List of New Zealand military personnel

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
 * Hongi Hika - Nga Puhi tribal chief and war leader
 * Te Pēhi Kupe
 * Te Rangihaeata
 * Te Rauparaha
 * Tītore - Nga Puhi tribal chief; led war parties to the East Cape in 1820 and 1821 and participated in the Girls' War

New Zealand Wars

 * Samuel Austin - recipient of the New Zealand Cross
 * Duncan Alexander Cameron - Commander of British forces during part of the New Zealand Wars
 * George Jackson Carey
 * Robert Carey - Commander of British forces at the Battle of Ōrākau
 * Trevor Chute - Commander of British forces during part of the New Zealand Wars
 * Thomas Bernard Collinson - Corps of Royal Engineers, Board of Ordnance, New Zealand, 1846–1850. Hosey's Battle, Whanganui, 1847
 * 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 Emilius Gold - Commander of British forces during the early stages of the First Taranaki War, part of the New Zealand Wars
 * 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
 * William Magee Hunter (1834-1868)
 * Tāmati Wāka Nene - Māori rangatira (chief) of the Ngāpuhi iwi. British ally, Flagstaff War, 1845–1846
 * Marmaduke Nixon - officer in the militia during the Invasion of the Waikato; killed in action at Rangiaowhia
 * William Odgers VC - first man to win the Victoria Cross in the New Zealand land wars
 * Thomas Simson Pratt - British commander in the First Taranaki War
 * George Preece - officer in the Armed Constabulary during the later stages of the New Zealand Wars and recipient of the New Zealand Cross
 * Kepa Te Rangihiwinui - Maori leader on British side in the Taranaki Wars
 * Beauchamp Seymour, 1st Baron Alcester - British naval commander in New Zealand, 1860-1861
 * Te Kooti - the founder of the Ringatū religion and guerrilla fighter during the later stages of the New Zealand Wars
 * Tītokowaru - Ngāti Ruanui tribal chief and war leader during the later stages of the New Zealand Wars
 * Ropata Wahawaha - Ngāti Porou tribal chief who fought on the British side during the later stages of the New Zealand Wars

Boer War

 * Edward Chaytor - commanded the Second and Eighth Contingents sent to South Africa; commanded the ANZAC Mounted Division during World War I and was Commandant of the New Zealand Military Forces, from 1919 to 1924
 * Janet Gillies, nurse
 * William James Hardham - awarded Victoria Cross, later served in World War I
 * 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
 * James O'Sullivan - Defence storekeeper at the time of Boer War
 * Alfred William Robin - commanded the First Contingent sent to South Africa; later Commandant of the New Zealand Military Forces, from 1914 to 1919

