Birthday gift for New Zealand war heroine

Nancy Wake was born in Wellington.

New Zealand war heroine Nancy Wake may be celebrating her birthday on the other side of the world but her bravery hasn't been forgotten here.

A "grateful, albeit anonymous New Zealander" placed a notice in the Herald's classified ads at the weekend wishing her a happy 94th birthday at her rest home in Surrey, England, today.

The man who placed the advertisement said he believed "credit should be given where credit is due".

"I am a person who feels aggrieved when people who should be recognised aren't. I believe a huge amount of credit is due to Nancy Wake by the Government of New Zealand but they refuse to acknowledge her in any way shape or form," he said.

The most-decorated woman from World War II, Mrs Wake was named the "White Mouse" by Hitler's Gestapo because they couldn't catch her or stop her work with the French resistance.

She was born in Wellington in 1912, and although she moved to Australia when she was young, she still kept her New Zealand identity.

"I read a lot about her and like a lot of other people ... I thought she was an Australian ... but she had indeed been born in Wellington and has Maori blood," the man said.

Mrs Wake helped more than 1000 Allied servicemen escape from behind enemy lines and killed many Germans, including one with her bare hands. The Nazis executed her husband and she became one of the Gestapo's most wanted fugitives.

The man said Mrs Wake had been honoured by the British, French, American and Australian Governments for bravery.

"But here in New Zealand, for some reason, the Government still refuses to acknowledge her bravery and heroism ... which I find astounding."

He said he hoped his advertisement would raise awareness about her achievements.

"If the advertisement caused even just one person to buy a card and send it off to her saying 'Hi, Nancy, from New Zealand, happy birthday', I would think the advertisement has been of some worth," he said.

"I sent her a card and a postcard of the Wellington shoreline with a little arrow indicating where she was born just as something to remind her of home," said the man, who has never met her.