This section of the website contains the older archival and heritage material housed in the ECMC Library, which has been scanned, digitised and post-processed to enable easy access for research and resource purposes. Items are listed by chronological topic with the eldest first and leading towards the present day, by title in alphabetical order. The information being provided is for public access and consumption/use and in PDF format. An index is provided covering the range of material available.
Rather than duplicate the heritage and history records and material from other national engineer organisations, such as the RAE, RCE, RE, USACE, etc, go to our LINKS page, access these organisations and scan/see what they have to offer. We only want to make digital copies of our ECMC library and museum holdings, materials and resources, on our website.
We’re regularly adding to this collection. Come back soon and see what’s new.
NB: This site works best in Chrome or Firefox web browsers. Oversized pages (eg plates) for each book will be scanned at a later date. If you wish to see the plates, please email ecmc@inspire.net.nz
The New Zealand Electronic Text Collection (NZETC)
Many relevant works are also available via the New Zealand Electronic Text Collection (NZETC), from Victoria, University of Wellington, particularly the New Zealand History section which includes digitised histories of the New Zealand Wars, World War One and World War Two. For convenience some works have been listed below and link back the NZETC. Please note: hard copies of the linked books are held in the ECMC Library.
Audio Heritage
A page of audio-visual heritage material.
Eighteenth Century
Germany and France: a Popular History of the Franco-German War Vol 1 (1870) Link to Google Books
Germany and France: a Popular History of the Franco-German War Vol 2 (1870) Link to Internet Archive
The Life of Arthur, Duke of Wellington (1873) Link to Google Books
The Wars of Marlborough 1702-1709 Vol 1 (1921) Link to Internet Archive
The Wars of Marlborough 1702-1709 Vol 2 (1921) Link to Internet Archive
Nineteenth Century
Fights for the Flag (1898) Link to Google Books (Also this link via the Internet Archive)
The Great Tab Dope (1915) Link via the Internet Archive
The History and Records of Queen Victoria’s Rifles 1792-1922
In the Ranks of the C.I.V. (1900) (Link to Gutenberg books)
Khartoum Campaign 1898 or Re-conquest of the Soudan (1899) Link to Gutenberg Books
King of the Khyber Rifles (1916) Link to Gutenberg Books
Life in Early Poverty Bay (1927)
With Gordon at Khartum – Eliza F. Pollard (1906)
The New Zealand Wars: A History of the Maori Campaigns and the Pioneering Period: Volume I (1845–64) (Link to VUW Digital Collections)
The New Zealand Wars: A History of the Maori Campaigns and the Pioneering Period: Volume II: The Hauhau Wars, (1864–72) (Link to VUW Digital Collections)
Royal Indian Engineering College Coopers Hill Calendar 1894-95
Small Wars: Their principles and practice (1906) [Link to html fulltext]
The Tale of the Great Mutiny (1901) Link to Internet Archive
Wellington’s Men: Some soldier autobiographies (1900) Link to Internet Archive
Chitral: The Story of a Minor Siege (1899)
Roll of Honour 1840-1902 (1902)
A Sketch of the New Zealand War (Link to VUW Digital Collections)
Soldiering in New Zealand (1916) (Link to University of Auckland Digital Collections)
Such Things Were: the story of Cambridge (1939)
With the Lost Legion in New Zealand (Link to VUW Digital Collections)
The life of Hodson of Hodson’s horse (1912) (Link to Indian Culture site)
Kings Regulations and Orders 1912
