Do you have any relatives who served as officers in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) during World War I? Learn more about them in Fold3’s New Zealand Expeditionary Force Records.

This title is a facsimile reprint of Lt. Colonel John Studholme’s book New Zealand Expeditionary Force Record of Personal Service During the War, published in 1928. Though the book is not technically an official New Zealand government publication, it is based on official records and endorsed by the New Zealand Defence Department, making it official in all but name.

The book mainly covers the careers of officers in the NZEF during World War I and includes information like name, regiment, rank, and appointment or discharge date. It also documents the honors and decorations awarded to NZEF personnel. In addition to officers of the NZEF, the book contains information on nurses, first-class warrant officers, and officers and others who served in a subsidiary capacity to the NZEF. Other topics covered include:

• Composition of the NZEF
• Units and formation of NZEF
• Strength of NZEF
• Regulations of NZEF
• Embarkations of NZEF
• Demobilization embarkations of NZEF
• New Zealand’s war effort (as regards personnel)
• Operations in which NZEF took part
• Casualties
• Prisoners of War

The NZEF was created in August 1914 and was part of the British forces. Nearly 99,000 people served in New Zealand units overseas during the war, with an additional 7,000 serving within New Zealand; more than 2,000 served in Maori units. The majority of people who served in the NZEF were volunteers, and the NZEF was not limited to those born in New Zealand; any British subject could join. By the end of the war, about 18,000 people in the NZEF had died, including those who were killed in the Gallipoli campaign, Somme offensive, Messines offensive, and Passchendaele offensive

Do you have any relatives who served with the NZEF? Tell us about them! Or get started searching or browsing Fold3’s New Zealand Expeditionary Force Records.