Captain Edward Vere Hayward 28th (Maori) Battalion.

Edward Vere Te Raiti Hayward like all had a choice of what and where to contribute his wartime effort too..he chose the 28th (Maori) Maori Battalion...via his mother, Rerepeti Te Kumete Hayward's Te Arawa Iwi.

Born 11.09.1916 Regimental No. 39065 Entered Palmeston North's Maori Training Unit 26.01 1940 Released for final leave before Embarkation 30.04 1940. Embarked for Scotland (Egypt's Port Tewfix to dangerous) 16.06 1940. Arrived North Africa disembarking at Port Tewfix 18.12.1940. Returned New Zealand 06.09.1945. He did previously return to N.Z. for a 3 month home furlough and returned to Egypt with the 11th Reinforcements disembarking at Port Tefix 04.05 1944 where he was given a 4 week leave to marry 2NZEF Medical Charge Nurse, Marguerite Helen King Reg. No. 16295.On returning to his 2NZEF 5 Brigade 28th (Maori) Battalion unit he embarked from Alexandria on the 04.06.1944 arriving at Taranto Italy on the 10.06.1944.

His new bride Mrs Marguerite Hayward also sailed to Italy serving along side the 2nd N.Z. Division throughout the Italian Campaign until wars end as a Commisioned Nursing Charge Sister with the 3rd N.Z. General Hospital Unit.

Captain Hayward's 5 Brigade 28th Battalion B Coy and No 4 Carrier Platoon Commander combat duties in Italy ceased when he was involved in a motor vehicle accident in the Forli area while the NZ Division was preparing for the push into the town of Faenza. The general conditions at that time were wet and muddy making non tracked movement very difficult. He was admitted into the 5 N.Z. Field Ambulance medical unit on the 19.11.1944 suffering from an injured pelvis. He was then  moved to the 3rd NZ General Hospital at Bari eventually being transfered back to Egypt to the Ist N.Z. General Hospital at Helwan near Alexandria. On his recovery early 1945 he thereafter remained at the Maori Training Depot at the 2NZEF Maadi Camp assisting in the training of further Italy bound Maori reinforcements until wars end. Finally returning home as previously stated where he disembarked at Wellington on the 6th of September 1945.

Captain Hayward remained a reserve officer post war and re joined during 1949 as a Captain with the NZ Army Territorial 1st Hauraki Regiment remaining active there until 28.08.1953. 12 years service.

As i waded through his and wife Margurite's "box of wartime memories" i was touched by something warm..Marguerite (Peggy) was love, she gave it personally and professionally in spades, till the end. Edward like many long term veterans had to tackle the rarely acknowledged post traumatic stress disorders, not obvious to those that were not close, but the emotional and mental trauma was their. According to son Russell he occassionally  transfered it to the whole family and at these tense moments in came his  loving wife Peggy. Even with her own many wartime ghosts.. she helped him through..As many veterans from all the elemental forces Army Navy and Air Force suffered in varying degrees it slowly came to me.. what a unique couple these two indivduals were as both endured the entire war... In my humble experiences of life to be allowed by this family, namely 2 of 4 sons in Russell and John Hayward (Russell is an electrical engineer and was also a commercial pilot and John in some ways reflecting his mother as a life long secondary school english teacher) to take a snap shot as it were into these two veterans war time lives and to some extent post war lives, was an honour. I understand Ted (not unusual with Vets.) rarely if ever spoke of his wartime experiences to his children and had this box of treasures out of the way until found after his death on the 27.01.1992.. like all of our veterans who mostly suffered in silence apart from their wartime mates..we owe so much to them. No doubt the NZ RSA for many years was a very therapeutic place to be for them..May God Bless Them All.

Edward left something of great value unknowingly to us anyway..these published photos and his intelligent 1942 diary notes.  Without this Maori Battalion website i would have simply stored them in my files like the many others and slowly brought them to some life and understanding, but that takes time motivation and often hours of reading research.

My sincere thanks go out to all of the Hayward family Malcolm John Russell and Peter as i'm sure it also does from the administrators of this website.

Spare a thought for the parents.. father Cecil Howard Hayward and in particular mum Mrs. Rerepeti Te Kumete Hayward..four sons at war.. two in the 2nd NZEF and two in the RNZAF, not the only brothers in service to N.Z. by far.. but four sons was their entire prodigy..three came home, one forever remains with his fallen 20 Battalion mates in Libya, North Africa.