The Twentyfourth New Zealand Infantry Battalion A Pictorial History. BY F L Phillips and H R Gilmour.

Publisher: Richards Publishing, Auckland, 1980 FIRST EDITION. VERY SCARCE.

Good hardback with jacket. Some light rubbing and bumping, minor marks, no inscriptions. Sellotape marks to edges of cloth boards, and first and last pages, light foxing to paste downs, the rest of the pages are very good with minor foxing to some edges. Jacket has shelf/edge wear, fading, sellotape marks to edges. 383 pages with photos, maps and illustrations.

The 24th Battalion was formed on 1 February 1940 at Narrow Neck Military Camp with personnel drawn largely from the Auckland region. It was the first of three infantry battalions that formed part what was initially known as the Third Echelon of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF) and which would later be designated the 6th Infantry Brigade of the 2nd New Zealand Division. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Clayden Shuttleworth, of the New Zealand Staff Corps, a cadre of 150 officers and non-commissioned officers underwent training aimed to prepare them for the task of preparing the volunteers that would make up the bulk of the battalion's personnel. After an initial period at Narrow Neck, the men moved to Papakura Military Camp where the main draft of the battalion arrived on 15 May 1940 for training. With an establishment of around 780 men, the battalion was organised into four rifle companies, designated A through to D, a headquarters company consisting of specialised personnel such as signals and a battalion headquarters. The rifle companies were organised along provincial lines; men from the Auckland region were generally placed in A Company, while those from the Hauraki, North Auckland and Waikato were assigned to B, C, and D Companies respectively.

ALL PHOTOS ARE OF THE ACTUAL BOOK.

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HEAVY BOOK THAT MAY REQUIRE EXTRA SHIPPING COSTS OUTSIDE OF NEW ZEALAND.

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