BATTLE HONOURS FOR LAST WAR

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27396, 8 July 1954, Page 8

BATTLE HONOURS FOR LAST WAR

PROGRESS OF RESEARCH OUTLINED

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, July 7. “The granting of battle honours is regarded as an important matter, warranting the most painstaking research; it cannot be hurried, and the award of battle honours to New Zealand regiments for the 1914-18 war was not completed until 1928,’’ said the Minister of Defence (Mr T. L. Macdonald) today, when discussing the award of New Zealand battle honours for World War 11.

The preliminary research involved intensive historical work by the -war history organisations of the Commonwealth and Allied governments, said the Minister. As the historical narratives were completed they were considered by the Battles Nomenclature Committee established in London by the War Office. New Zealand’s representative on the committee was Brigadier L. W. Thornton.

“The committee, after reconciling and reaching agreement on the actual historical details of each operation, then classifies the various operations as ’battles,’ ’actions,’ or ‘engagements.’ and that is the stage the work has reached at present,” said the Minister.

The next step was for the committee to designate those operations considered worthy of the granting of battle honours, and to list the units which took part in them. Finally, the decision would be made as to which units of the 2nd N.Z.E.F. were to be affiliated for battle honour purposes to units of the present Territorial Force. A tentative relationship table had been drawn up, but a final decision would not be made until the preceding steps had been completed