94 Battery,
was actually raised on the 13th September 1803 at Woolwich as a
Company of 8th Battalion Royal Artillery.
As the Battery was under the Command of a Captain C
Baynes, it was there after called
Baynes Company.
The following
is the History of the Battery Title changes up to its Present title
of
94 (HQ) New Zealand Battery
1803 :- Raised
as Captains Charles Baynes Company 8th Battalion.
1827 :- Became No 2 Company 8th
Battalion.
1854 :- Became
A Field Battery.
1859 :- Became No 3 Battery 4th
Brigade.
1861 :- Became C Battery 4th Brigade.
1869 :-
Became 11 Battery 11th Brigade.
1874 :- Became
11 Battery 16th Brigade.
1875 :- Became C Battery 25th Brigade.
1877 :-
Became K Battery 6th Brigade.
1882 :- Became
Q Battery 1st Brigade.
1889 :- Became
38th Field Battery.
1899 :- Became Royal Field Artillery.
1900 :-
Became 38th Battery 7th Brigade.
1920 :- Became
38th Battery 14th Brigade.
1924 :- Became
38th Field Battery.
1934
:- Became 38th New Zealand Battery. Title
was awarded by
War office Letter :---
20/Arty/AG 6a-4985
Dated 13th November 1934
The following is an account of the Battle that
took place and why the
Honour Title was awarded.
The Battery greatly distinguished
itself against the Maoris on the 20th November 1863 at Rangiriri.
They were called on to act as Cavalry, having previously been armed
with swords,
carbines or revolvers. Captain Henry Mercer led the assault on the enemies
position but fell
mortally wounded. Owing to the height of the enemies parapet (9 feet)
it was impossible to get at the Maoris,
so 5 and half inch common shells were obtained.
Sergeant McKay and Gunner Green distinguished themselves by throwing
the the shells over the
parapet at great risk as the fuzes dated from the Peninsular War, also
the fuzes had to be lit before
the shells could be thrown.
Unfortunately the assault
failed and the fighting continued. The fiercest fighting was around
the
entrance to the Maori redoubt, it was here that that Assistant Surgeon
Temple performed a
"conspicuous act of courage and devotion
of duty "
by passing this opening for the purpose of attending
to the wounded, although the extreme
danger of his doing so was pointed out to him, as every man but one
( Lieutenant Pickard )
who had previously attempted to cross had either been Killed or wounded.
In his official Despatches,
General Cameron reported that
" the Royal Artillery
displayed great daring and intrepidity in their assault "
Lieutenant A F Pickard and Assistant
Surgeon W Temple,
both of the Battery were awarded the
VICTORIA CROSS
The LOGO came about by scraping the top
of a tin of KIWI boot polish until only the bird was left.
The LOGO was first introduced by Major Gee and that is how ever since
the Battery Guns
Vehicles etc have had the logo painted / transfers on them.
1938 :-
Became 38th New Zealand Anti Tank Battery, with
14th Anti-Tank Regiment.
1947 :- This was the year
that the Battery was renamed 94
New Zealand Battery.
............This title remained until it was posted
to 4th Regiment and it is now a Head Quarter Battery.
The Battery served in the following War Stations.
1805 :-
Sicily. 1807 :- Egypt (Alexandria) &
Sicily.
1854 :- Crimea (Alma - Balaclava
- Inkerman - Sebastopol)
1860-1863 :-
New Zealand.
1885 :- Burma
(Capture of Mandalay)
1899-1902 :- South Africa (Wittebergen)
1914-1919 :-
The Great War (India - North Western Frontier)
1939 :- France
1940 :- Belgium (Dunkirk)
1943 :-
Algeria - Tunisia - Egypt.
1944 :- Italy
(Gariglian - Cassino - Florence - Rimini - Forli)
1945 :- Egypt - Palastine.
With
the outbreak of the second world war, the battery joined 4th Division
of the British Expeditionary Force,
seeing action at Dunkirk.
In 1943 the Battery served in North Africa, then in Italy in 1944,
moving onto Greece in 1946.
In 1947 the Battery was renamed 94
New Zealand Battery and spent ten years
in Gibraltar as a
Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery before returning to England in 1958 and
taking delivery of the 25Pdr.
Then it was off to Cyprus in 1960 returning to Wales in 1962.
Two years later the Battery joined 42nd Regiment in Lippstadt Germany.
Whilst in Lippstadt they had the 5.5 & M109.
In 1969 the Regiment was posted to Devizes Wiltshire where they once
again had the 5.5.
The Regiment & Battery were then posted to Fallingbostle Germany.
Where in November 1977, when the Regiment was
disbanded, the Battery was posted to
49 Field Regiment stationed at HOHNE Germany.
The following is
a list of the Battery postings since 1977
December 1981 :- 45 Field
@ Hohne Germany
April 1985 :- 45
Field @ Colchester England....
March 1990 :- 45
Field @ Paderborn Germany
June 1993 :- 4th
Field @ Osnabruck Germany..
WHILST SERVING WITH THE ABOVE THEY HAD THE FOLLOWING
GUNS
ABBOTT - M109 - FH70 - AS90
The Battery also served @
NORTHERN IRELAND 1994 - SARAJEVO 1995 - WESTERN BOSNIA 1997 - KOSOVO
1999
as part of KFOR
YOU WILL NOTICE THERE ARE A NUMBER OF GAPS.
SO ANY OTHER INFORMATION WOULD BE APPRECIATED IN ORDER
TO KEEP THE WEBSITE UP TO DATE.
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