Lieut.-Colonel J. M. Gordon’s New Post
WELLINGTON BATTALION COMMANDER Lieut.-Colonel J. M. Gordon, M.M., of Palmerston Nort.h ? having been promoted from his former rank as captain, has been given the command of the Ist Battalion Wellington-West Coast Regiment (Territorials), succeeding Lieut.Colonel D. A. C. Lilburne, E.D., of Wanganui, who will be absorbed in :i reorganisation, now under discussion, for the unification of home defence, made necessary by placing tho Home Guard under Army control. As a captain, Lieut.-Colonel Gordon has brought the 12th (Palmerston North) Company of the National Military Reserve to a very high state of efficiency. Lieut.-Colonel Gordon served in the last war, going overseas in the Canterbury Regiment with tho Main Body. He served for four and a-half years with the infantry and machine-gunners, and was at one time a non-commissioned officer under Major R. D. Hardie, D. 5.0.. of Wanganui (and formerly of Palmerston North), now Area Commander of the Home Guard there. After winning the Military Medal in France, Colonel Gordon, then with the rank of sergeant, was granted his commission in the field. Since his return to New Zealand he has taken an interest in defence matters. When the present war broke out he offered his services and was placed in command of the 12th Company of the National Military Reserve, being promoted to the rank of captain on taking that command last October. Colonel Gordon visited Wanganui this week in company with Colonel L. Potter, officer commanding the Field Force in the Central Military District, and took over the command of the battalion. The appointment has been made in effect, from six company commanders, and it is an honour that a Palmerston North citizen has been chosen for the command. The headquarters of the battalion are in Wanganui. No announcement has yet been made concerning Colonel Gordon’s successor in the 12th (Palmerston North) Company of the National Military Reserve.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MT19410807.2.28
Bibliographic details
Manawatu Times, Volume 66, Issue 186, 7 August 1941, Page 4
Word Count
316Lieut.-Colonel J. M. Gordon’s New Post Manawatu Times, Volume 66, Issue 186, 7 August 1941, Page 4
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