McGibbon, I. Kiwi Sappers: The Corps of Royal New Zealand Engineers' Century of Service

Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd
ISBN 0-7900-0827-0
RRP: $39.95
Available in all good book stores and from the Reed's Website

The Corps of the Royal New Zealand Engineers has a proud record of service in both peace and war going back to the earliest days of the colony. In the two world wars, sappers made an immense contribution to the war effort on the battlefield and behind it, whether laying or lifting mines in the front line, erecting bridges often under fire, building or improving roads or railroads, constructing ports, or carrying out other logistical tasks such as milling trees, ensuring water supplies or building accommodation.

The men who filled the ranks of the Corps in its first fifty years were mainly citizens in uniform. Since 1945, regular sappers have played an increasingly important role in the New Zealand Army. Apart from their efforts in several smaller conflicts in Asia, they have applied their skills to a variety of tasks in support of the community and, more recently, have been heavily involved in peacekeeping operations, including that in East Timor from 1999.

Kiwi Sappers tells the story of the Corps' evolution mainly in pictures, beginning with its roots in the nineteenth century. It is a story of courage, dedication and determination - qualities that have established the Corps' reputation for exemplary service over a hundred years.

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