NZ marked No5's

[Peter Laidler]

You're almost there Tertle. You might have taken all your kit or just taken over from those you replaced but if something goes wrong, say, your rifle needs replacing then it'll go back to Ord and be replaced by the next one, that might be a pom L1A1 and so on. If your Australian Whites 3 ton truck is cast, you'll get a new Bedford and so on. As for ammo, you just got what came next, be it CAC, Australian of RG. So the huge stockpiles were mixed. I don't know how the Ord system worked of course but know it from the RAEME/REME side though

It should be quite easy to find the NZ marked No5 (or 5's from the Ord Depot). Just find out where the weapons from the RNZEME workshop at Ngaruawahia went. At least, I HOPE it's easy because I got them a Thompson SMG and also sent Jock Annandale a Mk5 Sten via 'diplomatic' channels. The huge Northern District Ordnance Depot there also had the hand written ledgers detailing the types and serial numbers of all the rifles sent to the UK in 1939 (or 1940) AND those sent with the NZ Army to fight in the desert and those No4's shipped to NZ from Canada in the war. A really attractive girl called Susan Munns (who loved at Taupiri) who worked there showed them to me. Where did they go too...........?

Oooooops...... I meant to say LIVED at Taupiri but she might have LOVED at Taupiri too!