2003 Military Uniforms

 

        2003 Military Uniforms was only issued as the miniature sheet format seen below. It featured 20 stamps showing figures in a military uniform from the 1860s through to the modern uniforms of today.

       Some details and items wore or used, are included on each stamp along with the service medal likely to have been received. More details regarding each uniform were printed on the back of each stamp so beside each stamp we have also shown its reverse side.

        The top First Day Covers plus the full reverse sheet can be found at the bottom of this page.

        If you are interested in military stamps, you might discover more about New Zealand in our ANZAC Military collection. Links can be found in the navigation bar at the top of the page. 


The Full Sheet showing all twenty stamps.

The Stamps plus Reverse Sides.
Maori Land Wars - New Zealand.
                          
40c - Forest Rangers Officer 1860s.
         The Forest Rangers were raised during the middle of the New Zealand land wars at the start of the Waikato War. Rangers formed a specialist 'bush-fighting' corp, an irregular force, whose purpose was to take the war into the New Zealand bush and to fight the Maori on their own terms; engaging in reconnaissance, patrolling and guerrilla warfare.
         A total of 365 men served as Forest Rangers before the unit was officially disbanded on 30 October 1867 with the passing of the Armed Constabulary Act of 1867. The Forest Rangers fought in 34 major actions. Nine Rangers died, either in action or as result of their wounds.
Forest Rangers received 84 New Zealand medals.

                         
40c - Lieutenant Commanding / Napier Naval Artillery Volunteer 1890s.
         Concern was raised that while the Royal Navy protected New Zealand, as it did other parts of the British Empire, our ports had no defences at all. Forts were established in major ports while small ones, like Napier, were given heavy artillery guns, both mounted or mobile.
         The "garrison" artillery of the Napier Naval Artillery Volunteers was something of a misnomer. Although the units dressed nautically, operated cutters and took instruction in rowing and signalling, they came under Army command and were trained to operate heavy port defence guns. The Napier Naval Artillery Volunteers were accepted in 1885 and served as a unit until 1897.

Second Boer War - South Africa.
                          
40c - Amuri Mounted Rifles Officer / 2nd Regiment North Canterbury Mounted Rifles 1900-1910.
  The Amuri Mounted Rifles, Malvern Mounted Rifles and the Ellesmere Mounted rifles were formed about the same time and the three constituted the Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment. They were formed just before the Boer war in 1899-1902.
As part of the ANZAC remembrance of 2015 one hundred riders, dressed as close as they could in 1900 clothing, took part in a ride to mark and remember the North Canterbury Mounted Rifles.

                          
40c - Trooper / 5th New Zealand South African Contingent 1899-1902.
When the Second Boer War seemed imminent, New Zealand offered its support. On 28th September 1899, Prime Minister Richard Seddon asked Parliament to approve the offer to the Imperial Government of a contingent of mounted rifles, thus becoming the first British Colony to send troops to the Boer War. The British position in the dispute with the Transvaal was "moderate and righteous," he maintained. He stressed the "crimson tie" of Empire that bound New Zealand to the mother country and the importance of a strong British Empire for the colony's security.
By the time peace was concluded two and a half years later, 10 contingents of volunteers, totalling nearly 6,500 men from New Zealand, with 8,000 horses had fought in the conflict, along with doctors, nurses, veterinary surgeons and a small number of school teachers, Some 70 New Zealanders died from enemy action, with another 158 killed accidentally or by disease.

World  War I - Europe.
When Britain became in the war against Germany of course New Zealand joined the other commonwealth countries in offering support. The total number of New Zealand troops and nurses to serve overseas in 1914–1918, excluding those in British and other Dominion forces, was 100,444, from a population of just over a million. Forty-two per cent of men of military age served in the NZEF. 16,697 New Zealanders were killed and 41,317 were wounded during the war – a 58 per cent casualty rate. Approximately a further thousand men died within five years of the war's end, as a result of injuries sustained, and 507 died while training in New Zealand between 1914 and 1918. New Zealand had one of the highest casualty and death rate per capita of any country involved in the war.
 The three World War I stamps show the uniforms of an officer, a sailor and a soldier.
                          
