Haane Manahi

Haane Te Rauawa Manahi, DCM (28 September 1913 – 29 March 1986) was a New Zealand Māori soldier during the Second World War whose gallantry during the Tunisian campaign resulted in a recommendation that he be awarded the Victoria Cross (VC).

The subsequent award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) disappointed his fellow soldiers who, after his death, advocated greater recognition of his valour.

He was born on 28 September 1913 in Ohinemutu, a village near the town of Rotorua in the North Island of New Zealand.

A Māori, he was descended from the Te Arawa and Ngāti Raukawa iwi (tribes) on his father's side, while his mother was also of the Te Arawa iwi in addition to having some Scottish heritage.

He attended local schools up to secondary school level.

After leaving school, he worked in road construction and farm labour.

He also spent time in the timber and building industries alongside his paternal uncle, Matiu Te Rauawa, who had served in the New Zealand Pioneer Battalion that had been raised for military duty during the First World War.

Shortly before he departed his home for Trentham, Manahi married Rangiawatea née Te Kiri, the mother of his son, born in 1936.

Born in Ohinemutu, New Zealand, Manahi worked as a labourer when, in November 1939, he volunteered to join the Māori Battalion, newly raised for service in the Second World War.

In November 1939, following the outbreak of the Second World War, Manahi was one of the first men to enlist in the newly formed Māori Battalion.

The battalion was composed of a headquarters company and four rifle companies, which were organised along tribal lines.

Manahi was assigned to B Company, made up largely of other men from Te Arawa.

The Māori Battalion was one of ten infantry battalions in the 2nd New Zealand Division and training commenced at Trentham Military Camp in January 1940.

In early May 1940, after Manahi and the rest of his fellow soldiers had two weeks of home leave prior to departing the country, the battalion embarked for the Middle East as part of the second echelon of the division.

While in transit, the convoy carrying the second echelon was diverted to England following the entry of Italy into the war on the side of Nazi Germany.

In England, the threat of invasion was high following the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from France.

After a short period of leave in London, the New Zealanders were engaged in further training and defensive duties, with the Māori Battalion based in Kent and then, once the threat of invasion had receded, in Aldershot.

Manahi's company was briefly separated and stationed at Waverley Abbey House in Surrey.

By late November, it had been decided that the New Zealanders could be sent to the Middle East.

In 1941, he participated in the Battle of Greece and fought in the Battle of Crete during which he was wounded.

The second echelon left for Egypt in early January 1941, with Manahi and the rest of his battalion aboard the Athlone Castle.

On 27 March 1941, Manahi's battalion, having spent two months in Egypt, arrived in Greece to assist in its defence against an anticipated German invasion.

Subordinate to the 5th Infantry Brigade, it initially took up defensive positions around Olympus Pass, and in the days following the beginning of the invasion on 6 April, rebuffed initial contact by the advancing Germans.

The battalion had to withdraw as the flanks of the Allied positions were threatened.

B Company was the last of the battalion's units to abandon its positions, and together with the rest of the Allies, withdrew over the following days to Porto Rafti, where it boarded a transport ship for the island of Crete.

On Crete, the Allies dug in for the expected airborne attack by German paratroopers.

The Māori Battalion was positioned near the town of Platanias, as a reserve for the 5th Infantry Brigade, which was tasked with the defence of Maleme Airfield.

On 20 May, the Germans commenced their invasion of the island.

Manahi was returning to his trench, having just had breakfast, as planes flew overhead, discharging paratroopers.

On 23 May, following the loss of the airfield to the Germans, he received a gunshot wound to the chest.

Despite this wound, he remained with his company as it was forced to withdraw to the south-west in the following days and was eventually evacuated from Crete on 31 May and transported to Egypt.

After recovering from his wounds, he returned to his unit and fought through the Western Desert and Tunisian campaigns, during which he was recommended for a VC for his actions at Takrouna over the period 19–21 April 1943.

Despite the support of four generals, his VC nomination was downgraded to an award of a DCM, possibly by the British Chief of the General Staff, General Alan Brooke.

In June 1943, he returned to New Zealand on a three-month furlough but when this was completed, was not required to rejoin his battalion.

Māori soldiers on furlough were made exempt from active duty.

After his discharge from the New Zealand Military Forces in 1946, he was employed as a traffic inspector.

After his death in a car crash in 1986, a committee was established to urge the New Zealand Government to make representations to Buckingham Palace for a posthumous award of the VC to Manahi.

These efforts were ultimately unsuccessful due to the period of time that had elapsed since the end of the Second World War.

Haane Te Rauawa Manahi was the son of Manahi Ngākahawai Te Rauawa, a farm worker, and his wife Neti Mariana Insley.

This eventually resulted in a special award in 2007 of an altar cloth for use in a local church, ceremonial sword and a personal letter from Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his gallantry.