The following is a list of notable New Zealand people associated with the military, including those who participated in warfare or saw active service in New Zealand.
Musket Wars
Hone Heke - Nga Puhi tribal chief and war leader[1]
Hongi Hika - Nga Puhi tribal chief and war leader[2]
Robert FitzRoy - Captain in Her Majesty’s Royal Navy, Governor and Commander in Chief in and over the Colony of New Zealand, Vice-Admiral of New Zealand, 1843-1845, Colonel of the Auckland Battalion of Militia, 1845. Flagstaff War, 1845
Charles Heaphy - recipient of the Victoria Cross, awarded for his actions during an engagement in the Invasion of the Waikato; a surveyor and explorer prior to the New Zealand Wars, he was later a Member of Parliament[7]
John Gethin Hughes - a soldier in the First Contingent sent to South Africa and first New Zealand recipient of the Distinguished Service Order; later commanded an infantry battalion at Gallipoli during World War I[13]
Cyril Bassett - first soldier of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force to receive the Victoria Cross, awarded for his actions during the Battle of Chunuk Bair at Gallipoli, in August 1915[16]
Charles Henry Brown - officer who served at Gallipoli and commanded an infantry brigade on the Western Front; killed in action during the Battle of Messines in 1917[19]
Donald Forrester Brown - posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross, the first such award to a soldier of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force serving on the Western Front[20]
Harry Fulton - senior officer who commanded an infantry brigade on the Western Front; killed in action in 1918[24]
Herbert Ernest Hart - senior officer who served at Gallipoli and commanded an infantry brigade on the Western Front; later administrator of Western Samoa[25]
Francis Earl Johnston - senior officer who commanded an infantry brigade at Gallipoli and on the Western Front; killed in action in 1917[26]
Charles Melvill - senior officer who commanded an infantry brigade on the Western Front; later Commandant of New Zealand Military Forces, from 1924 to 1925[29]
Arthur Plugge - officer who served at Gallipoli and on the Western Front
James Waddell - New Zealand soldier serving with the French Foreign Legion
Bright Williams - last surviving New Zealand Soldier of the First World War
Robert Young - senior officer who commanded an infantry brigade on the Western Front; later Commandant of New Zealand Military Forces, from 1925 to 1931
World War II
(some served also in World War I)
Russell Aitken - pilot in the Royal Air Force who pioneered the use of amphibian aircraft for rescuing downed British pilots during the Battle of Britain[31]
Leslie Andrew - senior officer who served with the 2NZEF in Greece, Crete, and North Africa; also a Victoria Cross recipient of World War I[32]
Fraser Barron - bomber pilot with the Royal New Zealand Air Force; served with Bomber Command and one of only four personnel of the RNZAF to be awarded the Distinguished Service Order twice
Bill Crawford-Crompton - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal Air Force; commanded several squadrons and fighter wings during the course of World War II[38]
Colin Falkland Gray - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal Air Force; commanded several squadrons and fighter wings during the course of World War II[44]
Haane Manahi - soldier and recipient of the Distinguished Conduct Medal
Owen Mead - senior officer who served with the 2NZEF and the highest ranking soldier of the New Zealand Military Forces to be killed on active service[46]
Reginald Miles - senior officer who served with the 2NZEF in Greece and North Africa
John Pattison - fighter pilot with the Royal Air Force; later transferred to the Royal New Zealand Air Force and commanded No. 485 Squadron RNZAF for a period in 1944–45[47]
Edward Puttick - senior officer who served with the 2NZEF in Greece and Crete; later Chief of General Staff, New Zealand Military Forces, from 1941 to 1945[48]
Paul Rabone - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal Air Force[49]
Jack Rae - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal New Zealand Air Force[50]
Keith Lindsay Stewart - senior officer who served with the 2NZEF in Greece, Crete and Italy; later Chief of General Staff, New Zealand Military Forces, from 1949 to 1952[55]
Richard Bolt - bomber pilot with the Royal New Zealand Air Force during World War II; later Chief of the Air Staff from 1974 to 1976 and then Chief of the Defence Staff from 1976 to 1980[61]
Sir William Gentry - officer who served with the 2NZEF during World War II; later Chief of General Staff, New Zealand Army, from 1952 to 1955[62]
Walter McKinnon - officer who served with the 2NZEF during World War II; later Chief of General Staff, New Zealand Army, from 1965 to 1967[63]
Ian Morrison - bomber pilot with the Royal New Zealand Air Force during World War II; later Chief of the Air Staff from 1962 to 1966
William Stratton - fighter pilot with the Royal New Zealand Air Force during World War II; later Chief of the Air Staff from 1969 to 1971
^"Obituary: Thomas Bernard Collinson, 1821–1902". Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. 150 (1902). Institution of Civil Engineers: 461. 1902. doi:10.1680/imotp.1902.18336.
Claasen, Adam (2017). Fearless: The Extraordinary Untold Story of New Zealand's Great War Airmen. Auckland, New Zealand: Massey University Press. ISBN978-0-9941407-8-4.
Hanson, C. M. (2001). By Such Deeds: Honours and Awards in the Royal New Zealand Air Force 1923–1999. Christchurch, New Zealand: Volplane Press. ISBN0-473-07301-3.
Harper, Glyn; Richardson, Colin (2007). In the Face of the Enemy: The Complete History of the Victoria Cross and New Zealand. Auckland, New Zealand: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN978-1-86950-650-6.
Lambert, Max (2011). Day After Day: New Zealanders in Fighter Command. Auckland, New Zealand: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN978-1-86950-844-9.
McGibbon, Ian, ed. (2000). The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Military History. Auckland, New Zealand: Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-558376-0.
Mitchell, Alan W. (1945). New Zealanders in the Air War. London, United Kingdom: George G. Harrap & Co. OCLC1079233416.
Snelling, Stephen (2012). VCs of the First World War: Passchendaele 1917. Stroud, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom: History Press. ISBN978-0-7524-7666-7.
Wynn, Kenneth G. (1981). A Clasp for 'The Few': New Zealanders with the Battle of Britain Clasp. Auckland, New Zealand: Kenneth G. Wynn. ISBN0-86-465-0256.