganised and prepared for redeployment to France, the Alexandra depot was closed, un-serviceable stores disposed of by auction and remaining serviceable stores not required by the NZ Division handed over to the Imperial Ordnance.

In February 1916 it was formally announced in the Evening Post Newspaper that regulations had been promulgated establishing the NZAOC as a unit of the NZEF.[10] By the end of 1916 the NZAOC had been established under the control of the Officer Commanding NZEF Ordnance Corps and the NZEF Assistant Director of Ordnance Service (ADOS) and Staff. With an establishment of 1 Officer and 31 other ranks, members were provided from within the NZEF and attached to units throughout the New Zealand Division to provide Ordnance Services.[11]

Once in France, Ordnance soldiers got to the business of supporting the NZ Division, although not front line troops, they were still close enough to experience the occasional shelling as this article in the Poverty Bay Herald of 8 September 1916 describes:[12]

Corporal J.J Roberts of the New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps, "Somewhere in France" writes under date June 2lst. 'Yesterday the Germans dropped a shell on a church situated: some 200 yards away, removing the steeple, the shell passed right over our store, fortunately, for had it dropped short it would have been the finish of us. The sight was a sad one to witness the church in flames. We live very well here, The bedding is good, being most comfortable, in fact what with blankets and white sheets to cover us and a picture show with a change of pictures nightly, little is wanted. It is very quiet here the fighting on the Peninsula was ten times worse than this.

By 1918 the NZAOC had grown to include a New Zealand Ordnance Corps Section, consisting of 3 Officer and 53 ORs under the control of the NZEF Administrative Headquarters in London,[13] with the New Zealand Ordnance Base Depot at Farringdon Street, London.

Between 1914 and 1920 members of the NZAOC served in all the NZEF Theaters as part of the New Zealand and Australian Division in Egypt and Gallipoli, the New Zealand Division in France and ANZAC Mounted Division in the Middle East.

NZAOC Badge

The NZAOC of the NZEF adopted the British Army Ordnance Corps Badge, modifying it with the letters NZ above the shield.

  • NZAOC (NZEF) Badge
    1917-20

NZEF ADOS
RankNamePositions HeldFromTo
Lieutenant-ColonelH. E Pilkington, RNZANZEF, ADOSMay 1918Oct 1919
CaptainH H Whyte, MC, RNZANZEF, ADOSOct 1919Feb 1920

New Zealand Division DADOS
RankNamePositions HeldFromTo
CaptainWilliam Thomas Beck NZAOCNZEF, DADOS
New Zealand and Australian Division, DADOS		Nov 1914Aug 1915
LieutenantNorman Joseph Levien NZAOCNew Zealand and Australian Division, DADOSAug 1915Nov 1915
LieutenantThomas Joseph King NZAOCNew Zealand and Australian Division, DADOSNov 1915Dec 1915
Lieutenant-ColonelAlfred Henry Herbert, NZAOCNew Zealand Division, DADOS
OC NZEF NZAOC		Jan 1916May 1918
MajorCharles Ingram Gossage, NZAOCNew Zealand Division, DADOSMay 1918Jan 1920

Roll of Honour

NZAOC personnel who died whilst on active service.[14]

Regimental NoRankNameDateCemetery
23/1457SergeantPercy Clarence O'Hara11 April 1917Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension, France
6/3459ConductorClarence Adrian Seay[15]20 February 1919Cologne Southern Cemetery, Germany
6/6613Staff Sergeant MajorCharles Slattery25 February 1919Cologne Southern Cemetery, Germany
11/1612SergeantAlexander Charles Wisnofski6 November 1918Ramla War Cemetery, Israel
  • New Zealand ordnance staff at Mulheim, Germany, 1919

NZAOC (1917–1924)

Establishment

Gazetted by regulations published on 1 February 1917, the NZAOC was established as part of the permanent staff of the Defence Forces of New Zealand, replacing the New Zealand Defence Stores Department, absorbing its existing staff and also those handling military equipment and stores in the districts and training camps. Previously the Defence Stores Department had been under the control of the Public Service Commission. The establishment of the new Ordnance organisations, ended the anomaly of having civilians in the army who were really outside it, and were not subject to military discipline and control, and placed staff who had worn civilian clothes into uniform and under army discipline.[16]

NZAOC badge (1917–1937)

The NZAOC adopted the British Army Ordnance Corps Badge, modifying it with the letters NZ replacing the center cannonball in the top panel of the shield, and with the word Army Ordnance Corps on the scroll beneath the shield.[17]

NZAOC (1924–1947)

The New Zealand Gazette of 3 July 1924 published regulations that revoked the regulations that established the New Zealand Army Ordnance Department and New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps on 7 June 1917. Backdated to 27 June 1924 the New Zealand Army Ordnance Department was reconstituted into the New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps as a unit of the New Zealand Permanent Forces.

At 10:47 am on 3 February 1931 a devastating earthquake struck Napier and surrounding districts killing 256, injuring thousands and devastating the Hawke's Bay region. The 1931 reports that:[18]

"The Defence Department was called upon at short notice to supply tents, blankets, bedding, cooking and eating utensils, for use in the stricken areas. The total value of the stores issued from the Ordnance Stores at Trentham was £35,000. The Ordnance staff did particularly good work in despatching these stores and equipment."