40c - Staff Officer / NZ Division France 1918.
By 1913, New Zealand was involved in yet another war overseas, this time World War I mainly being fought in Europe. After the bloody campaign of Gallipoli Peninsula, the New Zealanders were moved to the front-line against the Germans in France. This became a deadlocked war fought from muddy trenches with appalling losses for only a few yards of ground which could be quickly lost the following day. 

                          
40c - Petty Officer / First World War 1914-18.
In 1909, the New Zealand government decided to fund the purchase of the battlecruiser HMS New Zealand for the Royal Navy, which saw action throughout World War I in Europe. The passing of the Naval Defence Act 1913 created the New Zealand Naval Forces, still as a part of the Royal Navy. The first purchase by the New Zealand government for the New Zealand Naval Forces was the cruiser HMS Philomel, which escorted New Zealand land forces to occupy the German colony of Samoa in 1914. Philomel saw further action under the command of the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf.

                          
40c - Rifleman / New Zealand Rifle Brigade (NZRB) 1916-18.
This is the uniform worn by a World War I New Zealand soldier. It was a heavy uniform made from wool that was good in the cold of winter but terrible in the heat of summer. During the landing at Gallipoli, it is said that the weight of kit and equipment each man was carrying was equal to the weight of a child on their backs. Then came the mud of trench warfare in France. The uniform was ill-prepared for what the soldiers would face overseas.  

World War II - World Wide.
The next major war New Zealand became involved in was World War II from the early 1940s. This is by far the biggest war the world has ever seen with fighting taking place in many parts of the world. New Zealand quickly became involved, following Great Britain into the war. The next six stamps show uniforms from this period.
                          
40c - New Zealand Engineers (NZE) Sergeant 
 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF) 1939-45.
Engineers are an important part of any army providing the knowledge and skills required to construct and maintain bridges and other infrastructure. Often they were attached to other divisions or army units but engineers could be found wherever they were needed. 

                         
40c - Matron / Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) Hospital 1940s.
Another important support for any army is medical and hospitals. In any conflict, it is expected that there will be causalities so by providing these services men can receive required treatment ASAP. Of course, part of hospitals are nurses, in this case, military nurses who are considered part of the military forces. This stamp shows the uniform of a Navy Matron.

                          
40c - New Zealand Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) / Egypt 1942.
There are many tasks in an army not directly involved in the fighting such as desk/office, drivers, logistic/stores. It was quickly realised that by using women in these auxiliary roles, men could be released for combat roles so The Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) was formed to meet this need. The woman on this stamp is from the Army but the Navy and Air Force had similar groups. See the WAAF uniform a few stamps down. 

                          
40c - RNZAF Bomber Pilot / Bomber Command (Royal Air Force) 1943.
The Air Force is made up of two types of combat aircraft, bomber, and fighters. In the stamp above is a bomber pilot attached to the Royal Air Force. He would most likely have been flying missions over Germany as the Allies tried to limit or destroy Germany's industrial war production. 

                         
40c - Fighter Pilot / No 1 (Islands) Group RNZAF Command Air South Pacific (COMAIRSOPAC) 1943.
This stamp shows a fighter pilot serving in the South Pacific in the war against Japan. His role would have been to protect bombers, attack enemy aircraft and fly missions against light ground targets. His badge shows him as being part of 14 Squadron that would continue to play an important role in the South-East Asian wars. (See below) 

                         
40c - Driver / Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) New Zealand, 1943.
Compare this uniform with the WAAC above. It soon became apparent that trousers were more practical than a skirt, particularly where a woman employed as a drive would be getting in and out of military vehicles. Each of the three services had a slightly different uniform for their women auxiliaries but the one on this stamp could be considered typical of Army, Navy and Air Force. 

Korea War - Korea.
                          
40c - Gunner / 16th Field Regiment Royal New Zealand Artillery (RNZA) Korea 1950-53.
          Korea is a country of extremes where its unbearably hot in the summer and freezing cold in the winter. This meant the kit New Zealand soldiers took with them had to meet both extremes. It included the thick wool clothing of earlier times as well as lighter modern fabrics for summer.  
          The fighting ranged over almost the entire country until a front-line stabilised about halfway cutting Korea into two parts. Even today the war is still considered to be continuing as no formal peace was ever finalised. 

