During 2022 the museum hosted the mini-exhibition Neptune Calling to commemorate the sinking of HMS Neptune in December 1941. The exhibition revealed the recorded greetings of 50 of the New Zealanders serving in HMS Neptune during the Second World War. The recordings were made whilst the ship was in port at Alexandria, Egypt on November 13, 1941.
The recordings of the sailors sending greetings to loved ones back home in New Zealand were made by broadcaster Arch Curry as part of a regular radio programme, ‘With the boys overseas’. The recordings were never broadcast. As tragically, 36 days later HMS Neptune struck 4 mines off the coast of Tripoli, Libya and sunk with the loss of 764 men including 150 New Zealanders. Only one man a Royal Navy sailor, Norman Walton survived he died 20 April, 2005.
Listen to one of the recordings from HMS Neptune on Ngᾱ Taonga Sound & Vision’s website.
Acknowledgements:
Thank you to Radio New Zealand and Ngᾱ Taonga Sound & Vision
Margaret Woollett Calligraphy Artist
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