Part three – Australian and New Zealand units
Based on the information obtained, the Swedes who chose to fight for the German and French sides did so as volunteers, although there were Swedes who also voluntarily joined the Canadian, Australian and New Zealand forces, as Australia didn’t have conscription at that time, and New Zealand first initiated the Military Service Act in August 1916.
New Zealand Compulsory military training (CMT), a form of conscription, was practised for males in New Zealand between 1909 and 1972.
Up to this date I have noted 58 Swedish born soldiers who fought and fell for the AIF and three Swedish born soldiers who fought and fell for N.Z.E.F.
They are buried and commemorated in Belgium, France and Turkey. I have not yet added those who are buried in Australia and New Zealand.
They are presented below in battalion order.
In this post I choose to present the collection of patches of the Australian Imperial Force and the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, representing the different units of the both forces. They are found at the webpage of Western Front Association and at a photostream from Flickr
(The colors in lists are just for internal notes)
Australian units
New Zealand Units
Do you want to read more about the individuals? In my first book (link in main menu) I have stories about those who are buried in Belgium. More books will follow during upcoming years.
Here is a list of the names, sorted in which battalion or other type of unit they belonged to. They are not sorted in Divisional order.
Lists of individuals
List is sorted in:
Surname and name
Cemetery
Branch
Unit
Date of Birth
Date of Death
Age when died
2nd to 13th Infantry Battalion AIF
14th to 26th Infantry Battalion AIF
27th to 45th Infantry Battalion AIF
48th to 58 Infantry Battalion AIF
Miscellaneous units AIF
New Zealand Expeditionary Force – List of Individuals
I have found that the Swedish immigrants, who served for the Australian and New Zealand forces, were mostly sailors who decided to jump ship, for whatever reason in those countries. The three Swedish soldiers who fought and fell for New Zealand emigrated together with their families.
It is really interesting to read about Swedish emigration to Australia and New Zealand. You can read about Swedish emigration to New Zealand through my article here on my blog.