Episode Eleven: In this episode we hear stories from Engineers of the New Zealand Army who served in Italy. The Engineers performed a myriad of important tasks that kept the Army moving forward, from building bridges over rivers and canals were previous bridges had been blown by the retreating Germans; to mine laying and mine clearing; to building …

In this Courage And Valour “Extra” episode Dave Homewood has a brief chat with artist Kay de Latour, who is the daughter of Italian Campaign veteran Eric de Latour. She lives very near to Cassino in Italy where her father fought, and she’s very involved with keeping the memory of the war veterans there alive through her art, her Legato exhibitions,…

In this episode of Courage And Valour, the veterans of the New Zealand Infantry Battalions talk frankly about the life of an infantry soldier in the front lines, and behind the lines, in WWII, both in Egypt and in Italy. This is a collection of memories, reminiscences and anecdotes from those men who were there at the sharp end. The detailed accoun…

This episode covers the New Zealand Infantrymen of the 2nd NZ Division who had been sitting for months at the Senio River. We follow their story as they break out north in the spring offensive, rolling north up through the top of Italy all the way to Trieste, where the war ended. But the kiwis found themselves facing another very potential enemy in…

Following the victory in taking the vital city of Florence from the Germans, the New Zealand Division rested and re-equipped at Impoli for a short period. They also took on reinforcements here. Then when ready again for action the Div moved back east across the Appenines to rejoin the fight. Now they were formed into the Canadian Corps, with their …

In this Courage And Valour “Extra” we hear the vivid memories of 24 Battalion soldier Pat Green recalling not only his first battle but his first wound in battle too, in the first battle of El Alamein in September 1942. This story is pieced together from several memories that came out over several recordings, but show how strong they remain in Pat’…

The Rubicon is an important river in Italian history, and during the Italian Campaign the 2nd New Zealand Division found themselves in battle to cross the Rubicon, on their way north towards Florence. In this mini-episode we hear from two 21 Battalion mates, Ted “Bluey” Homewood and Charlie Honeycombe, remembering the battles around that area. Dura…

In this episode we hear from a reinforcement joining the fight, and we follow the New Zealand infantry as they move northwards up through Italy towards the important city of Florence. They encounter the formidable Paula Line, a series of defences around Florence that included the stronghold villages of San Michele and La Romola. Featuring in order …

In this episode we continue with the story of the New Zealand infantrymen after they were moved out of Cassino township, following the battle and stalemate they’d endured there. Following a brief respite to recover, they were moved into the mountains to the Belvedere-Terelle line, where they were to push the Germans out of the area around the villa…

In this episode pick up the story continuing on from episode four, joining the kiwi veterans again just following the massive bombing and artillery barrage that flattened the ancient town of Cassino in March 1944. When the dust settled and night fell the infantry of the 2nd New Zealand division was ordered to move up into the rubble that had been t…

In Episode Four of Courage And Valour, we hear from veterans of the 2nd NZ Division who fought in the campaign at Cassino. This town was considered the gateway to Rome, if the Allies could take it they would open up the road (Route 6) and the railway link all the way to Italy’s capital city. The Allies needed to capture Cassino, the Germans needed …

In this third episode in the Courage And Valour series we hear from veterans of the New Zealand Infantry remembering their part in the battles to take the German regional headquarters and the nearby village of Castel Frentano, and their attempt to also capture the stronghold village of Orsogna. As well as battling the Germans, these kiwi troops had…

Episode Two: In this episode we hear veterans talking about the New Zealand Division’s preparations in Egypt, for the impending invasion of Italy, and then their arrival on Italian soil. They tell of the further training near Taranto and Bari and then moving up to the front line, where the 2nd NZ Division went into action, crossing the freezing and…

Episode One: In this first episode we hear veterans of the New Zealand Army remembering the days when they first joined up, and their training at home, their garrison duties and courses undertaken, and all that went into preparing them for war later in Italy Featuring: Jack Cumming (22 Battalion) Pat Green (24 Battalion) Norm Harris (24 Battalion) …