Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I want to acknowledge 2 New Zealand Division. This book is not just about ‘the Div’; its members wrote it. Without so many good writers within the ranks, A Job to Do would never have gone beyond being an interesting idea.

Sadly, nearly all of the contributors have died. In most cases the publishing rights have passed to their families, whom I sincerely thank for granting permission so that their father’s or grandfather’s words could be appreciated again. They include the descendants of Bill Allison, Mark Batistich, Nelson Bray, J.T. Burrows, Sir Geoffrey Cox, Dan Davin, James Hargest, Sir James Henare, Garfield Johnson, Pat Kane, Ted Lewis, Peter McIntyre, John Male, E.G. Webber and Guthrie Wilson. Their generosity and support allow us to share both life and sacrifice within the Div. Unfortunately I was unable to contact quite a few families. I certainly tried. Please feel free to contact me through the publisher.

The other major source is the NZEF Times. I am very grateful to the New Zealand Defence Force for allowing the inclusion of a marvellous range of material from the Division’s weekly newspaper.

Work on A Job to Do began well over a decade ago and has finally emerged, thanks to Exisle and their New Zealand publisher, Ian Watt.

In researching and compiling the book – words, cartoons, sketches and photos – I want to acknowledge the assistance of several institutions and their always helpful staff: the National Library, the Alexander Turnbull Library, the Hocken Collections – Te Uare o Hakena, the Research Collection of Dunedin Public Libraries, Invercargill City Libraries and Southland District Council Libraries.

I must make special mention of the continuing support and encouragement of my sister, Fay, and editor and friend, Anna Rogers, who always believed that, one day, an anthology about and by the Div would emerge.