The guns for Castor Bay came from the Naval Armaments Depot at Kauri Point and were delivered on site 5 April 1941 and test fired in July 1941. Unlike other similar batteries the tunnels were constructed afterwards by the cut and fill method; construction began in November 1941 and was completed by the end of May 1942.
Key statistics:
Population at outbreak of war: 1,632,000
Men of military age: 355,000
Men and women who served overseas: 135,000
Men and women who joined forces during the war: 205,000
Peak number in Home Guard: 124,000
Peak number in E.P.S.: 150,000
Peak mobilization (September 1942): 127,000
Navy: 6,000
Air Force: 24,000
Casualties:
Deaths: 10,130
Missing: 634
Prisoners (peak): 8,086
Wounded: 19,345
Munitions and equipment:
The value of war equipment was 42,000,000 (British Pounds).
Food shipments during the war:
To Britain:
1,800,000 tons of meat
685,000 tons of butter
625,000 tons of cheese.
To United States Forces:
190,000 tons of meat
23,000 tons of butter
137,000 tons of vegetables.
In addition: 5,400,000 bales of wool were appraised for shipment to Brittain.
(Information taken from 'booklet War Effort prepared by The Information Section of The prime Minister's Department - 1946