                          
40c - Acting Petty Officer / HMNZS Tamaki 1957.
The New Zealand Navy was involved in all of the Asian wars where New Zealanders fought. New Zealand ships acted mainly in support for the ships of larger nations such as the US aircraft carriers but they did see some action too. On the stamp above the Korea Medal is shown on a junior officer of the HMNZS Tamaki. 

Malaya Emergency.
Two stamps cover this conflict;- Foot soldiers used in jungle fighting and a pilot Canberra Bomber.
                        
40c - Scouts / New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS) Malaya 1955-57.
The Malayan Emergency (Malay: Darurat) was a Malayan guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA), the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP), from 1948–60.
"Malayan Emergency" was the colonial government's term for the conflict. The MNLA termed it the Anti-British National Liberation War. The rubber plantations and tin mining industries had pushed for the use of the term "emergency" since their losses would not have been covered by Lloyd's insurers if it had been termed a "war".

                         
40c - RNZAF Canberra Pilot / Far East Air Force (Royal Air Force) Malayan Emergency 1960
 From 1958 to 1962 RNZAF 75th squadron operated nine English Electric Canberra bombers, on loan from the RAF, out of RAF Tengah, Singapore. They were used on anti-terrorist operations during the Malayan Emergency.

South Vietnam.
Vietnam was the third anti-Communist war New Zealand military became involved in.
                     
40c - Infantryman / Victor Company 1st Battalion Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment South Vietnam 1960s.
New Zealand began by sending a detachment of engineers and an artillery battery and then started sending special forces and regular infantry which were attached to Australian formations. Australia's peak commitment was 7,672 combat troops and New Zealand's 552. More than 60,000 Australian personnel were involved during the course of the war, of which 521 were killed and more than 3,000 wounded. Approximately 3,500 New Zealanders served in Vietnam, losing 37 killed and 187 wounded. Most Australians and New Zealanders served in the 1st Australian Task Force in Phước Tuy Province.

Peace Keeping.
The final two stamps show the major role of the modern New Zealand military, Peace Keeping.
                     
40c - Infantryman / New Zealand Battalion United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) 2000.
The International Force for East Timor (INTERFET) was a multinational non-United Nations peacekeeping taskforce, organized and led by Australia in accordance with United Nations resolutions to address the humanitarian and security crisis which took place in East Timor from 1999–2000 until the arrival of UN peacekeepers. New Zealand quickly followed by offering Australia military support until finally the operation was taken over by UN peacekeepers which also continued to include New Zealanders.
New Zealand's contribution peaked at 1,200 personnel. East Timor was New Zealand's largest overseas military deployment since the Korean War. It would be 13 years until all New Zealand military would be withdrawn from the country.

                    
40c - New Zealand Member of Peace Monitoring Group (PMG) / Bougainville 2001.
 The Bougainville conflict was essentially a civil war over a large copper mine on the island. When the local people realised they had to put up with the effects of a very large mine while hardly receiving anything in return things turned to conflict. A peace was finally established and New Zealand soldiers were employed as peace-keepers. Since then the mine has remained closed with its equipment slowly rusting away.


Since this sheet was issued New Zealand has continued to support Peace Keeping Operations in various parts of the world including Afghanistan and Iraq. 

This is a view of the printed back of the full sheet containing notes about each uniform shown on the stamps. I have included these notes beside each stamp in the section above. 


First Day Covers.
Being such a large issue, the set was divided into two First Day Covers, each featuring ten stamps.




Technical information.

                     Date of Issue:
2 April 2003
                     Designers:
Ross Jones, Watermark, Wellington, New Zealand
                     Printer:
Southern Colour Print, New Zealand
                     Stamp Size:
30mm x 40mm
                     Sheet Size:
20
                     Process:
Lithography
                     Perforation Gauge:      
14
                     Paper Type:
De la Rue 103gsm red phosphor coated litho stamp paper



Some of the images in this post were used with permission from the illustrated catalogue of StampsNZYou can visit their web site and On-line Catalogue at, http://stampsnz.com/