Defenders of New Zealand (1887) (Link to Early New Zealand Books, University of Auckland) also version on the Internet Archive
The Journals of Major-Gen. C.G. Gordon, C.B., at Kartoum (1885) (Link to Internet Archive)
The Book of the Thin Red Line (1915)
Papers on Subjects Connected with the Duties of the Corps of Royal Engineers (1856)
- Vol 1 (1837)
- Vol 2 (1838)
- Vol 3 (1839)
- Vol 4 (1840)
- Vol 5 (1856)
- Vol 6 (1843)
- Vol 7 (1858)
- Vol 8 (1859)
- Vol 9 (1847)
- Vol 10 (1849)
Papers on Subjects Connected with the Duties of the Corps of Royal Engineers New Series (1859)
- Vol 1 (NS) (1851)
- Vol 2 (NS) (1852)
- Vol 3 (NS) (1853) Paper 2 “Remarks on the Military Operations in NZ” by Capt. Collinson, Royal Engineers Bay of Islands Map
- Vol 4 (NS) (1855)
- Vol 5 (NS) (1856)
- Vol 6 (NS) (1857)
- Vol 7 (NS) (1858)
- Vol 8 (NS) (1859)
- Vol 9 (NS) (1860)
- Vol 10 (NS) (1861)
- Vol 11 (NS) (1862)
- Vol 12 (NS) (1863)
- Vol 13 (NS) (1864)
- Vol 14 (NS) (1865)
- Vol 15 (NS) (1866)
- Vol 16 (NS) (1868)
- Vol 17 (NS) (1869) (Extracted: Paper 3 NZ Land Wars Report, 1861) Plates for Paper 3 (9) PDF
Plates for NZ Land Wars Report: Plate 1; Plate 2; Plate 3; Plate 4; Plate 5; Plate 6; Plate 7; Plate 8; Plate 9;
- Vol 18 (NS) (1870)
- Vol 19 (NS) (1871)
- Vol 20 (NS) (1872)
- Vol 21 (NS) (1873)
- Vol 22 (NS) (1874)
- Vol 23 (NS) (1876)
Professional Papers of the Corps of Royal Engineers. Royal Engineer Institute Occasional Papers
- Vol 1 (1877)
- Vol 2 (1878)
- Vol 3 (1879)
- Vol 4 (1880)
- Vol 5 (1880)
- Vol 6 (1881)
- Vol 7 (1882)
- Vol 8 (1882)
- Vol 9 (1883)
- Vol 10 (1884)
- Vol 11 (1885)
- Vol 12 (1886)
- Vol 13 (1887)
- Vol 14 (1888)
- Vol 15 (1889)
- Vol 16 (1890)
- Vol 17 (1891)
- Vol 18 (1892)
- Vol 19 (1893)
- Vol 20 (1894)
- Vol 21 (1895)
- Vol 22 (1896)
- Vol 23 (1897)
- Vol 24 (1898)
- Vol 25 (1899)
- Vol 26 (1900)
- Vol 27 (1901)
- Vol 28 (1902)
- Vol 29 (1903)
- Vol 30 (1904)
Professional Papers of the Corps of Royal Engineers. Royal Engineer Institute Foreign Translation Series
- Vol 1 Paper 1 (1895)
- Vol 1 Paper 2 (1896)
- Vol 1 Paper 3 (1896)
- Vol 1 Paper 4 (1897)
- Vol 1 Paper 5 (1897)
- Vol 1 Paper 6 (1899)
- Vol 1 Paper 7 (1901)
Professional Papers of the Corps of Royal Engineers. Royal Engineer Institute Fourth Series
History of the Corps of Royal Engineers
The Royal Engineers Journal
1905 – 1920
View Journals 1905 - 19201905 January 1905 February 1905 March 1905 April 1905 May 1905 June 1905 July 1905 August 1905 September 1905 October 1905 November 1905 December
1906 January 1906 February 1906 March 1906 April 1906 May 1906 June 1906 July 1906 August 1906 September 1906 October 1906 November 1906 December
1907 January ;1907 February 1907 March 1907 April 1907 May 1907 June 1907 July 1907 August 1907 September 1907 October 1907 November 1907 December
1908 April 1908 August 1908 December 1908 February 1908 January 1908 July 1908 June 1908 March 1908 May 1908 November 1908 October 1908 September 1909 April 1909 August 1909 December 1909 February 1909 January 1909 July 1909 June 1909 March 1909 May 1909 November 1909 October 1909 September 1910 April 1910 August 1910 December 1910 February 1910 January 1910 July 1910 June 1910 March 1910 May 1910 November 1910 October 1910 September 1911 April 1911 August 1911 December 1911 February 1911 January 1911 July 1911 June 1911 March 1911 May 1911 November 1911 October 1911 September 1912 April 1912 August 1912 December 1912 February 1912 January 1912 July 1912 June 1912 March 1912 November 1912 October 1912 September 1913 April 1913 August 1913 December 1913 February 1913 January 1913 July 1913 June 1913 March 1913 May 1913 November 1913 October 1913 September 1914 April 1914 December 1914 February 1914 January 1914 July 1914 June 1914 March 1914 May 1914 November 1914 October 1914 September
