Hi
We are lucky in this resin filled world of ours in that we have companies that specialise in a particular period one of these is run by Darren , a man who has a passion for WW1.
The company is of course
The release was announced here and in social media
http://www.planetfigure.com/threads...ooper-5th-mounted-rifles-otago-hussars.81738/
The New Zealand Expeditionary Force was brought together in a mass wave of patriotism and want to "do their bit" . Units were formed from troops all coming together to form Regts amongst them was the 5th , in that was the troop from the town of Otago ....calling themselves the Otago Hussars.
Lets have a bit of info on these brave men:
The Otago Mounted Rifles saw plenty of action, from the South African (Boer) War to Egypt, Gallipoli, France and Belgium during World War 1, and while serving in other units of both 2 and 3 New Zealand Divisions in World War 2.
In addition, thousands of Otago men and horses have served with various units of the regiment in peacetime - from volunteer to territorial forces.
In January 1942, the regiment was converted to a light armoured fighting vehicle role. The regiment saw post-war service as the 5th Light Armoured Fighting Vehicle Regiment through to 1956, when it was placed in recess.
Around 1941 they sent the horses home; they were used for home defence. By the end of 1942, horses were more valuable for the war effort in assisting in food production,
All the infantry and mechanised brigades active overseas were all eventually disbanded and gazetted out in the years following World War 2. The Otago Mounted Rifles were only one part of the Otago-Southland military district. I suppose the inheritor of all that is the 4th Otago-Southland Division."
Even before their horses were retired, the OMR did not always survey the field from the saddle.
At Gallipoli, they landed and fought as infantrymen, while the horses stayed behind in Egypt with a contingent of farriers and the men went on as infantrymen in dribs and drabs from mid-May 1915,
After Gallipoli, the survivors from the Otago Mounted Rifles were joined by other mounted reinforcements in the Sinai desert where the regiment was reduced and the surplus strength broken up and then marched into either the new Pioneer Battalion, the NZ Field Artillery, or made to be infantrymen in the re-formed Otago Regiment.
They were drafted - bang. The NZ Army, in those days, never matched your skill with the job. They didn't assess people.
Personalities of the Otago Mounted Rifles
Trooper Mackay was one of 50 selected from the regiment for duty as the bodyguard for Gallipoli expedition leader General Sir Ian Hamilton.
The OMR bodyguard accompanied Hamilton aboard the new battleship Queen Elizabeth and witnessed the landings at Anzac.
Sergeant R. C. "Dick" Travis (VC, DCM, MM), the assumed name of Dick Savage from Opotiki, who joined the 7th (Southland) Squadron of Otago Mounted Rifles in August 1914, and forged a reputation as a sniper, scout and trench raider on Gallipoli and in France and Belgium.
Dubbed the "King of No Man's Land", he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his single-handed capture of a German position at Rossignol Wood in July 1918.
Major-General Sir Alfred W. Robin (KCMG, CB), who commanded the 1st New Zealand Contingent to South Africa in 1899, returning a national hero, and who later became Commandant of New Zealand's Military Forces, and the Acting Administrator of Western Samoa.
Colonel Joseph Cowie Nichols (CBE), who first joined the Otago Hussars in 1886, and who later went on to command both the Otago Mounted Rifles Brigade and the Otago Military District during World War 1. The coat of arms of Col Nichols forms the centre of the badge of the 5th Mounted Rifles (Otago Hussars).
Brigadier James Hargest, (CBE, DSO/2 Bars, MC), who embarked with the Otago Mounted Rifles in 1914, served with distinction throughout World War 1, and enjoyed a successful career in national politics before assuming command of the 5th Infantry Brigade, 2nd New Zealand Division.
He commanded the brigade in the United Kingdom, Crete and North Africa, before being captured in 1941.
In 1943 he made a successful escape from an Italian prisoner of war camp, and landed with the 50th (Northumbrian) Division in Normandy on June 6, 1944, before being killed in action in August 1944.
