Update: 28th Maori Battalion veteran farewelled (+video)

Hundreds of mourning friends and family gathered to say a final farewell to 28th Maori Battalion veteran Arthur Midwood.

Mr Midwood passed away last Sunday, surrounded by family at Taupo Hospital.

About 200 people attended his funeral service yesterday at Tunohopu marae in Ohinemutu.

During the service, St Faith's vicar Tom Poata described Mr Midwood as a "humble man who would never think to crow about himself".

"Arthur humbly gave his service and we can only hope future generations will appreciate what Arthur and many others did for our country. Those men stood in the trenches and learned what it meant to stand up for what is right. The stories fed to us from Arthur will continue to be fed to many more generations to come."

Image 1 of 8: A large number of mourners attended the funeral service of 28th Maori Battalion veteran Arthur Midwood at the Tunohopu marae in Ohinemutu. 25 March 2015 Daily Post photograph by Stephen Parker.

Mr Midwood joined the New Zealand Army as a 22-year-old. He was part of the 28th Maori Battalion's B Company and trained in England before being deployed to Maadi Camp in Egypt. In March 1941 he travelled to Greece and fought in the Battle of Crete.

He was the last of the "39ers" - the name given to soldiers who joined the Maori Battalion in its infancy in 1939. While he officially joined on January 26, 1940, Mr Midwood reported for his physical examination in November the previous year. He was wounded three times while fighting on the battlefields of Greece, Crete and Africa.

Mr Midwood served with Te Arawa war hero Lance Sergeant Haane Manahi at the battle of Takrouna Ridge, North Africa. After the battle he helped ferry other soldiers away.

Mr Midwood was a former vice president of the 28th Maori Battalion Association National Executive Committee and patron of the Te Arawa Returned Services League of the Rotorua RSA.

Mr Midwood was led out of the marae by a Maori warrior and carried to his final resting place at Muruika War Cemetery behind St Faith's.