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medal, campaign

On display
human history
  • Other Name

    Defence Medal 1939-45, WW2 (descriptive name)

    Lance Sergeant Duncan MacPherson (Hong Kong Police) (associated name)

  • Description

    Defence Medal 1939-45, WW2

    Awarded to Lance Sergeant Duncan MacPherson (Hong Kong Police)

    cupronickel medal 36mm diameter, plain, non-swivelling suspender, with ribbon

    Obverse: bareheaded effigy of King George VI, facing left. Around the perimeter is the legend "GEORGIVS VI D:G:BR:OMN:REX F:D:IND:IMP."

    reverse: Royal Crown resting on an oak sapling, flanked by a lion and a lioness above stylised waves. At the top left is the year "1939" and at the top right the year "1945". The exergue has the words "THE DEFENCE MEDAL" in two lines.

    Ribbon: 32mm wide grosgrain ribbon, bands of green, black then green, repeated and separated by a wide orange band.

  • Place
  • Associated Place
  • Accession Number
    2001.25.623.4
  • Accession Date
    15 Aug 2001
  • Other Id

    Spink: 162 (Spink 1988)

  • Department
  • Display Room
Defence Medal 1939-1945 2001.25.623.4

Images and documents

Images

Artefact

  • Display location

    Pou Maumahara drawer bank 6, drawer B, medal position 32

  • Credit Line
    Collection of Auckland Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira, 2001.25.623.4 Brent Mackrell Collection
  • Collection
  • Primary Maker

     Thomas Humphrey Paget (Medallist)

     Harold Wilson Parker (Medallist)

  • Place
  • Date
    [1945]
  • Associated Notes

    Defence Medal 1939-45, WW2

    Medal awarded to Lance Sergeant Duncan MacPherson (Hong Kong Police).

    Commissioner Duncan George MacPherson, Hong Kong Police

    Colonial Police Force (CPF).

    Served:

    1930s: Hong Kong Police

    WW2: Hong Kong, Singapore.

    In 1942 the Hong Kong Police were sworn in as auxiliary troops. MacPherson's rank was Lance Sgt. During the Japanese occupation he was taken prisoner and was interned at the Stanley POW Camp where he met and married Doris BrooksWW2: Hong Kong, Singapore.

    In 1941-42 the Hong Kong Police were sworn in as auxiliary troops. MacPherson's rank was Lance Sgt. During the Japanese occupation he was taken prisoner and was interned at the Stanley POW Camp where he met and married Doris Brooks (the daughter of Henry Tom Brooks).

    post-WW2: Hong Kong Police (until early-1950s) then appointed (circa 1955) to the Police Force in Kenya during the 'Maumau rebellion'.

    Retired from Police Force and to emigrated to New Zealand and worked as the first superintendent of Auckland Harbour Bridge.

    "D. G. McPherson - When he retired as bridge superintendent in 1978, McPherson ended a rich career which had seen him swap gunfire with bank robbers and pirates in Hong Kong; he had earlier led volunteer raids behind Japanese lines in World War II to help civilians escape the Japanese advance; he was entangled in gun battles during China's communist struggles; he became director of criminal intelligence in Hong Kong and then transferred to Kenya where he helped check the Mau Mau uprising. His abiding memory of the bridge was the car that skidded and rolled on to its roof as it approached the toll plaza. As it came to a rest, a hand emerged from the upturned vehicle, holding a 20c piece."

    From: Paul Lewis, "Auckland's 175th anniversary: The bridge that nearly sailed away", New Zealand Herald, January 31st, 2015

    (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11394299)

  • Associated Event
    WW2; 1939-1945
  • Associated Person
  • Associated Place
  • Associated Date
    03 Sep 1939-02 Sep 1945
  • Period
  • Signature/marks

    HP (medallist's initials)

    HWP (medallist's initials)

  • Media
  • Measurement Description
    medal: 36mm diameter
    ribbon: 32mm wide
  • Measurement Reading

    85mm

    50mm

    36mm

    32mm

  • Subject Category
  • Classification
  • Media/Materials Notes

    medal

    ribbon

  • Last Update
    19 Mar 2024
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