ARMY OFFICER RETIRES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19798, 19 November 1927, Page 12

ARMY OFFICER RETIRES.

[COLONEL C. G. ; POWLES« LONG. DISTINGUISHED CAREER. SERVICE IN TWO WARS* [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] WELLINGTON. Friday. It is announced that Colonel-Command-ant Charles Guy Powles, C.M.G., D.5.0., A.D.C. to His Majesty the King, commandant of the Central Command of the New Zealand Military Forces, will retire from the active list on December 15. Colonel Powles,, who is a son of the Mo Mr. C. P. Bowles, for many years secretary of the Wellington College Board of Governors, was born in New Zealand on December 15, 1872. He Berved for five years in the ranks of the Wellington College Cadets, and when the Boer War broke out he enlisted with the 4th New Zealand contingent. He served in various capacities from the rank of sergeant to regimental sergeant-major until in 1901 he received a commission in the field. After his return to New Zealand he kept himself up-to-date in military work. On the introduction of the compulsory training system, and after undergoing a special course of instruction at Trentham, ho was appointed lieutenant on the New Zealand Staff Corps, and was posted adjutant 6th (Manawatu) Mounted* Rifles, in July, 1911, with the temporary rank of captain, Wounded at Galllpoli. Tn May, 1913, he was appointed office* the No. 5 (Wellington) Group, and he held that office until August 31, 1914, when he was appointed brigade major, Now Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, which was just about to leave on active service, with the rank of captain. While on Gallipoli some months later ho was promoted temporary major, and a few monW'Hs later he was wounded. In December, 1915, he was appointed officer commanding the Canterbury Mounted Riflos Regiment, and in March, 1916, relinquished that office to take up the position of assistant-adjutant and quartermaster-general to the Australian and New Zealand Mounted Division, with tho tempoi'ary rank of lieutenant-colonel. Colonel Powles served with distinction throughout the Sinai-Palestine campaign, and in June, 1918, was removed to the European field of operations. He was then seconded for duty for four months to the 61st division of the British Expeditionary Force. He returned to New Zealand in March, 1919, and was immediately appointed second in command of the instructional camps at Trentham. Chief of General Staff. For two and a-half years he was commandant of tho General Headquarters School at Trentham, and in April, 1922, proceeded to general headquarters as staff officer in charge of " A " branch, an office lie occupied until March 31, 1923, when he became chief of staff, and, nine months later, chief of the General Staff, with the rank of colonel. He received the appointment of officer commanding the central command, which he now holds, in April, 1924. He holds the Queen's Medal with four clasps, awarded for services in South Africa, the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal. He was mentioned in despatches four times during the late war. The honour of C.M.G. was conferred in e £he Birthday Honours of 1918. He is' the author of the official history of tho part played by the New Zealand mounted troops in Palestine.