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Formation of 6th Field Regiment, NZA

The 6th Field Regiment NZA of the second New Zealand Expeditionary Force was mobilised on Thursday February 1st 1940, Officers and prospective NCOs assembling at the Artillery Camp Ngaruawahia from all parts of New Zealand.

Prospective NCOs march down Queen St, Auckland, on their way to Narrow Neck and Ngaruawahia camps.
(NZ Herald 2 Feb 1940)

For training purposes the Officers and NCOs were organised as follows:

			LtCol CE Weir	CO
			Lt Gilbert	Adjutant
			Capt CH Chapman	Quartermaster
A Troop
Capt Mitchell
Capt Rawle FC
Lieutenants:
Bayley	Bretherton	Hall	Sawyers	Stone	Shortt	Tansley
Gunners:
Annis	Aveling	Barr	Beasley	Castleberg	Clark	Coles
Cook	Cornwall	Duane	Fleetwood	Galloway	Graves	Gunn
Haslett	Jacobs	Jervis	Johnston	Olliver	Poland	Playfair
Pearce	Richards	Robert	Rotherham	Radford	Sessions	Simms
Yohham	Wilson	Wait	Ward
B Troop
Capt Walter
Capt Beattie
Lt Levy	Lt Purser	2nd Lt Robertson
Gunners:
Abrahams	Andrew	Armstrong	Brookes	Bevin	Camp	Carson
Fawkes	Gray	Gilbert	Grey	Haslett	Hensen	Hobbs
Hoe	Isbisten	James	King-Turner	Ladkin	Mattison	Marley
Montgomery	Otto	Savage	Thompson	Tillick	Triwick	Scrivenor
Winter	Walker	Ward	Rutherford
C Troop
Capt Wilson
Capt Lambourne
Capt Loughman	Lt Fitzgerald	Lt Whittaker	2Lt Boyle	2Lt Ewery	Lt Turner
Gunners:
Abbott	Abel	Agnew	Baker	Bryan	Batty	Close
Christopher	Doogue	Fenton	Gray	Hardcastle	Jordan	Kemp
Lee	Lydsten	Mowbray	Martin	Madden	McKinstry	McMillan
Nathan	Newcombes	Olifant	Prisk	Stokes	Stedman	Tipping
Wright NR	Wright WV	Wallace	Walton	Young
D Troop
Capt Rawle AT
Capt Harropp
Lieutenants:
Dawe	Thodey	Riddiford	Stewart	2Lt Richardson
Gunners:
Best	Beebe	Boyce	Calder	Dobson	Edwards	Fowler
Ford	Hamilton	Hollis	Hume	Jennings	Kingston	Lepine
McLennan	McGrevy	McHugh	Moir	Martin	Mews	Neale
Parkes	Quinn	Rodger	Stein	Shorten	Stockwell	Simmonds
Todd	Wylie	Whittley	Williamson

The Regiment's first casualty occurred on Saturday Feb 3rd 1940 on the third day of mobilization when Gunner AF Pearce was struck by a train at the camp siding and killed instantly. On Monday Feb 12th the Regiment took part in a ceremonial parade and was reviewed by His Excellency the Governor General, Lord Galway. On the 26th Feb a start was made to train signallers and battery staff personnel.

On 14 March the Regiment carried out its first deployment in the field doing the work of one battery. The change from the individual training was very welcome and many profitable points were brought out. The Officers of the Regiment then held their first regimental mess dinner on Friday March 15th at the Hamilton Hotel. The next day, the Regiment took part in a recruiting parade in Hamilton. The parade assembled at the Hamilton drill hall and marched through the main street to Bledisloe Hall where a crowd had gathered to hear an address by the acting prime minister, Mr Fraser.

On the 3rd of April the Regiment formed up as a battery and carried out its first night occupation of positions. Reveille was at 0130 hrs and after a cup of tea left camp at 0230 hrs and was in action by daylight. In the afternoon the first change of position was carried out after which the Regiment returned to camp. Regimental sports were held on Friday April 5th.

On the 5th of April, the following men were marched in and were formed into E Troop with Capt F Rawle as troop commander and Lieutenant Turner as 2i/c:

Second Lieutenants:
Stych	Cuthbert	Halford	Richardson	Rainbow
Ruston	Wren	Johns	Longmore	Rodie
McElroy	Duigan	Robinson	Brown
Bombardier:	Pipson
Gunners:
Christie	Collins	Coupe	Dyer	Mason
Oliver	Yandell	Archer	Burke	Campbell
Coles	Clarke	Ciochetto	Duklevy	Elsmore
Ecleton	Field	Fenton	Franks	Gilbert
Gordon	Greig BW	Greig CA	Hughes	Jackson
Maritty	Nicol	Norrie	O'Malley	Puttick
Power CW	Power FT	Rowe	Roberts	Raethel
Rush	Robinson	Rae WL	Rae CR	Spira
Slyfield	Thomson AD	Thomson DJ	Timming	Wolfenden
Hill	Muir

The Regiment took part in the Anzac Day parade at Hamilton on 25th April 1940. The parade assembled in Ward St, Hamilton, and marched to the Cenotaph where a short service was held. The units taking part and the order of march were:

Waikato Regimental Band
6th Field Regiment NZA
National Military Reserve and Returned Soldiers
Hamilton Citizens Band
1 Troop Waikato Mounted Rifles
2nd Medium Battery NZA
1st Battalion Waikato Regiment
South Auckland Caledonian Pipe Band
A Company 1st Cadet Battalion Waikato Regiment
B Company 1st Cadet Battalion Waikato Regiment.

Various sports events followed, and the Officers of the Regiment held their second regimental mess dinner at the Hamilton Hotel on Thursday 2nd May 1940. The following day, the Regiment moved from Ngaruawahia camp to Papakura camp. The move took the place of a march with all the vehicles and guns on the road. The first car left Ngaruawahia at 0900 hrs followed by the other vehicles. At 1040 hrs a halt of 20 minutes was called. Papakura camp was reached by the last vehicle about 1230 hrs. This was the largest mechanised march undertaken in New Zealand. The march to Papakura camp marked the end of the Officers and NCOs training course and the personnel were given leave from Saturday 4th May until Friday night May 10th.

During this time several sporting fixtures were held. The regimental football team played Papakura infantry on Saturday May 4th, the Regiment winning 14-8, but lost to Grammar Old Boys 9-14 the following Saturday. During the week's leave a golf tournament was held at Titirangi Golf Links with several Officers and NCOs taking part.

Bombardier SH Abel and Lieutenant Colonel CE Weir playing golf at Titirangi.

In early May, men were transferred out to form the 33rd Battery of the 7th Anti-Tank Regiment, and to attend commissioning training courses, and to form the Artillery Training Regiment. Troops of the 6th Field Regiment were mobilized on the 15th and 16th of May 1940, with the first draft arriving from Auckland at 1300 hrs on the 15th May and the last draft at 0930 hrs on the 16th May from Gisborne. The troops de-trained at Tironui Station and marched to camp headed by the Papakura Camp Band. As each batch arrived they were drafted to the batteries or regimental headquarters and then a start was made to outfit them with their equipment.

With the arrival of the troops, the Regiment now became a complete unit. The organisation was as follows:

../Training and departure

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