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Cenotaph Stories

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Cenotaph Stories

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Merchant Navy

  • A Mariner’s Service: Spencer George Smith, 1915–1954

    Victoria Passau
    Online Cenotaph & Enquiry Services Manager

    Prompted by a son's search to better understand his father, this article traces the life of Spencer George Smith, a Merchant Navy engineer who served on wartime convoys. He survived a torpedo attack and sinking, returned to New Zealand after World War II, and died young in 1954, leaving a record shaped by service and family recollection.

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  • A Family Affair: Intergenerational Service in the Merchant Navy during WWII 

    Sophie Elborough
    COLLECTION TECHNICIAN - RESEARCH SUPPORT

    These are the stories of two families whose lives were inseparable from the Merchant Navy. As these siblings, children, and parents served alongside each other during World War II they demonstrated incredible perseverance and their experiences highlight a surprising sense of continuity despite global conflict.

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  • Records of the Fourth Force

    Madison Pine
    Collection Technician, Research Support

    Between November 2021 and February 2022, Online Cenotaph had two dedicated transcribers working on the Records of New Zealand Seamen, also known as the Merchant Navy. Here, we share their work, and our efforts to include this fourth force in Online Cenotaph.

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  • Dean Anaki and the Merchant Marine

    Dr Andrea Low, Associate Curator, Contemporary World

    To commemorate Merchant Navy Day Dr Andrea Low interviewed Niuean born, Dean Lupo Anaki about his experience working in the New Zealand Merchant Navy from 1957 until 1973. You can see more of Dean’s story in Tāmaki Herenga Waka – Stories of Auckland.

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  • Stranded on Emirau

    Gail Romano, Associate Curator History

    The first large group of New Zealanders taken prisoner during the Second World War were not military personnel but civilians. On Merchant Navy Day, we remember these events in the south Pacific over the turn of 1940-41, as we reflect on the important, risky yet subsequently under-recognised role played by our merchant seamen during the First and Second World Wars.

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  • Farewell John Arthur Ross

    We acknowledge the passing of Merchant Navy man John Arthur Ross (15 May 1925-5 February 2021). John volunteered at Auckland War Memorial Museum since the opening of the Armoury Information Centre in 1996 until his retirement in 2017. He was a stalwart of the Swanson RSA and will be sorely missed.

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  • Middle East Troopship Convoys 2NZEF 1939-1945

    Michael Ward
    Public Researcher

    When did 2NZEF troopships depart for the Middle East? What course did they follow? What were their ports of call? This information is presented here for the first time by researcher Michael Ward. (Reissued 5 October 2021).

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