1915 April 1915 August 1915 December 1915 February 1915 January 1915 July 1915 June 1915 March 1915 May 1915 November 1915 October 1915 September 1916 April 1916 August 1916 December 1916 February 1916 January 1916 July 1916 June 1916 March 1916 May 1916 November 1916 October 1916 September 1917 April 1917 August 1917 December 1917 February 1917 January 1917 July 1917 June 1917 March 1917 May 1917 November 1917 October 1917 September 1918 April 1918 Aug 1918 December 1918 February 1918 January 1918 July 1918 June 1918 March 1918 May 1918 October 1918 September 1919 April 1919 August 1919 December 1919 February 1919 January 1919 July 1919 June 1919 March 1919 May 1919 November 1919 October 1919 September 1920 April 1920 August 1920 December 1920 February 1920 January 1920 July 1920 June 1920 March 1920 May 1920 November 1920 October 1920 September
1921 – 1938
View Journals 1921 - 19381921 September 1921 October 1921 November 1921 May 1921 March 1921 June 1921 July 1921 January 1921 February 1921 December 1921 August 1921 April
1922 September 1922 October 1922 Nov 1922 May 1922 March 1922 June 1922 July 1922 January 1922 February 1922 December 1922 August 1922 April
1923 September 1923 March 1923 June 1923 December
1924 September 1924 March 1924 June 1924 December
1925 September 1925 March 1925 June 1925 December
1926 September 1926 March 1926 June 1926 December
1927 September 1927 March 1927 June 1927 December
1928 September 1928 March 1928 June 1928 December
1929 September 1929 March 1929 June 1929 December
1930 September 1930 March 1930 June 1930 December
1931 September 1931 March 1931 June 1931 December
1932 September 1932 March 1932 June 1932 December
1933 September 1933 March 1933 June 1933 December
1934 September 1934 March 1934 June 1934 December
1935 September 1935 March 1935 June 1935 December
1936 September 1936 March 1936 June 1936 December
1937 September 1937 March 1937 June 1937 December
1939 – 1959
View Journals 1939 - 19591939 December 1939 June 1939 March 1939 September 1940 December 1940 June 1940 March 1940 September 1941 December 1941 June 1941 March 1941 September 1942 December 1942 June 1942 March 1942 September 1943 December 1943 June 1943 March 1943 September 1944 December 1944 June 1944 March 1944 September 1945 December 1945 June 1945 March 1945 September 1946 December 1946 June 1946 March 1946 September 1947 December 1947 June 1947 March 1947 September 1948 December 1948 June 1948 March 1948 September 1949 December 1949 June 1949 March 1949 September 1950 December 1950 June 1950 March 1950 September 1951 December 1951 June 1951 March 1951 September 1952 December 1952 June 1952 March 1952 September 1953 December 1953 June 1953 March 1953 September 1954 December 1954 June 1954 March 1954 September 1955 December 1955 June 1955 March 1955 September 1956 December 1956 June 1956 March 1956 September 1957 December 1957 June 1957 March 1957 September 1958 December 1958 June 1958 March 1958 September 1959 December 1959 June 1959 March 1959 September
1960 – 1989
View Journals 1960 - 19891960 December 1960 June 1960 March 1960 September 1961 December 1961 June 1961 March 1961 September 1962 December 1962 June 1962 March 1962 September 1963 December 1963 June 1963 March 1963 September 1964 December 1964 June 1964 March 1964 September 1965 December 1965 June 1965 March 1965 September 1966 December 1966 June 1966 March 1966 September 1967 December 1967 June 1967 March 1967 September 1968 December 1968 June 1968 March 1968 September 1969 December 1969 June 1969 March 1969 September 1970 December 1970 June 1970 March 1970 September 1971 December 1971 June 1971 March 1971 September 1972 December 1972 June 1972 March 1972 September 1973 December 1973 June 1973 March 1973 September 1974 December 1974 June 1974 March 1974 September
