Owen Herbert Mead
Born 24 Jan 1892 - Died 25 Jul 1942
- Service number
- WWI 6/296 AWMM
- WWII 50745 AWMM
- Also known as
- —
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Last rank
- War
About
- Title
- —
- Forenames
- Owen Herbert AWMM
- Surname
- Mead AWMM
- Ingoa
- —
- Also known as
- —
- Service number
- WWI 6/296 AWMM
- WWII 50745 AWMM
- Gender
- Male AWMM
- Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
- —
- Religion
- —
Images
Documents
About birth
- Birth
- 24 Jan 1892 AWMM
- Date of birth
- —
- Place of birth
- —
- Birth notes
- —
- Address before enlistment
- WW1 Pre 05 Aug 1914 AWMM Blenheim, New Zealand AWMM
- WW2 C/o Headquarters, Southern Military District, Christchurch, New Zealand AWMM
- Post war occupation
- —
- Next of kin
- WW1 Edward Mead (father), Blenheim, New Zealand AWMM
- WW2 Mrs B. Mead (wife), Paraparaumu Beach, Wellington, New Zealand AWMM
- Relationship status
- Pre 16 Oct 1914 AWMM Single/WWI AWMM
- Pre Jan 1942 AWMM Married/WWI AWMM
Wars and conflicts
- War
- Campaign
- 1915-1916 AWMM Gallipoli AWMM
- Pacific Theatre of War AWMM
- 1917 AWMM Passchendaele AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Service number
- WWI 6/296 AWMM
- WWII 50745 AWMM
- Military service
- Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers
- —
Military decorations
- Medals and Awards
- Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) AWMM
- Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) AWMM
DSO citation: "For gallantry and devotion to duty. Lieut-Colonel Mead has served continuously with the N.Z.E.F., since its inception in 1914, and throughout, proved himself to be a brave, reliable officer. He commanded his Battalion in the Passchendaele Operations, and also during the operations of the Division in the vicinity of Mailly Maillet from March 26th till June 21st 1918. On these occasions, the success of his Unit was in large measure due to his skilful leadership and personal example, which inspired all ranks under his command." (London Gazette, 3 June 1919, p6822, Rec No. 3357) AWMM - 1914-1915 Star AWMM
- British War Medal (1914-1920) AWMM
- Victory Medal AWMM
- 1939-1945 Star AWMM
- Pacific Star AWMM
- War Medal 1939-1945 with oak leaf AWMM
- New Zealand War Service Medal AWMM
- Coronation Medal 1937 AWMM
- New Zealand Territorial Service Medal AWMM
- King George V Silver Jubilee Medal 1935 AWMM
- Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) AWMM
London Gazette 03/06/1919 AWMM - Mentioned in Despatches (MiD) Twice AWMM
1st MiD. citation: "This Officer did excellent work during the whole of the fighting round Flers from 18th to 26th September. He got his company forward well on each occasion and was unsparing in his efforts to get the best out of his men." (London Gazette, 4 January 1917, p261, Rec No. 400) 2nd MiD citation: "For distinguished and gallant services and devotion to duty during the period 16th September 1918, to 15th March 1919." (London Gazette, 11 July 1919, p8836) AWMM
Training and Enlistment
- Military training
- —
- Branch Trade Proficiency
- —
- Enlistment
- WW1 05 Aug 1914 AWMM
- WW2
- Age on enlistment
- —
- Occupation before enlistment
- —
Embarkations
- Embarkation details
- WW1 16 Oct 1914 AWMM
HMNZT 4 or HMNZT 11 AWMM Vessel was Tahiti or Athenic AWMM Lieutenant/Military AWMM Canterbury Infantry Battalion AWMM Main Body AWMM - WW2 Brigadier/Military AWMM Headquarters, Infantry Brigade AWMM Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force AWMM
2nd Embarkation AWMM
- WW1 16 Oct 1914 AWMM
Prisoner of war
- Capture details
- —
- Days interned
- —
- Liberation date
- —
- POW liberation details
- —
- Liberation Repatriation
- —
- POW serial number
- —
Medical history
- Medical notes
- Accidental Death, Cause of Death AWMM
Lost at sea in an air accident AWMM
Last known rank
- Last rank
- Last rank
- —
Biographical information
- Owen Mead was the son of Edward and Flora Mead; husband of Barbara Mead (nee Loughman)
Assistant Provost Marshal
Commanding Officer (CO) of 1 Battalion, Canterbury Regiment, 12 October 1917
Commanding Office of 3 (Reserve) Battalion
Discharged from NZEF to Reserves in February 1920
Commander of Southern Military District (SMD), 1940
General Officer Commanding (GOC) of New Zealand Forces in the Pacific, March 1942
