George Cross

The small seaside township of Aramoana, near Dunedin, was the scene of what was then the deadliest mass murder in New Zealand history.

Sergeant Murray Hudson died attempting to save the life of another soldier during a live grenade training exercise at Waiōuru military camp.

After more than a year on the run in northern Italy, escaped New Zealand prisoner of war David Russell was recaptured and executed. His courage in the face of death earned him the first George Cross awarded to a member of New Zealand’s military.