Brigadier Leslie Wilton Andrew, was a senior officer in the New Zealand Military Forces and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award of the British Commonwealth for gallantry "in the face of the enemy". He received the decoration for his actions during the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917.

The 22nd Battalion, also known as the "Wellington Battalion", was an infantry battalion of the New Zealand Military Forces, which served during the Second World War. After undertaking defensive duties in the United Kingdom from mid-1940 until early 1941, the battalion then fought in the Battles of Greece and Crete where it suffered heavy casualties and lost a large number of men who were taken as prisoners of war. After being rebuilt, the battalion fought in North Africa, fighting in Operation Crusader, before undertaking garrison duties in Syria. It later fought in the First Battle of El Alamein during which they suffered heavy casualties at Ruweisat Ridge. Re-formed, the battalion later fought in the Second Battle of El Alamein. In late 1943, the battalion was transferred to Italy where it fought for the remainder of the war, fighting battles around Cassino and along the Adriatic coast, before entering Trieste in the final days of the war. After the war, it performed occupation duties in Japan until it was disbanded in 1948.