William Meldrum (general)

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William Meldrum
First World War
Awards
Mentioned in Despatches (4)
Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers' Decoration
Order of the White Eagle
(Serbia)

DSO, VD
(28 July 1865 – 13 February 1964) was a New Zealand lawyer, farmer, military leader, magistrate and local politician.

Born in the

Burnham Camp
in 1964 at age of 98.

Early life

Born in the Whangārei suburb of Kamo in New Zealand,[1] Meldrum was the son of a farmer and his wife. As well as attending Kamo School, he was educated in Scotland. After completing his schooling at Auckland College and Grammar School, he studied law at Auckland University College. He participated in sports, representing Auckland in rugby in 1886[2] and also in four first-class cricket matches between 1884 and 1887.[3] He played chess to a high standard and would be the New Zealand Chess Champion in 1896.[2]

After completing his legal studies, Meldrum worked at the prominent law firm Whitaker and Russell and eventually became a barrister and solicitor in 1889. Two years later he moved to Hunterville, a town in the Rangitikei District and had a legal practice there for several years.[2] On 24 April 1894, he married Nora Carthew of Te Henui at Taranaki Cathedral. She was the daughter of the late Edward Carthew, a barrister.[4][5] They were to have one son and one daughter.[6] Their son, Alexander Francis Meldrum, was a Rhodes Scholar in law in 1917.[1][7]

Meldrum was prominent in local affairs, being on the Hunterville Town Board for a period[2] and he was an unsuccessful candidate in the 1909 Rangitikei by-election, where he came third in the first ballot.[8] In 1912, he sold his practice and from the profits bought land in the area which he farmed together with his wife, Nora, who he had married in 1894. The couple had two children.[2]

First World War

On the outbreak of the First World War, Meldrum volunteered for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) being raised for service overseas. He had extensive military service; he had formed a militia unit, the Hunterville Mounted Rifle Volunteers, in 1900 and by 1914 had risen to command of 6th (Manawatu) Mounted Rifles Regiment, with the rank of lieutenant colonel in the

New Zealand Territorial Force.[2] He would eventually be awarded the Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers' Decoration for his lengthy service in the Territorial Force.[9]

In the NZEF, Meldrum was appointed commander of the Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment (WMR), which included three squadrons of mounted infantry from the three mounted regiments of the central North Island.[10] After departing for the Middle East, Meldrum oversaw the training of his command until it was called upon for service in the Gallipoli campaign as part of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, landing at ANZAC Cove on 12 May 1915.[11] His men soon gave him the nickname 'Fix-Bayonets Bill' but despite this he demonstrated awareness of the value of the lives under his command. He refused orders to mount a frontal attack on Turkish machine guns on one occasion and sought a retreat from vulnerable positions on another.[2]

A competent commander, Meldrum's WMR played an important role in the

mentioned in despatches.[9]

After the evacuation from Gallipoli, and following a period of recuperation in Egypt, the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, with Meldrum having reverted to command of the WMR, was made part of the

Sinai and Palestine Campaign, part of the efforts involved in protecting the Suez Canal from Turkish attacks.[17] At one stage in 1916, Meldrum was called up to temporarily lead the Australian 2nd Light Horse Brigade when its original commanding officer was wounded. Later that year, the WMR was heavily involved in the Battle of Rafa.[2] In January 1917, he was appointed to the Distinguished Service Order for his services the previous year and the following month he was gazetted as a recipient of the Serbian Order of the White Eagle with Swords for his services at Gallipoli.[9]

Meldrum led his regiment during the

Companion of the Order of the Bath in recognition of his services in Egypt and Palestine. He had also been mentioned in despatches a further two times.[9]

Later life

On returning to New Zealand, Meldrum took up practicing law in New Plymouth. His farms, unprofitable because of the low wool prices, were sold and he also separated from his wife. In 1921, he moved to the town of Greymouth where he was the magistrate for several years. In 1927, having secured a divorce, he remarried. With his second wife, Clare Dodson, he had two daughters and a son. He served as Mayor of Greymouth from 1935 to 1938. During the Second World War, he was involved in the Home Guard for the Greymouth and Westport area and for two years, from 1942 to 1944, chaired the Armed Forces Appeal Board.[2]

His second son, William John David Meldrum (known as William), joined the

Maurice Dodson, was later Chief of Army.[19]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Scholefield, Guy (1941). Who's Who in New Zealand and the Western Pacific, 1941 (4th ed.). Masterton. p. 246.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Grover, Ray. "William Meldrum". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  3. ^ "William Meldrum". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  4. ^ "Marriages". Taranaki Herald. Vol. XLIII, no. 9987. 25 April 1894. p. 2. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  5. ^ "Chit chat". New Zealand Mail. No. 1157. 4 May 1894. p. 13. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  6. ^ Scholefield, Guy (1924). Who's Who in New Zealand and the Western Pacific, 1925 (2nd ed.). Masterton. pp. 141f.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ^ "New Zealand Rhodes Scholars" (PDF). University of Otago. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Final Returns". Taranaki Herald. Vol. 55, no. 14012. 17 September 1909. p. 3. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  9. ^ a b c d Stowers 2015, pp. 104–105.
  10. ^ Wilkie 1924, pp. 2–3.
  11. ^ Wilkie 1924, pp. 14–15.
  12. ^ Pugsley 2004, p. 100.
  13. ^ Pugsley 2004, p. 106.
  14. ^ Pugsley 2004, p. 109.
  15. ^ Pugsley 2004, p. 111.
  16. ^ Pugsley 2004, p. 123.
  17. ^ Pugsley 2004, p. 119.
  18. ^ "Hide-And-Seek Tactics In Army Manoeuvre". The Press. Vol. CIII, no. 30544. 12 September 1964. p. 14. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  19. ^ "William John David Meldrum". Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 14 September 2022.

References

Further reading

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