Leslie Averill
Leslie Averill First World War
| |
---|---|
Awards | Order of St Michael and St George Military Cross |
Relations | Alfred Averill (father) |
Other work | Doctor Medical administrator |
Leslie Cecil Lloyd Averill
Early life
Leslie Averill was born on 25 March 1897 at
Military career
Averill was commissioned as a second lieutenant after training at Trentham Military Camp. Arriving in France in May 1918, he was posted to the 4th Battalion of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade.[1] He fought in the Second Battle of Bapaume in August, leading a company of the battalion and was awarded the Military Cross for his gallantry and leadership during the battle.[2] Afterwards, he was posted to the Divisional Traffic Control Branch.[3]
In November 1918, the Rifle Brigade was tasked with the
Later life
Granted an NZEF scholarship in October 1919, Averill studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh. He graduated as a medical doctor in 1924,[1] submitting a thesis on the detection and treatment of placenta praevia for his degree.[5] He was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh the following year. He returned to New Zealand in 1925 and married Isabella Mary Wilkie Roberton in Auckland. His new wife had also qualified as a medical practitioner, but did not work after their marriage. The couple would go on to have five children.[1]
Averill began a general practice in Christchurch in 1926 but would also be heavily involved in regional and national medical services and administration. He helped set up a private hospital that opened in
Averill retired from general practice in 1967. Even in retirement, he continued a long association with the
Legacy
Throughout his postwar life, Averill maintained strong links with Le Quesnoy. He returned to the town in 1923 to unveil the New Zealand War Memorial there with
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Rice, Geoffrey W. "Leslie Cecil Lloyd Averill". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
- ^ Harper 2007, pp. 416–417.
- ^ Harper 2007, p. 471.
- ^ Gray 2010, pp. 367–368.
- hdl:1842/22433.
- ^ "No. 42233". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 December 1960. p. 8927.
- ^ Brewer 2012, pp. 20–23.
References
- Brewer, Mark (2012). "New Zealand and the Legion d'honneur: The Great War, Part Three". The Volunteers: The Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society. 38 (1). ISSN 0113-1184.
- Gray, John H. (2010). From the Uttermost Ends of the Earth: The New Zealand Division on the Western Front 1916 – 1918. Christchurch, New Zealand: Wilson Scott Publishing. ISBN 978-1-877427-30-5.
- ISBN 978-1-86950-579-0.