BIRTHDAY HONOURS

Evening Star, Issue 23625, 11 July 1940, Page 13

BIRTHDAY HONOURS

THE MILITARY LIST MAJOR-GENERAL DUIGAN KNIGHTED [Per United Press Association.] WELLINGTON, .July 10. His Excellency the Governor-General, Viscount Galway, announced to-day that His Majesty the King had been graciously pleased to confer the following honours on the officers and warrant officers whose names appear hereunder:— K.B.E. (Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.) Major-general John Evelyn Duigan, 0.8., D. 5.0., N.Z.S.C., Chief of the General Staff, New Zealand Military Forces. C.B.E. (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.) Colonel Owen Herbert Mead, D. 5.0.. N.Z.S.C., A.D.C., Adjutant-general of the New Zealand Military Forces; Group-captain Leonard Monk Isitt. K.N.Z.A.F., A.D.C. 0.8. E. (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.) Lieutenant-colonel Albert Edward Conway, N.Z.5.0., Director of Mobilisation of the New Zealand Military Forces. Major James George M‘Kay, V.D. Wing-commander Hugh Bartholomew Burrell, R,N.Z.A.F. The Rev. George Trevor Robson, M. 0., chaplain to the Now Zealand Naval Forces. Lieutenant Herbert Albert Haynes, 11. N. (retired). M.B.E. (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.) Alfred James Harvey, commissioned gunner, Royal Navy. Flight-lieutenant Ivan Edward Rawnsley, R.N.Z.A.F. Flying-officer Albert Tom Giles, R.N.Z.A.F. Squadron Sergeant-major Charles Ethelbert Howell. Staff Sergeant-major William Leonard Glanville, New Zealand Permanent Forces. Regimental Sergeant - major Frank Allan Wetherall, R.N.Z.A. Warrant Officer James Edward Duncan, R.N.Z.A.F. AIR FORCE CROSS Squadron-leader H. N. C. RamsbottomIsherwood, R.A.F. Squadron-leader J. F. Moir, R.A.F. Flight-lieutenant J. R. Maling, R.A.F. BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES Major-general Sir John Duigan has been in command of the military forces in New Zealand since 1937. In March of that year ho was appointed General Officer Commanding the^ New Zealand Forces, and in October' of the same year, on the reorganisation of the defence system, the title was changed to Chief of the General Staff. A New Zealander, born in 1882, he has been 40 years a soldier. His distinguished military career includes experience of almost every sphere of Army work. He first saw active service in South Africa,

serving for two years with the Second Brabant’s Horse and the Second Kitchener’s Scouts. For three months he held a commission in the Tenth New Zealand Contingent. He returned to New Zealand after the war and joined the permanent force as a cadet. In September, 1905, he received a commission, and in 1909 was promoted to captain. He was then instructor for the signalling and engineer services in Wellington, a position which he retained till 1912. Afterwards he was appointed General Staff Officer, and from June, 1915, by which time he had attained the rank of major, he wae General Staff Officer for the Auckland military district. In December, 1915, he was appointed to command the New Zealand Tunnelling Corps, with which ho served till early in 1917. After being attached for a short time to Divisional Headquarters of the N.Z.E.F., he was transferred to the headquarters of the Sixth Army Corps of the British armies in France. At the latter end of 1917 he acted as General Staff Officer for the New Zealand Infantry Reserve Brigade. Subsequently he_ was appointed inspector at the senior officers’ school at Aldershot. The War Office then, sent Major Duigan to the United States to carry out important propaganda work in connection with the Liberty Loan. Towards the end of tho war ho was appointed a temporary lieutenant-colonel, and on his return_to New Zealand he was made chief infantry instructor at Fcatherston camp. For the first seven months of 1919 he was again General Staff Officer for tho Auckland district. He became Chief Staff Officer of tho Northern Command and in tho 10 years that followed ho made an outstanding reputation for his energy and administrative ability. His specialty of military engineering was of importance in view of tho growing mechanisation of Army methods. He had been awarded the D.S.O. ,in 1919, his work in tho field having also won mention in despatches. In 1930, on tho retirement of Colonel IT. R. Potter, Colonel Duigan was appointed Officer Commanding the Northern Command. In 1936 he was named aidc-dc-camp to the King, in succession

to Colonel F. Symon. On the retirement of Sir William Sinclair-Burgess in March, 1937, he was appointed his successor as General Officer Commanding the New Zealand Military Forces, which position he has held since. His term of office has twice been extended bv the Government in recognition of tho value of his services. Colonel 0. H. Mead, C.8.E.. was born in Blenheim in 1892, and was educated at Marlborough College. He served in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Great War, rising_ from tho rank of lieutenant to major in March, 1917, and later to lieutenant-colonel. Ho held command of the first, second, and third, battalions of the Canterbury (Regiment until his return to New Zealand in November, 1919, and in the same year he became a captain on the New Zealand Staff Corps. lie was at the Staff College at Canterbury for two years, and was attached to the War Office, Loudon, in 1929. Subsequently lie held tho position of adjutant and quarter-master-general to the New Zealand Military Forces and second member of the Army. Board at Army Headquarters, Wellington. After some years in charge of the Southern Command, with headquarters in Dunedin, he was appointed officer commanding the northern military district, Auckland,’ and last year he became adjutant-general at Army Headquarters, Wellington. Croup-captain L. M.' Isitt, C.8.E., served with the New Zealand Rifle Brigade and tho Royal Flying Corps during the Great War. lie was appointed to the New Zealand Staff Corps for air duties in November, 1919, and transferred to the New Zealand Royal Air Force on its formation in 1923. For some time ho was officer commanding the Hobsonvillo air base in Auckland, but in April, 1937, he was transferred to air headquarters in Wellington, where ho became Air Force member for personnel. He was promoted group-captain in July, 1938, and was recently appointed to represent the New Zealand Government on the supervisory board, set up to administer the Empire air training scheme in Canada.

Squadron-leader I. E. Rawnsley. was appointed chief instructor to the Wellington Aero Club in April, 1937. Before that he was instructor to the Hawke’s Bay and East Coast Aero Club, to which he was appointed in September, 1935, He was born in Wellington and was educated at Wellington College and at Victoria University College. He has served in the Now Zealand Territorial Air Force since its inception. He has also held a commission in the Royal Air Force and has seen service in England and Egypt. In bis air experience extending over 20 years he has flown some 20 different types of twin and singleengined aircraft and has won a number of valuable air pageant and air competition trophies.