1975 December 1975 June 1975 March 1975 September 1976 December 1976 June 1976 March 1976 September 1977 December 1977 June 1977 March 1977 September 1978 December 1978 June 1978 March 1978 September 1979 December 1979 June 1979 March 1979 September 1980 December 1980 June 1980 March 1980 September 1981 December 1981 June 1981 March 1981 September 1982 December 1982 June 1982 March 1982 September 1983 December 1983 June 1983 March 1983 September 1984 December 1984 June 1984 March 1984 September 1985 December 1985 June 1985 March 1985 September 1986 December 1986 June 1986 March 1986 September 1987 December 1987 June 1987 March 1987 September 1988 April 1988 August 1988 December 1989 April 1989 August 1989 December
1990 – 2005
View Journals 1990 - 20051990 April 1990 August 1990 December 1991 April 1991 August 1991 December 1992 April 1992 August 1992 December 1993 April 1993 August 1993 December 1994 April 1994 August 1994 December 1995 April 1995 August 1995 December 1996 April 1996 August 1996 December 1997 April 1997 August 1997 December 1998 April 1998 August 1998 December 1999 April 1999 August 1999 December 2000 April 2000 August 2000 December 2001 April 2001 August 2001 December 2002 April 2002 August 2002 December 2003 April 2003 August 2003 December 2004 April 2004 August 2004 December 2005 April 2005 August 2005 December
Military Engineering
Elementary Course of Field and Permanent Fortification and of the Attack of Fortresses (1866)
Engineer Training Vol.2 (1926)
Etiquette and Customs of the Service (1910)
Field Service Pocket Book (1914)
Field Service Pocket Book (1932)
General Regulations of the Defence Forces of New Zealand (1906)
Handbook of Field Engineer Volunteers (1909)
Handbook for Military Artificers (1915)
Indian Sappers and Miners (1948)
Learning Service Achievement: Fifty years of engineering in New Zealand (1971)
Manual of Field Engineering (1911)
Manual of Field Works (All Arms) (1921)
Manual of Field Works (All Arms) (1925)
Manual of Map Reading, Photo Reading and Field Sketching (1929)
Manual of Military Engineering (1905)
Manual of Submarine Mining Part 2 (1891)
Military Electrical Lighting Vol.2 (1915)
Military Engineering (Part 2) Attack and defence of fortresses (1896)
Military Engineering Electrical Engineering (1931)
Military Engineering (Part 1) Field Defences (1908)
Military Engineering Vol.3 Bridging (1921)
Military Engineering Vol.3B Bridging (1914)
Military Engineering (Vol.4) Demolitions and Mining (1923)
Military Engineering Mining and Demolition Part 4 (1910)
Military Engineering Vol.5 Roads (1922)
Military Engineering (Vol.6) Water Supply (1922)
New Zealand Tunnelling Company (1922)
Permanent Fortifications (1911)
Railway Works in connection with an Army in the Field (1872)
Regulations for Engineer Services – Peace Vol.1 (1911)
Regulations for Engineer Services – Peace Vol.2 (1911)
Regulations (Provisional) for the Military Forces of the Dominion of New Zealand (1911)
Textbook on Fortifications etc (1884)
Treatise on Ammunition (1915) 10th Edition (Link to Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (RNZAOC) site)
Boer War
British Commanders of the Transvaal War 1899-1900 (n.d.)
The Great Boer War by Arthur Conan Doyle (1900) (link to Gutenberg Books)
Jan Christian Smuts (1952) Link to Internet Archive
Lost Legionary in South Africa (1912)
The New Zealanders in South Africa 1899-1902 (1949)
One of the Fighting Scouts (n.d.)
