Canterbury, and Nelson-Marlborough and West Coast Regiment

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The Canterbury, and Nelson-Marlborough and West Coast Regiment is a Territorial Force unit of the New Zealand Army. It was formed in 1964 during the reorganisation of the army by the amalgamation of two separate regiments:

  • Canterbury Regiment
  • Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast Regiment

In turn, those two regiments had originally been formed from the 1st (Canterbury) & 2nd (South Canterbury) and the 12th (Nelson and Marlborough) & 13th (North Canterbury and Westland) Regiments which had been initially raised in the early 1900s.

The amalgamation saw the new regiment become a TF battalion of the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment. This was until the later reorganisation of 1999, which saw the TF battalions split from the RNZIR to become multi-function battalion groups. The Canterbury, and Nelson-Marlborough and West Coast Regiment became the 2nd Canterbury (Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast) Battalion Group, with the following unit types:

  • Infantry - North Canterbury Company, South Canterbury Company, Nelson Company, Marlborough Company, West Coast Company
  • Artillery - 32 (Observation Post) Battery, RNZA
  • Engineers - Support Company
  • Medical
  • Signals - Support Company
  • Logistics - Logistics Company
  • Brass Band
  • Battle Honours (the regiment perpetuates the battle honours awarded to the 23rd, 26th, 30th and 37th Battalions, Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force)
    • South Africa 1900-02
    • First World War: Somme 1916,1918, Messines 1917, Ypres 1917, Passchendalle, Hindenburg Line, France and Flanders 1916-18, ANZAC, Gallipoli 1915, Suez Canal, Egypt 1915-16
    • Second World War: Greece 1941, Crete, Sidi Rezegh, Minquar Qaim, El Alamein, Tebaga Gap, Orsogna, Cassino I, The Senio, South Pacific 1942-44
    • Second World War (awarded to NZEF Battalions): Solomons, Vella Lavella, Green Islands, South Pacific 1942-44

[edit] Alliances

[edit] External links