Description:Three special trains moved the 5th Reserve Depot from Salisbury Plains to Brocton on 27 September 1917. From then on fresh troops arriving from New Zealand to the New Zealand Rifle Brigade were sent directly to Brocton for training by experienced instructors. The telegraphic code word given to Brocton Camp was "Zeadinks" no doubt amalgamating their origin and nickname.
The number of troops entering and leaving the Camp fluctuated on a regular basis. A diary kept by one of the instructors details the number of comings and goings and how accommodation has to be found for them. They could absorb as many as required according to reports and at one time Rugeley Camp must have been quite empty as it stated there were more than enough huts available there.
They would have left their home country with a certain amount of training and even on board ship additional drills were carried out to maintain discipline and competence.