BIRTHDAY HONOURS LIST.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17178, 4 June 1919, Page 7

BIRTHDAY HONOURS LIST.

THE-TWO-COMMANDERS.

OF MERIT GRANTED.

FOUR NEW KNIGHTHOODS. By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyrisht. (Received 9.45 p.m.) A. ami N.Z. LONDON, June 2. The following birthday honours are announced :— ORDER OF MERIT? Admiral Sir David Beatty. . Field-Marshal Sir Douglas Haig. KNIGHT OF THE BATH. Rear-Admiral E. F. A. Gaunt. k.c.m.g. Mr. O. W. Fuller, Chief-Secretary, New South Wales. Sir John McCall, Kt., Agent-General for Tasmania. Sir John Langdon Bonython, Kt., Adelaide. SIR DAVID BEATTY. Sir David Beatty, who was appointed to command the Grand Fleet in November, 1916-being then 16 years of ace—is a native of Wexford. His personality and ability assured him of a successful career in the navy, but there were two great opportunities which came to him at a young man, and, turning them to the most account, lie had the distinction of becoming a captain at the early age of 29 years, and of being promoted rear-admiral 'at. 38. The first was in the Soudan campaign, when he was a lieutenant in tho Nile gunboats, and earned special mention from Lord Kitchener, and the second was at tho time of the Boxer rebellion, when lie was landed for service with the naval brigade, was twice wounded, and with a force of about two hundred bluejackets captured two Chinese guns. His promotion to rear-admiral in 1910 necessitated a special Admiralty order, since be had not comp'eted the requisite- time." In 191213 Admiral Beatty served as naval secretary to the first Lord of the Admiralty, and on March 1. 1913. was given command of the battle-cruiser squadron, which he led in the successful Dogger Hank action in x 1915. In 1916. increased to the battle-cruiser Jjeet, it horo the brunt of the Rattle of Jutland, engaging practically the whole of the German H'ch Sea Fleet. It was the daring displayed in this action which caused Sir David Beatty's name to be identified, in popular estimation, with the fighting spirit of the British Navy. Sir David Beatty remained com-mander-in-chief of the Grand Fleet until its dispersal after the armistice. In that capacity he officially received the surrender of the German Navy, in accordance with the armistice terms.

SIR DOUGLAS HAIG. Field-Marshal Sir Douglas Haig was born in Edinburgh in June, 1861. He was educated at Clifton and Brasenoso College, Oxford. He joined' the 7th Hussars in 1885. served in the Soudan in 1898, and in South Africa in 1899, where he commanded groups of columns with great distinction. In August, 1914, he went to Flanders, in command of the First Army Corps, which saw heavy fighting during the retreat from Mons, on the Aisne, in the neighbourhood of the Chemin des Dames, and finally at Yprcs, where Haig bore the brunt of the great German counter-attack on October 21. The First Corps held this position east of Ypres for a month, coming out on November 20. On December 25 Sir Douglas Haig took over tho command of the First Army, and in that capacity fought th« battles of Neuve Chape'lo. Festubet, and Loos. At the end of 1915 he assumed command of tho Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders, and held it until the beginning of April, 1919, when ho returned to England to take over the Home Command,

REAR-ADMTBAL GAUNT Rear-Admiral Ernest Frederick Augustus Gaunt is ,i son of the late Judge Gaunt, of Melbourne, Victoria. Ho wag rear-admiral of the First Battle Squadron in the Battle. of Jutland, when lie was mentioned in despatches and created a Companion of the Bath.