World War I

 * Leslie Cecil Lloyd Averill - Platoon Commander and first New Zealander to scale the walls of Le Quesnoy
 * Ronald Bannerman - World War I fighter ace
 * 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
 * Arthur Bauchop - commander of the Otago Mounted Rifles
 * Harold Beamish - fighter ace with No. 3 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service
 * William Thomas Beck - first New Zealand soldier ashore at Gallipoli
 * Charles Mackie Begg - medical officer who served at Gallipoli and on the Western Front
 * 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
 * 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
 * Keith Caldwell - fighter ace and commander of the Royal Flying Corps' No. 74 Squadron; later a senior officer in the Royal New Zealand Air Force during World War II and the postwar period
 * Thomas Culling - first New Zealand fighter ace of World War I
 * James Lloyd Findlay - soldier and fighter pilot
 * Nora FitzGibbon - nurse
 * Harry Fulton - senior officer who commanded an infantry brigade on the Western Front; killed in action in 1918
 * Herbert Ernest Hart - senior officer who served at Gallipoli and commanded an infantry brigade on the Western Front; later administrator of Western Samoa
 * Francis Earl Johnston - senior officer who commanded an infantry brigade at Gallipoli and on the Western Front; killed in action in 1917
 * George Napier Johnston - Commander Royal Artillery of the New Zealand Division
 * George Augustus King - officer who served at Gallipoli and on the Western Front; killed in action during the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917
 * Norman Joseph Levien - Ordnance Officer Egypt, Gallipoli, France and United Kingdom
 * William George Malone - Commander of the Wellington Infantry Battalion, killed in action at Gallipoli
 * Thomas James McCristell - officer in charge of the Ordnance Corps in New Zealand
 * Charles Melvill - senior officer who commanded an infantry brigade on the Western Front; later Commandant of New Zealand Military Forces, from 1924 to 1925
 * Arthur Plugge - officer who served at Gallipoli and on the Western Front
 * Andrew Hamilton Russell - Commander of the New Zealand Division
 * William Sinclair-Burgess - New Zealand officer serving with Australian forces
 * 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
 * Leslie Andrew - senior officer who served with the 2NZEF in Greece, Crete, and North Africa; also a Victoria Cross recipient of World War I
 * Fred Baker - Commander, 28th Maori Battalion
 * 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
 * Harold Eric Barrowclough - Commander, 3rd New Zealand Division
 * Minden Blake - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal Air Force
 * Brian Carbury - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal Air Force
 * Sir Roderick Carr - RAF Bomber Command and Chief of the Indian Air Force
 * Johnny Checketts - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal New Zealand Air Force; commanded No. 485 Squadron RNZAF for a period in 1943
 * George Herbert Clifton - senior officer who served with the 2NZEF in Greece and North Africa
 * Wilfred Clouston - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal Air Force; commanded fighter squadrons during the course of World War II
 * Basil Collyns - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal Air Force
 * Sir Arthur Coningham - RAF Second Tactical Air Force commander
 * 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
 * William Cunningham - Commandant of the Fiji Defence Force
 * Dan Davin - 2NZEF officer and author of war history
 * Alan Deere - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal Air Force
 * Antonio Dini - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal Air Force
 * John Evelyn Duigan - Chief of General Staff, New Zealand Military Forces, from 1937 to 1941
 * Keith Elliott - soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross
 * Geoffrey Bryson Fisken - RNZAF fighter ace, initially on Brewster Buffalo
 * Baron Freyberg of Wellington - Commander, 2NZEF and 2nd New Zealand Division; later Governor-General of New Zealand
 * 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
 * Michael Herrick - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal Air Force; commanded No. 15 Squadron RNZAF for a period in 1943
 * Jack Hinton - soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross
 * Thomas W. Horton - Commander of No 105 RAF Pathfinder squadron
 * Clive Hulme - soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross
 * Lindsay Merritt Inglis - senior officer who served with the 2NZEF in Greece, Crete, North Africa and Italy
 * Edgar James "Cobber" Kain - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal Air Force; the first pilot to win a Distinguished Flying Cross in World War II
 * Thomas Joseph King - DADOS HQ 2nd New Zealand Division
 * Howard Karl "Kip" Kippenberger - Commander, 2nd New Zealand Division
 * John Noble MacKenzie - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal Air Force
 * 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
 * Reginald Miles - senior officer who served with the 2NZEF in Greece and North Africa
 * Sir Keith Park - No. 11 Group RAF commander during the Battle of Britain; later commanded in Malta and Southeast Asia
 * Nigel Park - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal New Zealand Air Force; nephew of Sir Keith Park
 * Graham Beresford Parkinson - senior officer who served with the 2NZEF in Greece, North Africa and Italy
 * 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
 * Sir Peter Phipps - founding Chief of Defence Staff
 * 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
 * Paul Rabone - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal Air Force
 * Jack Rae - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal New Zealand Air Force
 * Robert Row - senior officer who served with the 2NZEF in Greece and in the Pacific; commanded 8th Brigade during the Battle of the Treasury Islands
 * Warren Schrader - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal New Zealand Air Force
 * Desmond J. Scott - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal New Zealand Air Force
 * Irving Smith - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal New Zealand Air Force; later served with the Royal Air Force in the postwar period
 * Robert Spurdle - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal Air Force
 * Gray Stenborg - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal New Zealand Air Force
 * William George Stevens - senior officer who served with the 2NZEF
 * 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
 * Donald Stott - soldier in the 2NZEF, later served in Special Operations Executive and Z Special Unit
 * Leonard Trent - pilot and recipient of the Victoria Cross
 * Lloyd Alan Trigg - pilot and recipient of the Victoria Cross; only person so awarded solely on recommendation of the enemy
 * Charles Upham - soldier of 20th Battalion and two-time recipient of the Victoria Cross
 * Nancy Wake - most decorated servicewoman of World War II
 * Derek Harland Ward - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal Air Force
 * James Allen Ward - bomber pilot with the Royal New Zealand Air Force, 75 Squadron RNZAF; recipient of the Victoria Cross
 * Norman Weir - senior officer who served with the 2NZEF; later Chief of General Staff, New Zealand Military Forces, from 1946 to 1949
 * Edward Wells - fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal Air Force
 * Bert Wipiti - fighter pilot with the Royal New Zealand Air Force

Post-WWII

 * Denis Barnett - Commander, British Forces Cyprus
 * 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
 * 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
 * Walter McKinnon - officer who served with the 2NZEF during World War II; later Chief of General Staff, New Zealand Army, from 1965 to 1967
 * 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