Normandy Veterans To Be Honoured In Wellington

Friday, 31 October 2008, 11:42 am
Press Release: New Zealand Defence Force

New Zealand Defence Force
Te Ope Kaatua O Aotearoa

Media Release

31 October 2008

The General Secretary of the Normandy Veterans Association (UK) Mr Peter Hodge, Master Mariner will be joined by representatives from the United Kingdom, Canada, France, United States, Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand and New Zealand Cadet Forces at a commemorative service for Normandy Veterans at 11.00 am on Sunday 2 November.

Mr Hodge will lay a commemorative wreath at the National War Memorial in Wellington on behalf of all the 83 (UK) Branches of the Normandy Veterans Association (NVA) and the NVANZ Branch.

“A number of NVA branches are been forced into closure due to dwindling membership numbers but the NVANZ Branch is determined to keep going,” said Honorary Life President of the Normandy Veterans Association of New Zealand Mr David Christison, Legion d’Honneur.

“The NVA has enabled them to enjoy the continuity of comradeship, remembrance and support for those in need.

“The visit of the NVA (UK) General Secretary provides an opportunity for NVANZ members to reunite and to demonstrate their resolve to continue to keep alive their mutual friendship born out of their past experiences.

“At least 30 of the 46 known D Day survivors will be in attendance at the 65th Anniversary of D Day Landings celebrations in Wellington next year.”

Around 10,000 New Zealand Air Force and Navy personnel served with the British ships and air force squadrons which supported the D-Day landings. The allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944 remains the largest amphibious military operation ever attempted.

ENDS

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Did you know Scoop has an Ethical Paywall?

If you're using Scoop for work, your organisation needs to pay a small license fee with Scoop Pro. We think that's fair, because your organisation is benefiting from using our news resources. In return, we'll also give your team access to pro news tools and keep Scoop free for personal use, because public access to news is important!

Go to Scoop Pro Find out more

Find more from New Zealand Defence Force on InfoPages.

Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines

NEW ZEALAND POLITICS

Gordon Campbell: On The Government's Assault On Maori

This isn’t news, but the National-led coalition is mounting a sustained assault on Treaty rights and obligations. Even so, Christopher Luxon has described yesterday’s nationwide protests by Maori as “pretty unfair.” Poor thing. In the NZ Herald, Audrey Young has compiled a useful list of the many, many ways that Luxon plans to roll back the progress made here over the past 40 years in race relations... More

Public Housing Futures: Christmas Comes Early For Landlords

New CTU analysis of the National & ACT coalition agreement has shown the cost of returning interest deductibility to landlords is an extra $900M on top of National’s original proposal. This is because it is going to be implemented earlier and faster, including retrospective rebates from April 2023. More

Green Party: Petition To Save Oil & Gas Ban

“The new Government’s plan to expand oil and gas exploration is as dangerous as it is unscientific. Whatever you think about the new government, there is simply no mandate to trash the climate. We need to come together to stop them,” says James Shaw. More

PSA: MFAT Must Reverse Decision To Remove Te Reo

MFAT's decision to remove te reo from correspondence before new Ministers are sworn in risks undermining the important progress the public sector has made in honouring te Tiriti. "We are very disappointed in what is a backward decision - it simply seems to be a Ministry bowing to the racist rhetoric we heard on the election campaign trail," says Marcia Puru. More

Join Scoop Pro

Submit News

Become a Member