Five Years And 359 Days With The 2nd NZ Division

In her book ‘Eddie Norman and 25 Battalion’, Elizabeth Kay covers the journey of 2 NZ Division as it fought its way across North Africa and through Italy. Using letters written by her father, Sir Edward Norman, and extensive further research, it tells a personal story in the wider context of WWII.

A human story that needed to be told
Elizabeth Kay began researching the story of her father, Sir Edward Norman, and 25 Battalion after attending some of the battalion’s final gatherings. Reading Eddie’s war-time letters to her mother, Margaret, Elizabeth recognised a human story that needed to be told. Her book, ‘Eddie Norman and 25 Battalion’ (Cuba Press, 2019) covers the journey of 2 NZ Division as it fought its way across North Africa and through Italy.

Using Eddie’s letters and extensive further research, it tells a personal story in the wider context of WWII. Elizabeth’s talk will have a particular focus on how and why she traced her father’s war story.

Sir Edward Kinsella Norman went on to be Bishop of Wellington.

Eddie Norman and 25 Battalion — book on The Cuba Press website

Friends of the Turnbull

About the speaker
Elizabeth is a well-known Wellington resident, with a Post Graduate Diploma in Art and Architecture from Victoria University of Wellington, where she taught History of Architecture for over a decade. Her enthusiasm for the city, its arts and culture led to establishing and co-ordinating a long-running community restoration project in Brooklyn, helping run community arts festival Arts Encompassing for ten years, and serving on the Friends of Te Papa Executive Committee, since 2015 as President.

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