N.Z. OFFICER PROMOTED

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28450, 3 December 1957, Page 17

N.Z. OFFICER PROMOTED

Brevet Rank In British Unit A distinguished New Zealand soldier of the Second World War, Mr W. B. Thomas, of Riwaka, near Nelson, has been given a brevet lieutenant-colonelcy in the Royal Hampshire Regiment, with which he is now serving in Germany. The appointment was noted recently in “The Times.” Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas was an original member of the 23rd (South Island) Battalion of the Second New Zealand Division. He was severely wounded in Crete in May, 1941, and taken prisoner. He escaped from Salonika and wandered through Greece for six months, hampered by a leg wound, before making his way through Turkey into Syria. He temporarily commanded the 23rd Battalion in Tunisia and, after furlough, again in Italy. He was awarded the D.S.O. the M.C. and bar and the American Silver Star, and was mentioned in dispatches. At the end of the war, Lieu-tenant-Colonel Thomas commanded the 22nd Battalion of the New Zealand occupational brigade in Japan. During this time he wrote the book “Dare To Be Free,” which describes his adventures in Crete and Greece. After returning to New Zealand in 1947, he was given an appointment in the New Zealand Regular Force, but relinquished this to join the Royal Hampshire Regiment. He served in Kenya against the Mau Mau, and wrote a novel based on his experiences there.