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Cenotaph Stories

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Cenotaph Stories

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Wwii

  • 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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  • Wikitoria Te Huruhuru Whatu: "My Māori Florence"

    Sophie Elborough (Collection Information Technician) and Anjuli Selvadurai (Wikimedian in Residence)

    Wikitoria Te Huruhuru Whatu (1912–2006) of Ngāti Toarangatira was the first Māori Red Cross WAAC member to serve overseas during World War II. Serving in the Middle East and Europe, she cared for wounded soldiers, especially the 28 Māori Battalion. After the war she continued community welfare work and was awarded the Queen’s Service Medal. In collaboration with Wikitoria’s whanau, and drawing on letters, diaries, and family memories, we share her story in honour of International Women’s Day 2026.

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  • Red Cross humanitarian support for New Zealand prisoners of war, 1939-1945

    By Judy Owen, Pou Maumahara Volunteer and former Red Cross Nurse, in collaboration with Victoria Passau, Online Cenotaph & Enquiry Services Manager

    This article is the first in a two-part series on Red Cross support for New Zealand prisoners of war during World War II. Part Two looks at medical care in the camps and the work of the New Zealand doctor Dr John Borrie.

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  • Red Cross medical support for Prisoners of War: Dr John Borrie

    By Judy Owen, Pou Maumahara Volunteer and former Red Cross Nurse, in collaboration with Victoria Passau, Online Cenotaph & Enquiry Services Manager

    This article is the second in a two-part series on Red Cross support for New Zealand prisoners of war during World War II. The first explored the power of connection through letters and parcels; this post turns to medical care and the work of New Zealand doctor and POW Dr John Borrie.

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  • John Bethune McCaw: Artist-Technician

    Victoria Passau
    Online Cenotaph & Enquiry Services Manager

    Leading Aircraftsman John Bethune McCaw (1924–2010) served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force during World War II before pursuing a long career as Artist-Technician at Auckland Museum.

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  • Female Impersonation in WWII and beyond

    Sophie Elborough & Victoria Passau
    Online Cenotaph Team

    Part II of our series on female impersonation in the military looks at its revival in World War II with the Kiwi Concert Party, its decline, and changing roles. It highlights queer resilience, Māori performance, and Carmen Rupe’s legacy.

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  • From Hastings to Hollywood: Nola Luxford

    Sophie Elborough
    Collection Technician - Research Support

    Nola Luxford was a New Zealand-born actress who built a remarkable career as a writer and pioneering broadcaster before founding the Anzac Club in New York City during World War II. Her fundraising and wartime radio broadcasts earned her the title "Angel of the Anzacs".

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  • Eyes in the Sky: New Zealanders in the Photographic Reconnaissance Units

    Matthew Nickless
    Collection Technician - Research Support

    The pilots of the Photographic Reconnaissance Units flew into enemy territory, often unarmed, in pursuit of intelligence to aid the war effort. These are the stories of two New Zealanders who flew these missions with the RAF, and the danger they met with.

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  • Leave No One Behind: Walter von Schramm and the Graves Registration Unit

    Matthew Nickless
    Collection Technician - Research Support

    The Graves Registration Unit is one of the lesser known units of World War II. Through the war diary of its commanding officer, Walter von Schramm, we look at the role of that unit, and how it fit into the wider New Zealand war effort.

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  • Upholding Māoritanga: Stories of Māori Prisoners of War in WWII

    Sophie Elborough
    Collection Technician, Research Support

    While stories of New Zealand’s prisoners of war during WWII are plentiful, there has been little focus on the experiences of Māori POW. Their stories reveal that despite hardship, significant displays of Māoritanga broke through the mundanity and hopelessness of their time as prisoners and demonstrate the importance of their experiences in New Zealand’s history.

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