A giant chalk kiwi on a hillside in the UK which marks a World War 1 battle has been assigned a heritage plaque, commemorating 100 years since its creation.
The giant 130m-tall Bulford Kiwi was carved by New Zealand troops when they were based there in WWI.
The troops were part of the Battle of Messines, fought in Belgium in June 1917.
Creating this Kiwi emblem was no easy task. It took around 500 soldiers about two months to dig about 30 cm into the top soil to reach the chalk, but it's ensured their efforts during WWI are remembered.
"It's a slightly odd emblem if truth be told but it's interesting and it's quirky and I think the soldiers like that - it appeals to them," says Lieutenant Colonel Tim Cooper of the British Armed Forces.
It was left to languish in the elements for decades but Ian Foxley was one of those who helped bring it back to life in the 80s.
"It was very difficult because all you're doing is on bare shoulders with a sandbag full of heavy chalk, walking up a hill in the heat of the summer - hard work," he says.
Now a protected memorial to the Kiwi solders based at Bulford during and after WWI, a Ngā Tapuwae heritage sign was unveiled today, making the territory as part of the Kiwi trail of WWI sites across Europe.


















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