WELLINGTON REGIMENT, 1914-18

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 85, Issue 9, 11 January 1941, Page 4

WELLINGTON REGIMENT, 1914-18

REGISTER OF THOSE LIVING

ADDITIONS BEING MADE IN WANGANUI

When the Wellington Regiment o, the N.Z.E.F., which served in the war of 1914-18, held a reunion in Gisborne Ln 1937, compilation was begun ot a legister of all who served in a tneatre o! war with any one of the three batthons. That register is now in Wangarflu. w here names are being added to it daily. Placed in a neat wooden case, which is decorated with the badges of the four companies of the regiment and the distinctive black and gold battalion patches, the register is a bulky volume and requires the signature oi every man it is possible to get. It has a long way to go before it is finished, but Mr. C. L. Lovegrove, who is taking charge of the register while it is in Wanganui, hopes to get several hundred additional names. He intends taking it to the next parade of the 11th Company of .he National Military Reserve, in which there are several who served with either the Ist, 2nd or 3rd Battalions. Members ol the regiment who have not already signed the register may do so at Warnocks. The Wellington Regiment of the Ist N.Z.E.F. was at one time (1917) up to a strength of three battalions —Ist. 2nd and 3rd. After the battle ol Passchendaele, in October 1917, however, the New Zealand 3rd Brigade was abolished and 3rd Wellington, like similar 3rd battalions of other regiments, was absorbed by the Ist and 2nd battalions. There are some men who served with all three battalions, and, having done so, are entitled to have their names in the register three times. The register is being compiled in platoons, and each man is being asked to sign in the platoon (or platoons) in which he served, giving his rank and regimental number. An indication of the keen way in which the register is being received, it was taken to Sydney two years ago, where a New Zealand contingent, including many returned soldiers from Wanganui, visited Australia for the Centennial Anzac Day celebrations.