Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals marks centenary with Princess Royal

Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals, Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, unveils the painting at an event in Wellington. Photo / Supplied

The Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals (RNZSigs) celebrated its centenary this month with its Colonel-in-Chief Princess Anne flying in to New Zealand for the event.

The Princess Royal was originally scheduled to attend a formal event at the corps’ home base, Linton Military Camp, before Cyclone Gabrielle and the NZ Army’s involvement in the resultant emergency response meant the event had to be scaled back.

Instead, the Princess Royal travelled to Wellington where she attended a reception at Government House, meeting members of the corps and presenting a corps painting.

The artwork was painted by Captain (retired) Matt Gauldie and was designed to depict a snapshot in time of the corps, the diversity of missions, equipment and most importantly of the people who make up the corps.

Colonel Kate Lee, Regimental Colonel of RNZSigs, said it was a “once in a lifetime opportunity” to have the Princess Royal present for the 100-year anniversary reception.

“It is a privilege to have our Colonel-in-Chief in New Zealand to commemorate and connect with past and present members of the Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals and acknowledge the importance of signallers within operations for a century.”

She said while it was disappointing to have to scale back the original event, duty came first for the corps.

“While it’s disappointing to not be able to celebrate in Linton with the corps past and present and their families, our first role is protecting and looking after the well-being of New Zealanders and that is what we’ve been doing across the country.”

This wasn’t the first time plans had been changed for marking the centenary of the corps. The anniversary year of when the corps was formed was originally to be marked in March 2020, but the global Covid-19 pandemic and the New Zealand Army’s 175th-anniversary commemorations meant the anniversary date was pushed out.

Much has changed since the corps was first formed, but the relevance of the corps hasn’t, said Colonel Lee.

“Since our inception, the corps has provided the means for information to flow around the battlefield and allowed commanders to command. Signallers pride themselves on their ability to adapt, improvise and innovate, especially as their role increasingly requires their people to keep pace with technology. That is something the New Zealand Army is doing and will do for the next 100 years.”

The New Zealand Corps of Signals was established on June 1, 1921, and by the time of World War II there were nine signal units operating. In 1945, J-Force Signal Company was sent to Japan as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. In July 1947 King George VI gave the Royal prefix to the unit and it became the Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals.

One of the most famous members of the corps was Lieutenant Colonel Cyril Basset, the only soldier serving with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force to have been awarded the Victoria Cross in the Gallipoli Campaign of WWI. Basset’s Victoria Cross was gifted to the corps after his death and is now on display at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.