ANZAC 2016, Pt. 3

New Zealand Soldiers who made it home after the War

David Daniel NZ444407 Aircraftsman 1st Class

Read about World War II from Mr Daniel's experiences 

Books published by Mr Daniel 

"Just an erk: the life and times of an aircraftman in the RNZAF 1944-1947"

"Air Force Blues: members reminiscences of service life"

Available to read in the Don Stafford Room of the New Zealand History and Travel section. 

Jack Stafford (John Harry Stafford) DFC, NZ449476 Flight Lieutenant 486 (NZ) Sqaudron

Hear from Jack Stafford as he is interviewed by his brother Don Stafford on DVD, available from the New Zealand History and Travel section, read a memory of Jack's  from David Daniel's book 'Air Force Blues' or sit in the Don Stafford Room and read Jack's fictional story "Son of a Tempest pilot" 

ANZAC 2016, Pt. 2

For the fallen

To remember the men and women who contributed so much in defence of our country, a display has been put up on the 2^nd floor of the library which says ‘Remember.’ It includes the 4^th stanza of the poem, ‘For The Fallen’ written by Robert Laurence Binyon (1869-1943). 

Titles available to borrow from the New Zealand History and Travel & Maori Collections at the Library include :

28 (Maori) Battalion / by J. F. Cody

The Penguin book of New Zealanders at War

Hell or high water: New Zealand merchant seafarers remember the war/ by Neill Atkinson

The desert road: New Zealander's remember the North African campaign/ by Megan Hutching

Barce Raid: the Long Range Desert Group's most daring exploit in World War II/ by Brendan O'Carroll

The man with nine lives /by Gabrielle McDonald

Wayfarer and warrior : the Monowai story / by Jack S. Harker.

ANZAC 2016

We will Remember Them

Rotorua has many memorials to our brave soldiers from several wars which tells those of us who have not lived through those wars just how much they sacrificed for us.  In this current age of internet and social media, stories of war and bombings are current and ongoing in many countries, this has involved New Zealand soldiers on peacekeeping missions and more as the war against terror escalates. 

As ANZAC Day approaches I thought it was time to remember some of Rotorua's Decorated Officers.  The following clip was printed in the New Zealand Herald 14 January 1942.

To read more about Rotorua's contribution to the two World Wars, the Rotorua District Library has copies of James Cowan's 'The Maori's in the Great War', David Daniel's 'Air Force Blues' and Don Stafford's 'The New Century in Rotorua: a history of events from 1900'