22nd Battalion 2NZEF

"Vrai et Fort"

---

Home War Diary Introduction War Diary Monthly Index War Diary Battle Reports Unit History in Syria Surname Index Roll of Honour Introduction Sorted By Name Sorted By Date of Death Sorted By Cemetery People "Officers & Awards" "The Full Roll" "The Originals" "Formal Photos" Leslie Andrew VC David Russell GC Ian Holms - first casualty "Scotch" Paterson Private "Borax" Publications & Links Mclean Version of History Books by 22 Bn Men Ship-board Publications Association Newsletters All the Official Histories Thanksgiving Service Links Photographs Photographs Boseley Collection Collett Collection De Lisle Collection Froggatt Collection Kinsey Collection McIvor Collection Merrylees Collection O'Leary Collection Paterson Art Collection "Pinny Collection" Southall Collection Thomas Collection Towgood Collection Waller Collection Commemorations Commemorations Crete 2016 Cassino 2014 Cassino 2004 Cassino 1994 Cassino 1944 El Alamein 2012 Passchendale 2007 Trieste 2005 VJ Day 1995 Trieste Arrival in Trieste 1945 Return to Trieste 2005 Sprigge's Diary 1945 Reunions Christmas Reunions Hollingbourne 2010 National Reunions National Reunions Contact Contact Me Acknowledgements ☰

---

Rollcall: The Men of the 22^nd Battalion

The men who made up the 22^nd Battalion

Nobody kept a record. Even the Army, renowned for its records and lists did not keep a record of the men who served with the Battalion.

In more recent times, the 22^nd Battalion Association kept a roll of its members. Its last "Keeper of the Roll" was John Bowker. He did an excellent job and even computerised the list. He had the foresight to lodge a copy of his last roll with the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington. It has been useful as a reference but it does not contain the names of the members who had died over the years. Each time John updated the Roll he destroyed his copy (paper and computer) of the previous roll. Fortunately, a few members kept the older versions. Also, many men did not belong to the Association, so I have had to compile their names from other sources.

Sources of Information

The War Diary of the Battalion is held at the National Archives in Wellington. The associated files (mostly Routine Orders) list men who marched in or out of the Battalion but they are incomplete. There is a list of the men recorded as "sick" at Mychett in Britain. There is a partial list of the casualties suffered by the Battalion in North Africa and Italy. There is a list of all the subscribers to the Official History. And there are partial records from the Death Notices in local newspapers.

Following the German surrender in May 1945 the lists of names in the War Diary and the Routine Orders dried up. Most of the men who arrived in Trieste were soon to be sent home and only a few went on to Japan. Of those who did go to Japan, nearly all were replaced within a few months by fresh recruits who had been trained up but the war had ended. I have not been able to find lists of the many men who joined the Battalion in Japan - the men of J Force.

None of the lists consulted are complete. There are errors of name, spelling and Army regimental number. Even John Bowker's Roll has errors. I have checked every name against the record in the published Embarkation Rolls. There are 16 volumes of the Embarkation Rolls. They list all the men who proceeded overseas, but they too, have a few errors and omissions. Copies are held in various local libraries and can be accessed on line at www.ancestry.com if you have a subscription. Ancestry can also be accessed at many local libraries. Unfortunately, the Ancestry records are based on a poor photocopy of the original rolls and their transcription has many errors.

I could not locate on the Embarkation Rolls all the names I had gleaned from the various lists. If you find a name with a ? I could not confirm the details. If you know of a person who served with the 22nd, but is not listed here, please send me the details.

The Roll of the 22nd Battalion

You can search for a name or number by typing the first three or more characters into the search box. You can then sort by surname, number etc by clicking in the header for that field. Click a second time to sort in reverse order. Return to the full roll by deleting your typing in the search box. You cannot use wildcards (? * etc) only letters or numbers.

You cannot scroll through the full list yet, I'm working on that problem!

There are now 3439 names in this roll, including a new batch of J Force. This list was last updated: 14 March 2023.

---

Return to Index

Last updated: 30 January 2023