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| Returned and Services' Association | |
|---|---|
| Name | Returned and Services' Association |
| Founded | 1916 |
| Headquarters | Wellington, New Zealand |
| Type | Veterans' organisation |
| Region served | New Zealand |
| Membership | Ex-service personnel, volunteers |
Returned and Services' Association
The Returned and Services' Association is a New Zealand veterans' organization founded during World War I that provides advocacy, welfare, commemoration and community services for former and current members of the New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, and Royal New Zealand Air Force. It maintains a nationwide branch network, conducts the annual Poppy Day fundraising campaign, and participates in national commemorations such as ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day. The association engages with institutions including the New Zealand Defence Force, the New Zealand Parliament, the Department of Veterans' Affairs (Australia) (for comparative liaison), and international bodies like the Royal British Legion and Veterans Affairs Canada.
Formed in 1916 amid the Battle of the Somme and the wider context of World War I, the association drew early members from returned soldiers of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force and personnel who served at campaigns such as Gallipoli and the Western Front (World War I). Interwar activities connected it to memorial projects like those inspired by John S. Conway and civic initiatives after the Treaty of Versailles. During World War II the association expanded as veterans from the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force and servicemen who fought in the Pacific War and the North African campaign joined. Postwar eras saw the association interact with veterans of the Korean War, Malayan Emergency, Vietnam War, and peacekeeping missions under United Nations mandates, shaping welfare responses similar to reforms influenced by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation model and veterans' policy debates in the Commonwealth of Nations.
The national body in Wellington oversees provincial councils and hundreds of community branches located from Auckland to Invercargill. Membership historically required prior service in the New Zealand Defence Force or allied forces such as the Australian Defence Force and the British Armed Forces, with categories for life members, associate members, and patrons including notable figures like governors-general and MPs from parties including the New Zealand Labour Party and the New Zealand National Party. Governance structures mirror models used by the Legion of Frontiersmen and the Royal Naval Association, with elected presidents, secretaries, and trustees interfacing with agencies such as the Ministry of Social Development on pension and housing matters.
Branches host welfare casework, advice on entitlements like those administered by New Zealand Defence Force transition teams, and support for issues connected to health services at facilities such as Middlemore Hospital and veterans' units associated with Auckland District Health Board. The association runs rehabilitation programs, offers peer support similar to initiatives by Headspace and Beyond Blue for mental health, and coordinates employment assistance in partnership with regional employers and vocational providers like Careerforce. It participates in remembrance education with schools, museums such as the Auckland War Memorial Museum and the Wellington Museum, and archival projects connected to the Alexander Turnbull Library and Archives New Zealand.
The annual Poppy Appeal funds welfare services and is synchronized with national observances including ANZAC Day and services at memorials like the Auckland War Memorial and the National War Memorial (Wellington). The appeal's poppy symbol reflects traditions from Flanders Fields and poetry of John McCrae, coordinated with partners such as the Royal British Legion and civic councils in cities including Christchurch, Dunedin, and Hamilton, New Zealand. The association arranges cenotaph services, participates in parliamentary moments of silence at Parliament of New Zealand, and supports international commemorations linked to memorial events in Gallipoli and battlefields in France and Belgium.
The association lobbies for veterans' entitlements before bodies like the New Zealand Parliament and engages with legislation influenced by cases heard in courts such as the High Court of New Zealand on matters of compensation and administrative review. It advocates for health policy reforms concerning conditions recognized by agencies equivalent to Veterans Affairs New Zealand and campaigns on housing, employment, and disability support, coordinating with unions like the Public Service Association and NGOs including Red Cross and Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association-aligned community partners. The association also submits policy positions on defence force transition, rehabilitation funding, and commemoration funding to ministers from cabinets led by prime ministers such as Keith Holyoake, Helen Clark, and Jacinda Ardern.
Local clubs and halls serve as meeting places, memorial galleries, and service centres in towns and cities including Whangarei, Rotorua, Palmerston North, and Queenstown. Some branches operate rest homes and retirement facilities modeled after aged-care standards overseen by the Ministry of Health and influenced by providers like Ryman Healthcare. Heritage clubrooms often contain honour rolls, regimental colours, and collections linked to units such as the NZSAS and infantry regiments like the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment, preserved with assistance from museums and volunteer archivists.
Leadership has included former servicemen and public figures who served in conflicts from World War I to recent deployments, as well as patrons from viceregal offices such as the Governor-General of New Zealand. Prominent veterans associated through membership or branch leadership have included MPs and ministers like Bill English, Sir Peter Tapsell, and community leaders who served in units such as the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force and airborne formations. The association’s interactions extend to international veterans' leaders from organisations including the Royal British Legion and advocacy counterparts in Australia and Canada.
Category:Veterans' organizations in New Zealand