Sir Wayne joined the Royal New Zealand Navy as a 17 year old in 1975 and served for over 11 years. He was selected for the All Blacks in 1985 and went on to be a member of the inaugural Rugby World Cup winning team in 1987. He then led the ABs on an unbeaten record from 1987 to 1990. In 1990 he received the NZ Commemoration Medal and the MBE for services to rugby.
Sir Wayne is the National President of the RNZRSA board and Patron of the Defence Force Rugby Squad and Navy Rugby. He is also an Ambassador for Prostate Cancer. He is proud to have served in the NZ Defence Force and has been active in supporting the 100 year anniversaries of past campaigns over the last four years.
Sir Wayne says he is honoured to be Patron of the Passchendaele Society.

Having immigrated from the UK in 2002, Bob first came into contact with the Passchendaele story in 2007 through his interest in military bands and his forte as an MC of ceremonial events. He has been honorary secretary of the Society since it was founded in 2011, also a member of the Commemorations committee, and was elected Society President in 2018. Bob has traveled extensively to over 70 countries including the Flanders region and Passchendaele three times.

Lode Notredame is a co-founder and Vice-President of our society and he was born and raised in Passchendaele. Before and during the war, his family on his father’s side lived in a village called Poelcapelle which is located 3 kilometres west of Passchendaele and they were forced to flee to France in the very beginning of the war.

Lode’s father was born in April 1917 “under a bridge in Paris” as a refugee. His father was the youngest of 19 children of whom only 7 survived that war. Three of them were his father’s eldest brothers (so Lode’s uncles) who fought in the Belgian army for 4 years in the trenches north of Ypres. On his mother’s side, he’s grandfather and great uncle were fighting in the trenches between Nieuwpoort and Diksmuide.

His wife Sandra was born in Waimakariri in Canterbury and she has 5 great-uncles who fought in WW1. Unfortunately, only 3 of them survived the war. The fact that Passchendaele today is twinned with Waimakariri is a fulfillment in his personal desire of sharing the history between both our countries: New Zealand and Belgium.

In 1990 Sandra and Lode started a business in Bruges, Belgium taking tourists on a daytrip to the battlefields of Flanders near the town of Ypres. It almost became a mission for them to spread the word and share their knowledge about the New Zealand involvement in major attacks during a conclusive and very important part of the Battle of Passchendaele.

They decided to sell their business in 2004 and moved to New Zealand to start a new business showing tourists her beautiful country. However, the quest to spread the word and share their knowledge remains!

Bill served for 28 years in the RNZAF. He was commanding officer of No 3 Squadron, he operated helicopters in Antarctica and was the contingent commander of the RNZAF detachment in Iran at the end of the Iran-Iraq war. His last position was commanding the Operations Wing at RNZAF Base Auckland. Post-RNZAF Bill has worked primarily as an aviation regulator and is currently the Director of Civil Aviation for Niue.

Bill’s grandfather, Lance Sergeant James Leslie MacGregor, was killed mid-October 1917 and is buried in Nine Elms British Cemetery to the west of Poperinghe. He was posthumously awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre in 1919. Bill and his wife Rose visited Belgium in October 2017 at the time of the opening of the New Zealand Memorial and Garden at Zonnebeke.

Mike is the owner of Small Business Accounting, Newmarket in Auckland. He is a full member of the Accountants and Tax Agents Institute of New Zealand, a Master of Business Administration (Auckland) and has a Graduate Diploma of Business Administration (Auckland). Mike was previously general manager and part owner of Crediflex NZ Ltd. He has 24 years involvement with commercial finance and senior management roles in sales and credit management.

Dylan became involved with the Society after co-winning a competition for secondary school students, creating an educational and interactive resource website about the battle of Passchendaele bloodandmud.org The prize, a trip to the Western Front and Passchendaele, has given Dylan a profound fascination with the Great War and a dedication to ensuring fallen soldiers are never forgotten. Dylan’s great-great-grandfather, Edward “Ted” Cartwright, fought with the Northumberland Fusiliers in the Battle of Passchendaele. Many of Dylan’s family went to war but not all fought in Flanders. His family still have many of their medals and badges which remain treasured heirlooms.

2nd Lieutenant Alexander Cecil Birss, Gerard’s uncle, was killed at Passchendaele on 12 October - his body was never found. He was not yet 21. Gerard went to Ypres for the 2016 Anzac Day commemorations then toured the battlegrounds and stood on the Bellevue Spur, a focal point of the battle. It was difficult to reconcile the beautiful, calm countryside with typical photographs of the battle as it was. Gerard says Anzac evening at the Menin Gate was unforgettable and the respect held in Flanders for New Zealanders quite palpable.

Gerard worked in marketing communications for some 50 years and, among other things, compiles and writes the Society newsletter. He remembers decades ago working with Iain MacKenzie, the Society’s late past-president – and enjoying many rounds of golf.

Along with a deep interest in ancient and modern history, Ken has had an abiding interest in military history since student days when he spent time in the Territorials.

Ken has visited many First World War battle sites, CWG and associated Museums in Belgium, France and the UK, and has taken part in ANZAC services in NZ, the UK, Australia, Belgium and France. He has also visited the Normandy beaches and other Second World War battle sites, museums and war cemeteries in France, Italy and Crete. He has made a personal pilgrimage to visit the graves of his great uncle and uncle killed in these global conflicts.

Ken is a founding Board Member of the Passchendaele Society and was the Commemorations Director from its inception until 2017. He is still actively involved in assisting with the Society’s annual commemoration and has considerable involvement in Clubs, and with various military and associated music organisations.

Many members of Joe’s family went to both world wars. With his partner Karen he has traveled the battlefields of Europe and spent some time at Passchendaele. He says all the men and women who fought in these battles must be remembered so their sacrifice was not in vain. Joe is vice-president of the 28 Maori Battalion Association, Auckland.

Karen’s interest in the Passchendaele Society stems from her grandfather’s older twin brothers both going to WW1. One, Thomas Morris, was killed at the Battle of Broodseinde on 4 October 1917 and buried at Nine Elms British Cemetery; the other, James Morris, survived the war and returned home. Karen wants to ensure our soldiers are never forgotten - her membership of the Society contributes to that effort. She is also very involved with WW2 associations.

Description goes hereGlyn, the Society’s historical advisor, is Professor of War Studies at Massey University and was the director of its Centre for Defence and Security Studies for eight years. He is General Editor of the Centenary History of New Zealand and the First World War.
A former teacher, Glyn joined the Australian army in 1988 and after eight years transferred to the New Zealand army where he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was the army’s official historian of the deployment to East Timor. He is the author of 19 books, many of which have received best seller status. Most relevant to the Society are “Massacre at Passchendaele: The New Zealand Story”, “Spring Offensive: New Zealand and the Second Battle of the Somme”, “Dark Journey”, “Letters from Gallipoli: New Zealand Soldiers Write Home”, “Le Quesnoy: The Story of the Town New Zealanders Saved” – (a children’s book); and his latest book “For King and Other Countries”.