At the outbreak of war in 1939, it was decided that New Zealand would provide an Expeditionary Force of one division, under then Major-General Bernard Freyberg. This force became known as the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF) and the division as the Second New Zealand Division. The first echelon set sail on 5 January 1940. Their departure excited little of the enthusiasm felt for such departures during the First World War. The second echelon was diverted to Britain on Italy's entry into the war and did not reach Egypt until March 1941. The third echelon arrived in Egypt in September 1940. The force remained as part of the British Eighth Army to the end of WWII in 1945 during which it fought in the Battle of Greece, the Battle of Crete, Operation Crusader, Minqar Qaim, the Battle of El Alamein, Libya and Tunisia, the Sangro, the Battle of Monte Cassino, Central Italy, and the Adriatic Coast. Under the command of Major-General William Stevens, the 2NZEF began demobilising in late 1945, a process that was largely completed by mid 1946.

Shown above is a photograph of the Wellington wharves as troops of the First Echelon prepare to embark on troopship from railway cars drawn up alongside. Archives Reference: AAVK W3493, E8301, R16470624

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