Owen Mead
Owen Herbert Mead | |
---|---|
First World War
Second World War
| |
Awards | Mentioned in Despatches (2) |
Mead joined the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) following the outbreak of the First World War. He participated in the Gallipoli campaign and served on the Western Front. After the war he joined the New Zealand Staff Corps and held a number of staff positions in the military. During the Second World War he commanded the Pacific Section of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force, which was responsible for the defence of Fiji. He went missing, presumed killed, on 25 July 1942, when the aircraft he was a passenger on was lost at sea while en route to Tonga. He was the highest ranked New Zealand soldier killed on active service during the war.
Early life
Owen Mead was born in
Military career
First World War
Commissioned as a
When the
In England for recovery from his wounds, Mead was involved in the raising of the
Interwar period
Mead's service with the NZEF ceased in 1920 but he chose to remain in the military, and subsequently joined the New Zealand Staff Corps.[4] Initially a captain, he received a promotion to major in 1925.[8] He attended the Staff College in Camberley, England, from 1927 to 1928. After completing his courses,[4] he served briefly in the War Office in London.[8] In 1930, he returned to New Zealand, where he held a number of staff positions,[4] which included the area officer for Palmerston North and the brigade major of the 3rd Infantry Brigade, a Territorial Force formation. In 1936, he was promoted to colonel[1] and appointed adjutant general of the New Zealand Military Forces for a two-year term.[4]
Second World War
Mead was a
In March 1942, Mead was promoted to major general and made commander of the Pacific Section, 2NZEF, replacing its former commander, Major General William Cunningham.[10] Mead's new command consisted of two brigades, the 8th and 14th Infantry Brigades, which at the time were responsible for the defence of Fiji.[11] His new role also entailed his appointment to the Executive Council of the Colony of Fiji.[12]
In July 1942, the American
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Haigh & Polaschek 1993, p. 170.
- ^ "Notable Alumni". Marlborough Boys' College. Archived from the original on 15 June 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
- ^ a b c d "Rapid Promotion: Marlborough Man's Record". Dominion. No. 114. 31 January 1918. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g McGibbon 2000, p. 313.
- ^ Ferguson 1921, p. 6.
- ^ a b McDonald 2012, pp. 174–175.
- ^ "No. 31370". The London Gazette. 30 May 1919. p. 6822.
- ^ a b "General Mead Missing". Press. No. 23702. 29 July 1942. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ "No. 34893". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 July 1940. p. 4250.
- ^ Gillespie 1952, p. 51.
- ^ Gillespie 1952, p. 46.
- ^ "No. 35498". The London Gazette. 24 March 1942. p. 1331.
- ^ Gillespie 1952, pp. 54–55.
References
- Ferguson, David (1921). The History of the Canterbury Regiment, N.Z.E.F. 1914–1919. Auckland, New Zealand: Whitcombe & Tombs. OCLC 15984882.
- Gillespie, Oliver A. (1952). The Pacific. OCLC 59000607.
- Haigh, J. Bryant; Polaschek, A. J. (1993). New Zealand and The Distinguished Service Order. Christchurch, New Zealand: Privately published. ISBN 0-473-02406-3.
- McDonald, Wayne (2012). Honours and Awards to the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Great War 1914–1918, 3rd Edition. Hamilton, New Zealand: Richard Stowers. ISBN 978-0-473-07714-3.
- ISBN 0-19-558376-0.