The Bulford Kiwi is a large depiction of a kiwi, carved in the chalk on Beacon Hill above the military town of Bulford on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. It was created in 1919 by soldiers of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force who were awaiting repatriation following the end of the First World War.
It is one of the few hill figures in Wiltshire to be neither a white horse nor a military badge.
Sling Camp (now gone), part of Bulford Camp, was established in June 1916 for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF). Soldiers of the NZEF underwent training here when arriving in England before being transferred to New Zealand units serving on the Western Front. The Kiwi was constructed on Beacon Hill overlooking the camp.
After the war was over, the New Zealand soldiers were eager to return home, but no troop ships were available. In the wake of riots by disaffected soldiers, their commanding officers decided that the troops should be kept busy carving an enormous kiwi into the chalk of the hill. This was done in February and March 1919, by the Canterbury[1] and Otago[2] Engineers Battalions. The emblem is cut out of the chalk hillside, and stands out in contrast from the surrounding vegetation.
The design was executed by Sergeant-Major Percy Cecil Blenkarne, a drawing instructor in the Education Staff, from a sketch of a stuffed kiwi specimen in the British Museum.[1] The site was surveyed and the design extended on to the site by Sergeant-Major V.T. Low, NZE of the Education Staff.[citation needed]
Kiwi from postcard, c.1919
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