More than 100 army soldiers took part in a historic parade in Canterbury on Thursday as the 2nd/1st battalion of the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment received new King's and Regimental Colours. Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro presented the Colours (ceremonial flags) on behalf of King Charles at the Burnham Military Camp. It was the first time the flags had been presented to any New Zealand Army unit since 1997.
2/1 RNZIR Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Sam Smith said it was a significant honour for the battalion, the army and Aotearoa. "This day is marked as well by an incredibly important aspect that we are getting eight new battle honours emblazoned onto our Colours from our military history which has not been done for these units before. "Today we are getting battle honours from the New Zealand Māori Contingent, the New Zealand Māori (Pioneer) Battalion, 28 (Māori) Battalion and 27 (Machine Gun) Battalion," he said.
Smith said the Colours reflected the army's lineage and history. "Colours in history were the rallying point for a unit or a battalion. So they would go into battle marched in by a junior officer and the battalion would form and work around them to fight against the enemy, so incredibly precious and sacred items at the time.
"As time progressed they started deploying them to the field and in operations less and less until they became very much a regimental thing. But the battalions and the units themselves still went and fought overseas and in w.