Early 20th Century
Before the Lamps went out (1945) Link to Internet Archive
NZE Company Orders 16 Dec 1897 – 24 Dec 1907
Logbook of Submarine Mining Vessel, Lady Roberts, 01 Sept 1907
Pay Register NZ Permanent Force, 1901-1903
The Tide at Sunrise: A History of the Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905 (1974) Link to Internet Archive
World War One
ANZAC: A Retrospective (1956) [Link to free site upon subscription]
The Auckland Regiment (1922) (Link to VUW Digital Collections)
August 1914 (1962) Link to Internet Archive
A Brief Record of the Advance of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force July 1917 to October 1918 (1919)
The British Campaign in France and Flanders 1914
The British Campaign in France and Flanders 1915
The British Campaign in France and Flanders 1916
The British Campaign in France and Flanders 1917
The British Campaign in France and Flanders 1918 January – July
The British Campaign in France and Flanders 1918 July – November
A Child’s History of ANZAC (1916)
Camps tramps and trenches (1939)
Canadian Front in France and Flanders (1920)
Chronicles of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force 1916
Chronicles of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force Jan – May 1917
Chronicles of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force May – Dec 1917
Chronicles of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force Jan – May 1918
Chronicles of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force Jun 1918 – Jan 1919
Featherston Military Camp (1917)
Forgotten Voices of the Great War (2002) Link to Internet Archive
Historic Trentham 1914-1917 (1918)
The History of the Canterbury Regiment, N.Z.E.F. 1914-1919 (1921) (Link to VUW Digital Collections)
The King’s Pilgrimmage (1922) Includes contemporary newspaper articles. (See also Gutenberg file)
Light and Shade in War [Partial free access via Google Ebooks]
The Man with the Donkey (1965)
The Mounted Riflemen in Sinai and Palestine (1920?) (Link to VUW Digital Collections)
New Zealand Artillery in the Field (1922) [Link to VUW Collections]
New Zealand at Gallipoli (1919)
New Zealand at the Front (1917)
New Zealand at the Front (1918)
The New Zealand Division 1916-1919 : A popular history based on official records (1921)
(See also The New Zealand Division 1916 – 1919: A Popular History based on Official Records from VUW Digital Collections)
The New Zealand Hospital Ship “Maheno” The First Voyage July, 1915, to January 1916 (1916)
New Zealanders in Samoa (1914)
The New Zealand Medical Service in the Great War 1914-1918 (1924) (Link to VUW Digital Collections)
Official History of the New Zealand Engineers During the Great War 1914-1919 (Link to VUW Digital Collections)
Official History of the Otago Regiment in the Great War 1914-1918 (1921) (Link to VUW Digital Collections)
The Official War History of the Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment (1924) (Link to VUW Digital Collections)
Recollections of an Amateur Soldier (1936)
Regimental History of New Zealand Cyclist Corps in the Great War 1914-1918 (1922)
Report on Survey on the Western Front 1914-1918 (1920)
Samoa NZ Expeditionary Force 1914-15
The Silent Division: New Zealanders at the Front, 1914-1919 (1935) (Link to VUW Digital Collections)
Soldiering in New Zealand (1916) (Link to VUW Digital Collections)
Some War Diaries, Addresses and Correspondence of the Earl of Ypres (1937)
The Story of Two Campaigns: Official War History of the Auckland mounted Rifles Regiment, 1914-1919 (1921) (Link to VUW Digital Collections)
The Tale of a Trooper (Link to Project Gutenberg]
Tales of Three Campaigns (1926)
The Triumph of Unarmed Forces 1914-1918 (1923) Link to Internet Archive
The Voyage of His Majesty’s New Zealand Hospital Ships “Marama” and “Maheno” (1918)
The War Effort of New Zealand (Link to VUW Digital Collections)
With Machine Gunners in France and Palestine (Link to VUW Digital Collections)
With Morse and Horse in Mesopotamia (1927)
(higher resolution files for this content below)
pages 1-70; pages 71-132 ; pages 133-206
With the ANZACS in Cairo: The tale of a great fight (1917?) (Link to HathiTrust)
The Work of the Royal Engineers in the European War, 1914-1919. Bridging (1921)
The Work of the Royal Engineers in the European War, 1914-1919. Military Mining (1922)
Three years with the New Zealanders [n.d.] (link to online html version)
World War Two
Auchinleck: A critical biography (1959)
Blamey: the Biography of Field-Marshall Sir Thomas Blamey (1954)
The Business of War: The War Narrative of Major-General Sir John Kennedy (1957) Link to Internet Archive
Calculated Risk [General Mark Clark] (1951) Link to Internet Archive
Ciano’s Diplomatic Papers (1948) Link to Internet Archive
The Coast Watchers (1946) Link to Internet Archive
Crete (1953) Link to VUW/NZETC
Diamond Trails of Italy (1945)
Gateway to Florence: New Zealand Forces in Tuscany (2011)
The Indian Engineers 1939-1947 (1956)
Infantry Brigadier (1949) (Link to VUW Digital Collections)
Kiwi Trooper: The story of Queen Alexandra’s Own (1967)
Kiwis on Tour in Egypt and Italy (n.d.]
