Wattie Horton Mackay

Wattie Horton (Wally) McKay of D Company

Wattie Horton (Wally) McKay of D Company who embarked with the Main Body.

This detail is from a larger image, see the full photograph here.

Reference:

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Reference: Detail of PA.000038

Further information and copies of this image may be obtained from Te Papa through its Collections Online website.

Permission of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa must be obtained before any reuse of this image.

Submitter:
Submitted by mbadmin on

Comments (2)

This is my Nan's mother's favourite brother. He was a qualified secondary teacher and NZ Máori All Black. He must have had a terrible night before this photo was taken, because Nan says he was a handsome man and this pic does not do him justice. He played once in rotorua as a Rep for NZ Máori hockey too.Sadly he lost his legs by amputation, they were wounded so badly. It came back from one of his fellow comrades that he spent his time as a patient in the army hospital in Greece shuffling on his rear from bed to bed cheering up his wounded comrades playing cards, and doing whatever they wanted to do. He died of his wounds.

Wattie Horton McKay. Your mention that uncle Wattie Horton McKay was a News Paper Reporter reminded me of a conversation between LT General Jerry Mataparae and a visiting British General bout five years ago. This British General had been a Lieutenant serving with the Maori Battalion who nicknamed him Sandy. He was a POW with uncle Wattle. He told how uncle Wattie had been wounded in charging a German Machine Gun Post. That’s how come he was unable to escape. Sandy escaped and became a British General. While reminiscing he said to Jerry jokingly "We can talk openly about anything now because there is no News Reporter around".

During an SAS reunion I mentioned to Jerry that Wattie McKay was my uncle and he said "so the story is now full circle". [I use the name Jerry because its too long to use his full title. Sir Jerry Mateparae, who enlisted as a soldier with the Regular Force of the New Zealand Army in 1972...I left the Army 1965 after almost five years with 1 Ranger Squadron N Z SAS] Like me, he served in both battalions of the RNZIR and with the New Zealand Special Air Service. 

I first heard that uncle had been a News Paper Reporter with the New York Times and upon the outbreak of war returned to NZ. This story was told by Colonel Wira Gardner in his updated book 28th Maori Battallion.

Mauri Ora Paumea Horton Mckay