1st Battalion, RNZIR Memorial wall.

The 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (1RNZIR) was formed in July 1957 and served continuously in the South East Asia region until 1989, when it returned from Singapore to its current location in Linton. Over its 62 years, members of the unit have served in Malaya, Vietnam, Singapore, Borneo, Somalia, Bosnia, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Afghanistan, Iraq, South Korea, Sinai, Antarctica and South Sudan. During this time the Battalion has lost 93 soldiers either killed in action, or through accident or illness.

The names of these soldiers are currently placed upon a board in the Battalion Headquarters in Linton Camp. There is however, no proper memorial for those soldiers we have lost.

For more than 40 years, the pou whenua have stood sentinel over the 1st Battalion parade ground. This includes 20 years while the Battalion was forward deployed to Singapore. As with all things, they have slowly degraded, and the decision has been made to replace them.

1st Battalion has begun a fundraising project to construct a memorial wall and garden, which will provide a fitting location for those members of the battalion who have fallen to be remembered. We will also have new pou, and a new, much more suitable waharoa commissioned. The wall consists of five bastions, which will have the names of the fallen engraved in steel, and guarded by warriors on plinths, when the Battalion parades.

The initial quote for the work is at least $65,000, and this will see the soldiers of 1 RNZIR muck in and do much of the construction themselves, under the expert eye of our brothers and sisters in the Royal New Zealand Engineers.

Due to the nature of this project, we cannot use public money. We need your help to build this memorial. The Battalion has set up a Givealittle page for any of the wider NZ community who would like to contribute.

Following the link below will enable you to donate to the memorial wall. Even a dollar or two will make a big difference to the success of this project. Donors over $50.00 will receive a 1st Battalion coin. Donations over $100.00 will see your name engraved in a brick, which will line the path through the garden. Significant contributions over $1000.00 will see a laser etched brass plaque with your name or business placed in the garden, at the base of some of the native trees. Should we exceed our fundraising goals, improvements will be made to the design, such as lighting, or the addition of a seating area.

We are humbled by your generosity, and every little bit helps.

Onward.

To claim your incentive, please email a screen shot of your donation to 1rnzirwall@gmail.com.

To claim a coin requires the mailing address you'd like the coin sent to.

The bricks will require the exact text you wish to be inscribed. The limit is two lines of up to 16 characters. 1 RNZIR reserves the right to edit as required.

For the etched plaques, please contact us directly at 1rnzirwall@gmail.com