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The database lists imperial soldiers serving in New Zealand, c.1860-1869, during the New Zealand Land Wars.
Information is drawn, in the first instance, from the New Zealand Medal Lists (War Office, WO 100/18, The National Archives, London).
From 1869 the New Zealand Medal, a campaign medal, was awarded to imperial troops and some colonial troops serving in the New Zealand Wars in the 1860s. Whereas all imperial troops serving in New Zealand received the medal automatically (if they had not since died or deserted), colonial troops were eligible only if they had come under fire in the field of battle (for more on this group see the New Zealand Defence Force page on the New Zealand Medal).
What you will find
Name, regiment, rank, regimental number and some other details of service in New Zealand for 11,979 individual men.
This is not every man who served as a British soldier in New Zealand in the 1860s, but it is the great majority of those who did so.
Rank is as recorded in two places: for the time of service in New Zealand, and as at the time of the compilation of the List in 1869.
‘Page in PDF’ refers to the page or pages where information appears in the digitised version of WO 100/18 the New Zealand Medal List available from the National Archives (UK) website.
The WO 100/18 ID number seen at the top of each man's information page above refers to our own database number and does not appear in any other sources.
Compilation of the New Zealand Medal Lists in 1869
The New Zealand Medal List (WO 100/18) was compiled by each regiment in 1869. The original Lists can be viewed at the National Archives (UK) website. There was no standard form on which the regimental clerks compiled this information. Information for each regiment is, thus, slightly different. Some clerks recorded much more information than others.
Creating the database
Information in the database comes from work completed by the the Soldiers of Empire project at Victoria University of Wellington, 2015-2018. The database has taken shape under the direction of Dr Rebecca Lenihan.
Transcription from the New Zealand Medal List has been undertaken as part of this work.
Parts of the transcription have been loaded into the searchable database you see above. Some of the New Zealand medal information transcribed is yet to be loaded. More will be added over time.
Gaps and indecipherable sections in the original archives are generally signalled by a ?, [unknown], or [indecipherable].
Names can be indistinct. We have made a best guess in making the transcription. Corrections and additions are welcome.
In a transcription exercise of this scale there are inevitably some errors and omissions. We will do what we can to include corrections in future instalments.
All those who fought
There are other lists of those who fought in the conflicts of the New Zealand Land Wars, from the 1840s through to 1872.
A list of Participants at the Battles of Gate Pa and Te Ranga 1864 can be found here.
Vincent O’Malley, The Great War for New Zealand. Waikato 1800-2000 (Wellington: Bridget Williams Books, 2016) provides an excellent and detailed history of the War in the Waikato and its wider significance.
Future
The database is a first instalment of what is being developed as a larger resource that will include more information about this group of men who served as soldiers of empire, and about the larger garrison world of 19th Century colonial New Zealand.
We welcome further information relating to men who appear on the list.
Please be in touch via the contact page.
This database is hosted by Heurist, a data management system developed at The University of Sydney.
Information is drawn, in the first instance, from the New Zealand Medal Lists (War Office, WO 100/18, The National Archives, London).
From 1869 the New Zealand Medal, a campaign medal, was awarded to imperial troops and some colonial troops serving in the New Zealand Wars in the 1860s. Whereas all imperial troops serving in New Zealand received the medal automatically (if they had not since died or deserted), colonial troops were eligible only if they had come under fire in the field of battle (for more on this group see the New Zealand Defence Force page on the New Zealand Medal).
What you will find
Name, regiment, rank, regimental number and some other details of service in New Zealand for 11,979 individual men.
This is not every man who served as a British soldier in New Zealand in the 1860s, but it is the great majority of those who did so.
Rank is as recorded in two places: for the time of service in New Zealand, and as at the time of the compilation of the List in 1869.
‘Page in PDF’ refers to the page or pages where information appears in the digitised version of WO 100/18 the New Zealand Medal List available from the National Archives (UK) website.
The WO 100/18 ID number seen at the top of each man's information page above refers to our own database number and does not appear in any other sources.
Compilation of the New Zealand Medal Lists in 1869
The New Zealand Medal List (WO 100/18) was compiled by each regiment in 1869. The original Lists can be viewed at the National Archives (UK) website. There was no standard form on which the regimental clerks compiled this information. Information for each regiment is, thus, slightly different. Some clerks recorded much more information than others.
Creating the database
Information in the database comes from work completed by the the Soldiers of Empire project at Victoria University of Wellington, 2015-2018. The database has taken shape under the direction of Dr Rebecca Lenihan.
Transcription from the New Zealand Medal List has been undertaken as part of this work.
Parts of the transcription have been loaded into the searchable database you see above. Some of the New Zealand medal information transcribed is yet to be loaded. More will be added over time.
Gaps and indecipherable sections in the original archives are generally signalled by a ?, [unknown], or [indecipherable].
Names can be indistinct. We have made a best guess in making the transcription. Corrections and additions are welcome.
In a transcription exercise of this scale there are inevitably some errors and omissions. We will do what we can to include corrections in future instalments.
All those who fought
There are other lists of those who fought in the conflicts of the New Zealand Land Wars, from the 1840s through to 1872.
A list of Participants at the Battles of Gate Pa and Te Ranga 1864 can be found here.
Vincent O’Malley, The Great War for New Zealand. Waikato 1800-2000 (Wellington: Bridget Williams Books, 2016) provides an excellent and detailed history of the War in the Waikato and its wider significance.
Future
The database is a first instalment of what is being developed as a larger resource that will include more information about this group of men who served as soldiers of empire, and about the larger garrison world of 19th Century colonial New Zealand.
We welcome further information relating to men who appear on the list.
Please be in touch via the contact page.
This database is hosted by Heurist, a data management system developed at The University of Sydney.