Reinforcements for the 28th Maori Battalion enjoy Christmas dinner at the Maori Training Depot in Maadi Camp, Egypt.
Reinforcements for the 28th Maori Battalion enjoy Christmas dinner at the Maori Training Depot in Maadi Camp, Egypt. The kai on the table includes a traditional Maori hāngī, beer, tomato sauce, fruits and what appears to be classic kiwi Pavlovas. Photograph taken on 25 December 1943 by George Robert Bull. Raised in 1940 as part of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF), the 28th (Māori) Battalion was attached to the 2nd New Zealand Division as an extra battalion that moved between the division's three infantry brigades. The battalion fought during the Greek, North African and Italian campaigns, earning a formidable reputation as a fighting force which both Allied and German commanders have acknowledged. It became the most-decorated New Zealand battalion during the war. Maadi Camp, 14km south of Cairo, was laid out in 1940 for the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Freyberg, a World War I Victoria Cross winner, selected the site and engineers laid seal, 10kms of wat...