Despite the work carried out by the NZAOC, New Zealand was in the suffering the worst of the depression and on 31 March 1931, under the provisions of section 39 of the Finance Act, 1930 (No. 2), a number of NZAOC military and civil members were forcibly retired and all the military staff of the NZAOC (less Officers and Artificers) were transferred to the civil service on lesser rates of pay, from a strength of 8 Officers and 112 other ranks in 1930[19] the NZAOC was reduced to 6 Officers and 38 other ranks.[20]

On 1 September 1946 the Mechanical Transport, Ordnance and Armourers workshops throughout New Zealand separated from the NZAOC to form the New Zealand Electrical and Mechanical Engineers(NZEME), coordinating electrical and mechanical engineering personnel into a single corps, in keeping with practice elsewhere in the British Empire.[21]

In early 1947 a Reorganization of New Zealand Military Forces removed the distinction between Regular and non-Regular soldiers, with the result that the Territorial Force New Zealand Ordnance Corps (NZOC),[22] ceased to be a separate Corps, becoming part of the NZAOC.[23][24]

On 12 July 1947 the NZAOC was granted the right to use the "Royal" prefix and became the Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps.

NZAOC badges (1923–1947)

When the NZAOC and NZAOD combined into one Corps, the NZAOC badge remained in use as the badge of the combined Corps. This badge remained in use until 1937, when it was replaced with a badge similar to the new RAOC pattern[17]

  • 2nd Pattern NZAOC Badge
    1937-1947

See also

References
  1. "H-19 Defence Forces of New Zealand report by the Council of Defence and by the Inspector-General of the New Zealand Defence Forces for the Year 1907, appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1 January 1907". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  2. "H-19 DEFENCE FORCES OF NEW ZEALAND (REPORT OF THE GENERAL OFFICER COMMANDING THE FORCES FOR THE PERIOD FROM 28th JUNE, 1912, TO 20th JUNE, 1913)., Untitled, 1 January 1913". Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  3. "AUCKLAND TERRITORIALS" (VOLUME LI, ISSUE 15594). NEW ZEALAND HERALD. 28 April 1914. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  4. "H-19 DEFENCE FORCES OF NEW ZEALAND: REPORT OF THE GENERAL OFFICER COMMANDING THE FORCES FOR THE PERIOD FROM 20th JUNE, 1913, TO 25th JUNE, 1914., Untitled, 1 January 1914". Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  5. "THE HAUTAPU GAMP, Waikato Argus, Volume XXXV, Issue 5575, 4 April 1914". Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  6. "CAMP PREPARATIONS, Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 22, 27 January 1914". Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  7. "AIN EXPEDITION, Evening Post, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 73, 23 September 1914". Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  8. "OFFICERS OF DOMINION'S CONTINGENT., Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXIII, Issue 8951, 24 September 1914". Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  9. "COLONEL RHODES'S TOUR, New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16121, 8 January 1916". Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  10. "ROAD TO PROMOTION, Evening Post, Volume XCI, Issue 29, 4 February 1916". Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  11. "New Zealand Expeditionary Force, its Provision and Maintenance" (PDF). NZ History. p. 14 Table 3. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  12. "Poverty Bay Herald, Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 14092, 8 September 1916". Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  13. 1914–1918 New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Its Provision and Maintenance. Branch of the General Staff, Headquarters, New Zealand Military Forces (PDF). p. 15 Table 4. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  14. "NZAOC War Dead". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  15. "Evening Post, Evening Post, Volume XCVII, Issue 53, 5 March 1919". Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  16. "ARMY ORGANISATION" (Volume LIV, Issue 16560). New Zealand Herald. 8 June 1917. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  17. Bolton, Major J.S (1992). History of the Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps. RNZAOC. pp. 31–34. ISBN 0477015816.
  18. "H-19 DEFENCE FORCES OF NEW ZEALAND. ANNUAL REPORT OF THE GENERAL OFFICER COMMANDING NEW ZEALAND MILITARY FORCES., Untitled, 1 January 1931". Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  19. "H-19 DEFENCE FORCES OF NEW ZEALAND. ANNUAL REPORT OF THE GENERAL OFFICER COMMANDING NEW ZEALAND MILITARY FORCES., Untitled, 1 January 1930". Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  20. "H-19 DEFENCE FORCES OF NEW ZEALAND. ANNUAL REPORT OF THE GENERAL OFFICER COMMANDING NEW ZEALAND MILITARY FORCES., Untitled, 1 January 1931". Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  21. "H-19 MILITARY FORCES OF NEW ZEALAND ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF THE GENERAL STAFF, Untitled, 1 January 1947". Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  22. "'The Territorial Force', from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966. Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 22 April 2009". 1 November 2016.
  23. "H-19 MILITARY FORCES OF NEW ZEALAND ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF THE GENERAL STAFF, Untitled, 1 January 1947". Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  24. Corbett, D.A (1980). THE REGIMENTAL BADGES OF NEW ZEALAND. p. 264. ISBN 0908596057.
Preceded by
Defence Stores Department & New Zealand Army Ordnance Department		 New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps
1917–1947		 Succeeded by
Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps
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