Maps and Survey (The Second World War 1939-1945 Army) (1952)
The Memoirs of Field-Marshal the Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (1958) Link to Internet Archive
Ministry of Public Works Vol. One
Ministry of Public Works Vol. Two
Ministry of Public Works Vol. Three
Ministry of Public Works Vol. Four
New Zealand Engineers: Middle East ( 1961) File 1 ; New Zealand Engineers: Middle East ( 1961) File 2 (Due to size, this book has been broken into two files)
Official War History of the Aerodrome Service 1939-1945
Old Men Forget: The Autobiography of Duff Cooper (1954) (Link to Internet Archive)
The Pacific (1952) File 1 ; The Pacific (1952) File 2 (Due to size, this book has been broken into two files)
Sappers Diary 1941-1944 (2005?)
A Soldier’s Story of the Allied Campaigns from Tunis to Elba (1951)
Tito Speaks (1955) [Irregular pagination: missing pages 145-160 from publication]
To Greece (1959) Link to VUW/NZETC
Turn of the Tide : Based on the War Diaries of Field Marshal Viscount Alanbrooke (1957) (Link to Internet Archive)
Triumph in the West : Completing the War Diaries of Field Marshal Viscount Alanbrooke (1957) (Link to Internet Archive)
Unofficial History – Field-Marshal Sir William Slim
Wavell Portrait of a Soldier (1961)
Nominal Embarkation Roll
Nominal Roll Second NZ Expeditionary Force Embarkations to 31 March 1940
Nominal Roll 2 Second NZ Expeditionary Force to 30 June 1940
Nominal Roll 3 1 July 1940 to 31 March 1941
Nominal Roll 4 1 April 1941 to 30 June 1941
Nominal Roll 5 1 Oct 1941 to 31 Dec 1941
Nominal Roll 6 Second NZ Expeditionary Force 1 July 1941 to 30 Sept 1941
Nominal Roll 7 1 Jan 1942 to 31 March 1942
Nominal Roll 8 Second NZ Expeditionary Force 1 April 1942 to 30 June 1942
Nominal Roll 9 1 July 1942 to 31 Dec 1942
Nominal Roll 10 1 Jan 1943 to 31 March 1943
Nominal Roll 11 Second NZ Expeditionary Force 1 April 1943 to 30 June 1943
Nominal Roll 12 1 July 1943 to 31 Dec 1943
Nominal Roll 13 1 Jan 1944 to 31 March 1944
Nominal Roll 14 1 April 1944 to 31 Dec 1944
Nominal Roll 15 1 Jan 1945 to 31 Dec 1945
Nominal Roll 16 1 Jan 1946 to 30 June 1948
Post WW2
ATG Plant Team Unit History 1987-1990
Centenary of the Institution of Royal Engineers 1975
Coral Reef report Tokelau 1985
Corps of Royal Engineers (1951) (A brief history for recruits – a background to the Corps of RE and its heritage)
Cyclone Namu Solomon Islands 1986
Korea : the Limited War (1970)
Korean War : A 25 Year Perspective (1977)
NZ Moscow Embassy Refurbishment Stage IV
NZ Works Services Unit Singapore – Unit History Sheets Mar 1979-Dec 1988
NZ Works Services Unit Singapore – Unit History Sheets Jan 1989-Sept 1989
The Royal Engineers Journal Vol. 72 No.4 (Dec 1958)
Royal Engineers: Trade and Travel (n.d.)
SME Unit History Sheet, March 1985 to May 1990
Soldiers and Soldiering (1953)
The Trumpet in the Hall (1970)
Unit History Sheets Feb 1977 – July 1985
War Since 1945 (1981) Link to Internet Archive
RNZE Liaison Letters
Sappers Association (NZ) Inc.
The Sappers Association (N.Z.) Inc. – Your History 1960-1985 Your Heritage – Seymour J. Jack
Local History
Linton (1989) Reproduced here with kind permission from the Lauridsen Family
ECM Association
Minutes of the ECM Assn 1966-1979