One of the 1 Engr Regt Officers on the 4 July parade at 16 Fd Regt was Maj Al Mitchell, who lead the team reconstructing the Gunner memorial at Vella Lavella in the Solomons last year.
After the parade Maj Mitchell told the Col Comdt how successful the project had been. The Association donation not only completed the fund raising required to finish the Memorial project but also allowed the project to buy cement for the local village for the floor of their new church. This ensures the congregation will continue to look after our RNZA Memorial.
The RNZA Association was a major donor to the costs of repair and refurbishment of the memorial.
The LCT the RNZA bofors crew were on was hit by a bomb from a lone Zero which attacked the assault fleet as they were close to the beach, sinking the LCT and killing the whole detachment. The Zero was subsequently shot down. Interestingly, there is also a USMC memorial across the bay from the RNZA one.
We are grateful to everyone involved with the work they have done, and it is good to record that our Association contributions helped make the project and ongoing upkeep possible.
These links show some photos from last year of the rededication of the Memorial.
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