Ray Trembath Estate Fighting Knife Collection.
Tuesday, 4 - Monday, 17 February 2025

All lots now starting at $10. NO RESERVE AUCTION. Ray Trembath was born in 1955 and joined the New Zealand Army in 1972 as an Infantry soldier, serving in Singapore. His platoon commander was a young Jerry Matapare – later NZ CDF and Governor General of New Zealand. They remained friends and once when Jerry was Governor General he excused himself from the officials he was with as he had spied Sergeant Trembath and went off for a chat. He left the army in 1986 and travelled to the US, which he rode across on a push bike. He travelled to South Africa where he attempted to enlist in 32 Batt which was not possible due to his NZ citizenship. He then made his way to France where he joined the French Foreign Legion with whom he served from 1989 to 1994. He qualified as a sniper parachutist, soon finding the action he sought in Rwanda, Somalia and Djibouti and Chad. When he was done he rode his motorbike home to NZ through Africa. He was interviewed many times by media about his service, life and travels. Once saying “When you've got a whole lot of bullets coming into your position it's quite exhilarating. It's alright shooting targets, rabbits and deer, but when the targets, rabbit and deer shoot back it's even more fun.” The “fun” was not without consequence, with his unit suffering casualties, but he said nonchalantly that was part of the job. A chat with Trem was an experience and you ran the probability of hearing a great deal more about his exploits than you needed or wanted to know. Having an interest in surveying he undertook casual work on some of the projects in Auckland but his true passion was the military and he served in both our Regular and Territorial Forces. In 1999, he walked the length of the country, stopping an artillery live firing exercise at Waiouru when he walked through the training area. In 2000, hearing we were sending troops overseas, he enlisted in New Zealand’s territorial forces and was deployed to East Timor – one of a handful of NZers there with previous combat experience despite his low rank. He later served in the Solomon Islands (where his father had served during WW2), Timor Leste and the Sinai -his favourite deployment, before retiring as a Staff Sergeant in 2015. At about the same time he developed prostate cancer, suffering greatly but bravely until his death in 2022. Trem was a character and a legend in both the NZ Army and the French Foreign Legion and was an avid militaria collector and shooter. Ray loved these objects, some he had owned for 40 years or more. They bought him a great deal of joy. He loved the thrill of the hunt to locate them and once he had them they were treasured and never let go. Some of these items have been used by him personally during his campaigns. Others acquired when it was possible to import them however now, with present import restrictions the stock of them in New Zealand is unlikely to ever be increased For this collector's auction all buyer's must 18 years and over. NO RESERVE AUCTION. All items with a $10 start. Packing and courier options available at buyers risk and expense. Overseas courier options may be challenging. All enquiries email info@cordys.co.nz or phone (09) 5231049. If you have a question just ask. ALL PAYMENTS TO BE ONLINE, EFTPOS OR CREDIT CARD AND COLLECTIONS BY APPOINTMENT. CASH IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. A buyer's premium applies to all Cordy's auctions of 17% + GST = 19.55% this is to be paid on top of any successful bid.