NZRA: Remembrance for the unmarked soldier

It has been over 100 years since the guns fell silent on the battlefields of the First World War and every year since, New Zealanders have spoken the oath - promising to remember the men and women who served at the going down of the sun.

In cemeteries around New Zealand there are potentially hundreds of returned service people in unmarked graves that lack a marker, headstone, or nameplate indicating who is buried there.

Some were buried without a funeral or a permanent headstone and were not provided with an official commemoration.

The New Zealand Remembrance Army (NZRA) aims to give these service people, who fought for our country, the recognition they deserve and ensure that their contribution is not ignored and forgotten.

In what is currently an empty patch of earth, we are trying to give back a soldier their name and face, reconnect them with a family, and remember their extraordinary story.

In one cemetery alone, our volunteers have identified six service people who were buried without any form of recognition. One of these is an ANZAC veteran wounded twice at Gallipoli.

We are seeking donations to help assist in the task of providing these people with unmarked graves a headstone. To do this we have established this give a little donation page for people to support us to raise funding to assist in marking thier grave.

The NZRA is striving to raise $15,000 that will see six to ten unmarked graves of service people across New Zealand, receive a fitting memorial and service. Some of the other costs for a headstone or bronze plaque will be met by Veterans Affairs New Zealand.

We also need your help to try and find surviving family to consent before any work could be done on the graves.

After the funding is received the NZRA is hopeful that in six to 12 months we will have the permanent plaques and headstones installed.