The names of those from the Auckland Province who died while serving in the Merchant Navy during World War II were not originally included in the Roll of Honour. They were excluded because Merchant Navy personnel were not officially members of the armed services, despite risking their lives to keep food convoys moving to Great Britain and to support our armed forces overseas. Their names were added in 1996.
Rolls of Honour for the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Malaya–Borneo campaign, and later for Kuwait, East Timor and Afghanistan were subsequently installed in the World War II Hall of Memories, extending commemoration to New Zealand service personnel from these conflicts.
The altar in the hall shows a victorious figure standing on a globe, reflecting the global scale of the war. Three stained glass windows behind the altar incorporate recognised service insignia and heraldic symbols associated with New Zealand’s World War II service. These include the New Zealand Coat of Arms, the Auckland Coat of Arms, the New Zealand Army badge, the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force badge, the Royal New Zealand Army Medical Corps insignia, and the New Zealand Women’s Royal Army Corps Association emblem. Together, the windows acknowledge military service, medical care, women’s contribution, and the wider impact of war on the community. The windows were designed by Frederick Vincent Ellis (1892–1961), an English-born artist who served in World War I and later became one of New Zealand’s leading stained glass designers. They were made in 1958 by Roy W. Miller of Miller Studios, Dunedin, for the Museum’s post-war extensions. Production was undertaken by Phillips & Impey, Auckland.
The ironwork supporting the Roll of Honour books is shaped as poppies, echoing the poppy motifs in the original brasswork and signalling the loss of a second generation of Auckland’s youth.