Sergeant T. M. Hutchinson, MM; Invercargill; born Napier, 14 Mar 1912; clerk; twice wounded. (Source: Murphy, W.E. 2nd NZ Divisional Artillery. p.266.)

'The merciless bombardment of 25 Battery continued unabated. For long periods the gun positions were quite untenable. With careful searching fire Captain Shortt of A Troop silenced the most troublesome hostile battery, but at the cost of a direct hit on one of his guns. Lieutenant Widdup at the gun position reported heavy shelling from another battery. Later he asked the battery commander, Major Kensington, if he could withdraw a short distance as the position was untenable. In the end Kensington agreed; but meanwhile the gunners had been repeatedly called to the guns for ‘emergency tasks’ (an exaggerated classification). By 3 p.m. all guns were in an anti-tank role to meet the attack from the east which did not come. A little later Shortt got quads to pull three guns out and tow them to ‘a more covered position’. By this time all A Troop guns had suffered damage of some sort and none was properly fit for action. The C Troop guns were brought out under fire by Second-Lieutenant Varian, Sergeant Wheeler and Bombardier Hutchinson. Only two of them were fit for action and these went into position with E Troop of V/AA Battery. (Hutchinson, who had already behaved splendidly, played a leading part in getting the guns out under terrible fire and for this and later brave efforts he was awarded an MM.) Shortly before dusk C Troop hurriedly went into an anti-tank role, this time facing the Mosque where the real danger lay, and the sole remaining useful gun of A Troop did likewise.' (Source: Murphy, W.E. 2nd NZ Divisional Artillery. p. 266.) AWMM