22nd Battalion 2NZEF"Vrai et Fort"Publications from Transport Ships from and to New ZealandIt is a long way from New Zealand to Great Britain and to the battle theatres of North Africa, Italy and Europe. And a long way home again. Everyone (and everything that went with them) travelled by ship, voyages lasting several weeks and taking the people (men and women) to foreign places many had never heard of. Large passenger liners were taken up into military service for this role, but were given "code" names for each voyage - His Majesty's Transport (HMT) X3 for instance. Many of these voyages resulted in a short publication or keep-sake that some of the men indeed did keep, or posted home. Some of these shipboard publications contain a wealth of information, anecdote, sketches and humour that give a flavour of the life and hopes of the men. Here are a few. X3HMT 25 (aka "Nieuw Amsterdam") - Fifth Reinforcements departed Wellington 7 April 1941HMT 25 was the code name for the Nieuw Amsterdam that took the 5th reinforcements to Egypt in April 1941. HMT 25 had 222 officers and 6066 OR (other ranks) on board. J24 (aka "Duchess of Bedford") - Second Echelon departed Wellington 4 May 1940Read "The Blitztourists" here or you can download a PDF version here. TekapoLast updated: 25 January 2023 |