Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg
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| Bernard Cyril Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg | |
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| In office 17 June 1946 – 15 August 1952 |
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| Preceded by | Sir Cyril Newall |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Norrie |
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| Born | March 21, 1889 Richmond, London,  England |
| Died | July 4, 1963 (aged 74) Windsor, England |
| Nationality | New Zealand |
Lieutenant-General Bernard Cyril Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, VC, GCMG, KCB, KBE, DSO and three Bars (March 21, 1889 — July 4, 1963), arguably New Zealand's most famous soldier and military commander, also served as Governor-General of New Zealand.
He became an officer in the British Army in World War I, during which he won the Victoria Cross.
During the Second World War, he commanded the New Zealand Army Expeditionary Force in the Battle of Crete, the North African Campaign and the Battle of Monte Cassino.
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[edit] Early life
Freyberg, born in Richmond, London in England, moved to New Zealand with his parents at the age of two. He attended Wellington College from 1897 to 1904.
A strong swimmer, he won the New Zealand 100-yards championship in 1906 and in 1910.
On May 22, 1911 he gained formal registration as a dentist. He worked as an assistant dentist in Morrinsville and later practised in Hamilton and in Levin. While in Morrinsville he was asked to take up a subalternship in the local Territorial Army unit, but he did not succeed in gaining the King's commission.
Freyberg left New Zealand in March 1914. Records exist of him in San Francisco and in Mexico, where he may have taken part in the civil war then raging in that country. Upon hearing of the outbreak of war in Europe in August 1914, he travelled to England.
[edit] World War I
In late 1914 Freyberg met Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, and persuaded Churchill to grant him a commission in the Hood Battalion of the newly-constituted Royal Naval Division.
In 1915 Freyberg became involved in the Dardanelles campaign. During the initial landings by Allied troops following the unsuccessful attempt to force the straits by sea, Freyberg swam ashore in the Gulf of Saros. Once ashore, he began lighting flares so as to distract the defending Turkish forces from the real landings taking place at Gallipoli. Despite coming under heavy Turkish fire, he returned safely from this outing, and for his action he received his first DSO. He received serious wounds on several occasions and left the peninsula when his division evacuated in January 1916.
Freyberg went to France in May 1916. He received the Victoria Cross at the Battle of the Somme. On November 13, 1916 at Beaucourt-sur-Ancre, France, after Freyberg's battalion had carried the initial attack through the enemy's front system of trenches, he rallied and re-formed his own much disorganised men and some others, and led them on a successful assault of the second objective, during which he suffered two wounds, but remained in command and held his ground throughout the day and the following night. When re-inforced the next morning he attacked and captured a strongly fortified village, taking 500 prisoners. Though wounded twice more, the second time severely, Freyberg refused to leave the line until he had issued final instructions. His citation described the end result of these actions, stating that "[Freyberg] enabled the lodgement of the corps to be permanently held, and on this point the line was eventually formed" for subsequent offensives.
During his time on the Western Front Freyberg continued to lead by example. His leadership had a cost however: Freyberg received nine wounds during his service in France, and men who served with him later in his career said hardly a part of his body did not have scars.
Freyberg gained promotion to the rank of temporary brigadier and took command of a brigade in the 58th Division in April 1917, which reportedly made him the youngest general in the British Army. By the end of the war Freyberg had added a further two DSOs and the French Croix Militaire de Guerre to his name, as well receiving five more mentions in despatches after his escapade at Saros.
[edit] The Interbellum
Freyberg remained as a serving officer after the conclusion of World War I. On 14 June 1922 he married Barbara McLaren (a daughter of Sir Herbert Jekyll and the widow of Hon. Francis McLaren) at St Martha on the Hill. Barbara had two children from her previous marriage, and she and Freyberg later had a son, Paul, born in 1923. Freyberg served as a chief staff officer with the Territorial Army's 44th Home Counties Division, among other posts, during the interwar period.
[edit] World War II
The British Army classified Freyberg as unfit for active service in 1937. However, following the outbreak of war in September 1939 he returned to its active list. Following an approach from the New Zealand government, Freyberg offered his services and subsequently gained appointment as commander of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force and of the New Zealand 2nd Division.
In the chaos of the retreat from the Greek mainland campaign of 1941, London gave Freyberg command of the Allied forces during the Battle of Crete. Controversy surrounds his use of ULTRA intelligence messages during this battle[1].
Freyberg continued to command the New Zealand 2nd Division through the North African and Italian campaigns of the British Eighth Army. He had an excellent reputation as a divisional-level tactician. Freyberg disagreed strongly with his superior, General Auchinleck, and insisted that as a commander of a national contingent he had the right to refuse orders if those orders ran counter to the New Zealand national interest. On the other hand, Freyberg enjoyed a good relationship with Montgomery, who thought highly of the experienced New Zealander. Freyberg excelled in planning set-piece attacks, such as at Operation Supercharge at Alamein, Operation Supercharge II at Tebaga Gap, and in the storming of the Senio line in 1945. However, the two occasions that Freyberg commanded at Corps level—at Tebaga Gap and Monte Cassino—counted as less successful. Throughout the war he showed a disdain for danger. He showed notable concern for the welfare of his soldiers, taking a common-sense attitude to discipline and ensuring the establishment of social facilities for his men. He had become a very popular commander with the New Zealand soldiers by the time he left his command (with the rank of lieutenant-general) in 1945.
[edit] Post-war
Following his retirement from the Army, Freyberg served as Governor-General of New Zealand from 1946 until 1952. In this post he played a very active role, visiting all parts of New Zealand and its dependencies.
The Crown raised Freyberg to the peerage as Baron Freyberg of Wellington in New Zealand and of Munstead in the County of Surrey in 1951.
After his term as New Zealand Governor-General had finished Freyberg returned to England where he sat frequently in the House of Lords. On March 1, 1953 he became the Deputy Constable and Lieutenant-Governor of Windsor Castle; he took up residence in the Norman Gateway the following year.
In 1955, Freyberg High School in Palmerston North, New Zealand opened.
Freyberg died at Windsor on July 4, 1963 following the rupture of one of his war wounds, and was buried in the churchyard of St Martha on the Hill in Guildford, Surrey.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Cyril Newall |
Governor-General of New Zealand 1946 – 1952 |
Succeeded by The Lord Norrie |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by New Creation |
Baron Freyberg | Succeeded by Paul Freyberg |
[edit] References
- Freyberg : Churchill's Salamander (L Barber and J Tonkin-Covell, 1989)
- Bernard Freyberg, VC : Soldier of Two Nations (Paul Freyberg, 1991)
- VCs of the First World War - The Somme (Gerald Gliddon, 1994)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
[edit] External links
- Official biography at Government House, Wellington. Accessed 14 February 2006.
- First World War.com - Who's Who - Bernard Freyberg. Accessed 14 February 2006.
- "Freyberg, Bernard Cyril" at the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Accessed 14 February 2006.
- New Zealand Troops who have won the Victoria Cross. Accessed 14 February 2006.
- Location of grave and VC medal (Surrey). Accessed 14 February 2006.
| Persondata | |
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| NAME | Freyberg, Bernard Cyril Freyberg, Baron |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Salamander |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Military leader, viceroy, Victoria Cross |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 21, 1889 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Richmond, London, United Kingdom |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 4, 1963 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Windsor, Berkshire, United Kingdom |