Books are available here is a good starting point :
Continued in next post
Nap
We are lucky in this resin filled world of ours in that we have companies that specialise in a particular period one of these is run by Darren , a man who has a passion for WW1.
The company is of course
The subject of this article being
The release was announced here and in social media
http://www.planetfigure.com/threads...ooper-5th-mounted-rifles-otago-hussars.81738/
The New Zealand Expeditionary Force was brought together in a mass wave of patriotism and want to "do their bit" . Units were formed from troops all coming together to form Regts amongst them was the 5th , in that was the troop from the town of Otago ....calling themselves the Otago Hussars.
Lets have a bit of info on these brave men:
The Otago Mounted Rifles saw plenty of action, from the South African (Boer) War to Egypt, Gallipoli, France and Belgium during World War 1, and while serving in other units of both 2 and 3 New Zealand Divisions in World War 2.
In addition, thousands of Otago men and horses have served with various units of the regiment in peacetime - from volunteer to territorial forces.
In January 1942, the regiment was converted to a light armoured fighting vehicle role. The regiment saw post-war service as the 5th Light Armoured Fighting Vehicle Regiment through to 1956, when it was placed in recess.
Around 1941 they sent the horses home; they were used for home defence. By the end of 1942, horses were more valuable for the war effort in assisting in food production,
All the infantry and mechanised brigades active overseas were all eventually disbanded and gazetted out in the years following World War 2. The Otago Mounted Rifles were only one part of the Otago-Southland military district. I suppose the inheritor of all that is the 4th Otago-Southland Division."
Even before their horses were retired, the OMR did not always survey the field from the saddle.
At Gallipoli, they landed and fought as infantrymen, while the horses stayed behind in Egypt with a contingent of farriers and the men went on as infantrymen in dribs and drabs from mid-May 1915,
After Gallipoli, the survivors from the Otago Mounted Rifles were joined by other mounted reinforcements in the Sinai desert where the regiment was reduced and the surplus strength broken up and then marched into either the new Pioneer Battalion, the NZ Field Artillery, or made to be infantrymen in the re-formed Otago Regiment.
They were drafted - bang. The NZ Army, in those days, never matched your skill with the job. They didn't assess people.
Personalities of the Otago Mounted Rifles
Trooper Mackay was one of 50 selected from the regiment for duty as the bodyguard for Gallipoli expedition leader General Sir Ian Hamilton.
The OMR bodyguard accompanied Hamilton aboard the new battleship Queen Elizabeth and witnessed the landings at Anzac.
Sergeant R. C. "Dick" Travis (VC, DCM, MM), the assumed name of Dick Savage from Opotiki, who joined the 7th (Southland) Squadron of Otago Mounted Rifles in August 1914, and forged a reputation as a sniper, scout and trench raider on Gallipoli and in France and Belgium.
Dubbed the "King of No Man's Land", he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his single-handed capture of a German position at Rossignol Wood in July 1918.
Major-General Sir Alfred W. Robin (KCMG, CB), who commanded the 1st New Zealand Contingent to South Africa in 1899, returning a national hero, and who later became Commandant of New Zealand's Military Forces, and the Acting Administrator of Western Samoa.
Colonel Joseph Cowie Nichols (CBE), who first joined the Otago Hussars in 1886, and who later went on to command both the Otago Mounted Rifles Brigade and the Otago Military District during World War 1. The coat of arms of Col Nichols forms the centre of the badge of the 5th Mounted Rifles (Otago Hussars).
Brigadier James Hargest, (CBE, DSO/2 Bars, MC), who embarked with the Otago Mounted Rifles in 1914, served with distinction throughout World War 1, and enjoyed a successful career in national politics before assuming command of the 5th Infantry Brigade, 2nd New Zealand Division.
He commanded the brigade in the United Kingdom, Crete and North Africa, before being captured in 1941.
In 1943 he made a successful escape from an Italian prisoner of war camp, and landed with the 50th (Northumbrian) Division in Normandy on June 6, 1944, before being killed in action in August 1944.
Above: on the right we have a Otago trooper with his cousin
Nap
.