Lost at sea while in transit from Fiji to Tonga in a Hudson aircraft of 4 Squadron, RNZAF on 25 July 1942
Listed by Commonwealth War Graves Commission with date of death as between 01/07/1942 and 31/07/1942 AWMM
About death
- Death
- 25 Jul 1942 AWMM
Age 50 AWMM - Date of death
- —
- Age at death
- —
- Place of death
- —
- Cause of death
- Accidental Death AWMM
- Death notes
- —
- Cemetery
- —
- Cemetery name
- —
- Grave reference
- —
- Obituary
- —
- Memorial name
- —
- Memorial reference
- —
Memorial
- Memorial name
- Bourail Memorial, Bourail New Zealand War Cemetery, New Caledonia AWMM
- The Auckland Officer's Club, Newmarket, Auckland, Roll of Honour AWMM
- Roll of Honour, Officers' Club Auckland, The Northern Club, 19 Princes Street, Auckland, New Zealand AWMM
- Borough of Blenheim Roll of Honour, Marlborough Museum. 26 Arthur Baker Pl, Redwoodtown, Blenheim 7201 AWMM
- Marlborough War Memorial, Second World War Panel AWMM
Sources
- External links
- Military Personnel File
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R24061627
Further Reference - Military Personnel File
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R24170498
Further Reference - Military Personnel File
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R24170499
Further Reference - Military Personnel File
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R24061627
Further Reference - Military Personnel File
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R24170498
Further Reference - Military Personnel File
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R24170499
Further Reference - New Zealand Electronic Text Collection topic page
http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/name-026966.html
Further Reference - Commonwealth War Graves Commission record
https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2187362
Sources Used - Wikidata Entity
http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12798180
Further Reference - Archive report on the incident:
https://aircrewremembered.com/anderson-donald-arthur.htmlPublic - Kelvin - Researcher - 11 October 2023 - https://aircrewremembered.com/anderson-donald-arthur.html
- Military Personnel File
- References
- Macdonald, L. (1978). Passchendaele : the story of the third Battle of Ypres 1917. London : Penguin Books.
- Harper, G. (2000). Massacre at Passchendaele : the New Zealand story. Auckland, N.Z.: HarperCollins.
- Polaschek, A. (1983). The Complete New Zealand Distinguished Conduct Medal. Christchurch, N.Z.: Medals Research.
- New Zealand Army Expeditionary Force. (1914-1919). Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Volume I. Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
Vol1: 496 - Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. (1942). Nominal Roll Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force No. 7 (Embarkations from 1st January, 1942 to 31st March, 1942). Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
WW2 7: WW2 98 - Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. (1942). Nominal Roll Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force No. 7 (Embarkations from 1st January, 1942 to 31st March, 1942). Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
- Martyn, E. (1998-2008). For Your Tomorrow (Vols. 1-3). Christchurch, N.Z.: Volplane Press.
Martyn, E. (1998-2008). vol. 1p. 225 - Beattie, P.J. & Pomeroy, M. (2013-2020). Onward : portraits of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (vols 1-5). Auckland, New Zealand: Fair Dinkum Publications
Vol. 1: Includes portrait; Vol. 4: Includes portrait - McDonald, W. (2013). Honours and Awards to the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Great War, 1914-1918. (3rd ed.). Hamilton, N.Z.: Richard Stowers.
- Waite, F. (1919). The New Zealanders at Gallipoli. Auckland, N.Z.: Printed and published under Authority of the New Zealand Government by Whitcombe & Tombs.
The development of the Online Cenotaph is an ongoing process; updates, new images and records are added weekly. In some cases, records have yet to be confirmed by Museum staff, and there could be mistakes or omissions in the information provided.
Online Cenotaph Data by Auckland War Memorial Museum is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.