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Bess the horse Great War Story
Some 10,000 New Zealand horses went overseas to serve in the First World War. Bess was the only horse from the Middle East to return home to New Zealand – and only three other horses returned from the Western Front.
Mark Briggs and the conscientious objectors
Mark Briggs objected to taking part in the First World War on socialist grounds. He was arrested and became one of fourteen conscientious objectors forcibly deported to Europe and sent to military camps.
Pickerill and Gillies, pioneering war surgeons
Harold Gillies and Henry Pickerill’s pioneering treatment of soldiers with facial wounds during the First World War helped form the basis of modern plastic and facial reconstructive surgery.
Leonard Hart Great War Story
Leonard Hart was one of the New Zealand soldiers engaged in the offensive at Passchendaele. His letter to his parents which was smuggled out to avoid military censorship is the most vivid extant record of the horrors of the battle.
Rikihana Carkeek Great War Story
Rikihana (Bunny) Carkeek was a prominent Ngāti Raukawa leader from Ōtaki who served, first with the Native Contingent and then with the Māori Pioneer Battalion, during the First World War.
Lady Liverpool Great War Story
Annette, Lady Liverpool, the wife of Governor Lord Liverpool, inspired women and children throughout New Zealand to contribute to the war effort.
Keith Caldwell Great War Story
Keith Caldwell was one of the most widely respected fighter pilots on the Western Front and was the highest-scoring New Zealand air ace of the First World War with 25 credited victories.
Hugh Reilly
Hugh Reilly was the first New Zealander to see action in the air during the First World War.
Alfred de Bathe Brandon
Wellington lawyer, Alfred de Bathe Brandon, was famed for his attacks on German Zeppelin airships during the First World War.
Alfred de Bathe Brandon
Wellington lawyer, Major Alfred de Bathe Brandon DSO MC, wearing a leather flying coat, circa 1940s.
Clive Collett
Perhaps New Zealand's most qualified and experienced First World War pilots, Clive Collett flew a total of about 1200 hours, many of them on experimental work, on at least 46 different types of aircraft.
Euan Dickson
Euan Dickson was one of the most successful Allied bomber pilots of the First World War, flying 175 raids, and shooting down 14 enemy aircraft with the help of his observer.
Captain Clive Collett
Signed portrait of Captain Clive Collett MC.
Malcolm McGregor
Malcolm McGregor, known to colleagues as ‘Mad Mac’, achieved fame as a First World War air ace and later helped to establish civil aviation in New Zealand.
Captain Malcolm McGregor
Studio portrait of pilot Malcolm McGregor, circa 1918.
William Rhodes-Moorhouse
William Rhodes-Moorhouse, the first airman to receive a Victoria Cross, served as a mechanic and pilot in the early months of the First World War. Although he was born and educated in England, his parents came from New Zealand and his grandmother was a member of Ngāti Ruanui.
Captain Euan Dickson
One of the most successful bomber pilots of the war was New Zealander Captain Euan Dickson, who flew 175 raids over German-occupied territory and, with his observer, shot down 14 enemy aircraft.
Captain Keith Caldwell
Captain Keith Caldwell in his Royal Flying Corps uniform.
William Burn
William Wallace Allison Burn was the first New Zealander to qualify as a military aviator. During the First World War he served in the Middle East, where he became the first New Zealand pilot to be killed in action.
Lieutenant William Burn
Portrait of Lieutenant William Burn, Royal Flying Corps

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