When I read my father’s battalion history one name jumped out at me. Lance Sergeant S.N. Tsukigawa. This obviously Japanese name in a New Zealand infantry battalion puzzled me at the time.  Upon questioning my father he proudly stated that “Sid was Our Jap“.  Dad’s respect for this man was phenomenal.  He told me that “Sid” was one of the best soldiers he ever served with.  The ultimate accolade he could give him was to call him “a tough bastard” – which from my old man was high praise indeed.

Who was Sid Tsukigawa? He was the eldest son of Kazuyuki Kiyohei “KK” Tsukigawa, a Japanese seaman who became a naturalised New Zealand citizen in 1907, married a woman from the Salvation Army and had three kids –  Togo, Nogi and Ito., of whom Sydney Nogi was the second.

KK ended up captain of the steamer S.S. Clutha, a vessel that plied the Clutha river in the South Island from it’s commissioning in 1908 until he retired in 1939 (in the photo he is front right).

Here is a link to a biography of Kazayuki Tsukigawa.

His son Sydney Nogi Tsukigawa served in the 22nd Infantry Battalion, 2nd New Zealand Division,  achieving the rank of Lance Sergeant.  I have been fortunate enough to speak, over the years, to a number of veterans of the 22nd Battalion, all of whom remember Sid with great admiration and respect.

Here is Sid’s Citation for the Award of the Military Medal.

Sid’s two brothers also served with distinction in the New Zealand Armed Forces. After the war Sid went on to raise a family that he could be proud of. He died in 2005. He was a great New Zealander.