Image 1 of 2
Image 2 of 2
The New Zealand Machine Gun Corps (NZMGC) was an administrative corps of the New Zealand Military Forces during the First World War.
It was formed in January 1916, following the Gallipoli campaign in response to a need for more effective machine gun support.
The corps saw action in France during the First World War. The New Zealand Machine Gun Corps was disbanded at the end of the war in 1918.
Men from the 15th and 16th NZ companies of the Imperial Camel Corp, which had been disbanded in June/July 1918, were reformed into a Second New Zealand Machine Gun Corps. This corps was attached to the Australian Light Horse and was the last unit to see action in Palestine. Men from this unit were also used to help quell the Egyptian uprising in 1919.
The Machine Gun Corps was reformed in 1940 as the 27 (Machine Gun) Battalion and became part of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force which saw service in Greece, Crete, North Africa and Italy.
It was again disbanded in 1945.
Cap badge: two crossed Maxim machine guns, surmounted by a Tudor (King's) crown, over the initials ‘NZ’.
