From our Reading Room

Wing Commander Maurice Conly was the first and only official artist appointed by the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) and we hold much of his work in our collection. “Send for the Artist…” is his story, as narrated to and written by Squadron Leader Paul Harrison, RNZAF. “Send for the Artist…” Maurice Conly: 54…

In the latest From the Reading Room blog, join us for a behind the scenes look at the Air Force Museum’s research facility, learn about its history, and find out how our archive is used by staff and researchers alike.   Holding what is probably the largest collection of First World War aviation books in…

This year’s 125th anniversary of women’s suffrage in Aotearoa has got us thinking about the influence gender equality has had on women serving in the New Zealand Armed Forces. Louisa Hormann of the Research Team discusses Women at War by D.O.W. Hall, and military roles for women in wartime New Zealand. New Zealand in the…

“I Would Not Step Back…” by Hilary Pedersen et al., Phil Lamason Heritage Centre Trust (Dannevirke) 2017. ‘The wagon was jammed with 96 men, a number which,  in the height of summer, and the only ventilation about a 2sq foot window, appeared disastrous. But I managed to exert some authority, and like a chess board…

The Flyer: British Culture and the Royal Air Force 1939–1945 by Martin Francis, Oxford University Press (New York) 2008. Re-reading the RAF: cultural imaginings of the flyer The flyer – dashing youth, fortune hunter, chivalrous adventurer, city destroyer and defender. Given the popular appeal and significant wartime role of the RAF flyer between 1939 and…