New Zealand, World War II Army Nominal Rolls, 1939-1948

The first collection from New Zealand to be released on Ancestry.com, this database records the names of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF). Formed on September 3, 1939, the NZEF was New Zealand’s contribution to the war forces of Britain, France, and Australia against Germany. Enlistment began on September 12, 1939, and the first echelon embarked for Egypt in January 1940, arriving the following month.

In May 1940 the second echelon embarked, but was diverted to Britain and did not reach Egypt until March 1941. The third, embarking in August 1940, arrived in Egypt in September and was deployed to northern Greece in March 1941. Additional embarkations from New Zealand continued throughout the war until 1948, and the bulk of the NZEF fought alongside the British Army in Egypt, the Middle East, Greece, Italy, as well as in other battles in the Mediterranean region. Other units were sent to support the war efforts against Japan in the Pacific.

Keep in mind that this is not a complete index of all individuals from New Zealand who served during WWII and further information may be found in the related databases listed below. Abbreviations are used for residence locations and relationship of household member to household head.

Information contained in this index:

• Embarkation Dates
• Surname of Enlisted Person
• Rank
• Army Number
• Unit
• Marital Status
• Place of Enlistment
• Occupation
• Last Residence
• Next of Kin
• Address of Next of Kin
• Relationship with listed Next of Kin

Special Notes:

At the beginning of each section there is a list of errors and corrections (titled ERRATA). Typically the mistakes are misspelled names. Each record also contains an abbreviation of the Army unit in which the individual served.

A “*” after enlistment place indicates enlistment in England

A "†"before a name indicates second embarkation