E. D. Hamon and T. Tangohau - Cairo, Egypt August 1941

In August 1941, Eruera Dennis Hamon sent this photo home of himself and his friend T. Tangohau (seated).

Dennis died 3 months later on the 30th of November, 1941 and is buried in Halfaya Sollum Cemetery, Egypt.

Nga mihi mahana ki te whanau Tangohau. We are unsure if Uncle Dennis' friend seated on the left is Tame or Harry Tangohau of Tolaga Bay and know you will be able to identify him. We look forward to hearing from you. We have added both soldiers to the 'Related' field.

(It was difficult to decipher the name and is appeared to begin with an 'R' hence the title on the photograph as R. Tangohau.

Update: 10 Sept 2011

Kia ora ano ra Te Awhi,

Nga mihi o te wa kia koe. I hope my email finds you well.

I was just doing some searching on Sollum and found your photograph.

We've now got photos up of the Tangohau whanaunga from C Company and from looking at their photos it looks like it is Tame Tangohau who is pictured with Dennis Hamon.

Noho ora mai

Leanne

Leanne Tamaki | Content Officer
www.28maoribattalion.org.nz

Thanks Leanne. That is wonderful to know. They look so young and it is nice to know they were together. - Te Awhi.

Reference:

Grace Riria Hamon Herbert Family Collection 2010.

Comments (2)

My Grandfather

Submitted by Tauniann on Wed, 21/11/2012 - 03:43

Tena korua ko Te Awhi me Leanne. This is a picture of my Grandfather (seated) Tame Te Tahua Tongohau. I am very happy to have found this picture and I hope your family is all well. Papa Titi, as we called him, married my Grandmother Madeline (nee Stirling) in Tolaga Bay. They had 9 children. Sadly 2 of the children passed away as infants but the rest are still alive and kicking. My Nanny is still living in Tolaga Bay on the big farm that Papa and her built. Papa Titi died in the 80's ('82 I think?) at a very old and prosperous age. He lived his days working the farm with Nanny and the kids. He was more well known for his quiet and kind demeanor as the town Minister of Te Mihaia Church in Tolaga Bay. A very well respected man of the community. I was 12 when he died but all I remember about him was that he was a very very sweet and loving man. I hope you read this knowing a little bit about the friend in your picture. Kind regards ToniAnn

Tame and Dennis

Submitted by TeAwhi_Manahi on Wed, 05/12/2012 - 21:51

Originally posted:Fri, 30 November 2012 - 08:24amTena koe ToniAnnIt is so wonderful to read about how Tame Te Tahua Tangohau's life flourished abundantly...his sweetheart, their children, the farm, his quiet and kind demeanor, his church service, a sweet and loving grandfather. Just beautiful.It's with a little emotion in my heart that I think about how, in the early hours of this morning, exactly 71 years ago, a soldier awoke to find the hospital bed next to him empty. Eruera Dennis Hamon had died during the night. I imagine that both Tame and Dennis will stand together tomorrow in another realm with their kindred soldiers as the 28th Maori Battalion is formally disbanded.Nga mihi mahana ki a koe me to whanau hoki.Na, Te Awhi o Te Rangi