George Augustus King
Born 3 Mar 1885 - Died 12 Oct 1917
- Service number
- WWI 11/680 AWMM
- Also known as
- —
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- and Canterbury Infantry BtnPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 24 March 2016 - Military Record
- NZ Staff Corps, Auckland Mounted Regiment, & NZ Maori Pioneer BattalionPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 24 March 2016 - Military Record
- Last rank
- WW1 Lieutenant Colonel/Military AWMM Canterbury Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion AWMM
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
About
- Title
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- Forenames
- George Augustus AWMM
- Surname
- King AWMM
- Ingoa
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- Also known as
- —
- Service number
- WWI 11/680 AWMM
- Gender
- Male AWMM
- Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
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- Religion
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Images
Documents
About birth
- Birth
- 3 Mar 1885 AWMM
- Date of birth
- 1885Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 24 March 2016 - Military Record
- Place of birth
- Burwood, CanterburyPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 24 March 2016 - Military Record
- Birth notes
- son of George & Elizabeth Clifton KINGPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 24 March 2016 - Military Record & Research
- Address before enlistment
- WW1 Defence Office, Hamilton, New Zealand AWMM
- Post war occupation
- —
- Next of kin
- WW1 Mrs A.L. King (wife), C/o Mrs Lister, Canvarin Street, Nelson, New Zealand AWMM
- Relationship status
- Pre 16 Oct 1914 AWMM Married AWMM
Married, 2 children AWMM - 1910 married Annie Letitia CosterPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 24 March 2016 - Military Record
- Pre 16 Oct 1914 AWMM Married AWMM
Wars and conflicts
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
- Campaign
- 1914-1916 AWMM Egypt AWMM
- 1915-1916 AWMM Gallipoli AWMM
- 1917 AWMM Passchendaele AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- and Canterbury Infantry BtnPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 24 March 2016 - Military Record
- NZ Staff Corps, Auckland Mounted Regiment, & NZ Maori Pioneer BattalionPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 24 March 2016 - Military Record
- Service number
- WWI 11/680 AWMM
- Military service
- Commanding Officer of New Zealand Pioneer Battalion AWMM
- 1914-1917Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 24 March 2016 - Military Record
- Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers
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Military decorations
- Medals and Awards
- Companion of the Distinguished Service Order and bar (DSO*) AWMM
Distinguished Service Order -London Gazette, 3 June 1916, p5570, WA 22/5/10: "Gallipoli April - August 1915. Steady good work for past 3 months. Very valuable." Bar Distinguished Service Order - London Gazette, 1 January 1918, p. 17: "For distinguished service in the field (France and Flanders)." AWMM - Croix de Guerre 1914-1918 (France) AWMM
Croix de Guerre (France) - London Gazette, 17 December 1917, p. 13206: "For distinguished services rendered during the course of the campaign." AWMM - Mentioned in Despatches (MiD) Five Times AWMM
Mentioned in Despatches - London Gazette, 28 January 1916, p. 1207: "In connection with the operations described in General I Hamilton's despatch dated 11 December 1915." Mentioned in Despatches - London Gazette, 13 July 1916, p. 6942: "For distinguished and gallant services rendered during the period of Sir C Munro's command of the Meditterranean Expeditionary Force." London Gazette 4 January 1917, p262, Rec No 443 This Officer has commanded the Pioneer Batt. since formation. During the time the Division has been in France he has earned the highest praise for its efficiency and high standard of work. Mentioned in Despatches - London Gazette, 1 June 1917, p. 5430, Rec No 570: "The services rendered by the Pioneer Battalion which this Officer Commands, during the operations on the Somme at the end of September and the begining of October, were of very greatest assistance, and during the Winter months the same high level of efficiency has been maintained. Lieut-Colonel King deserves the very greatest credit for this work and deserves special recognition." Mentioned in Despatches - London Gazette, 28 December 1917, p. 13575, Rec No 1265: "For gallantry and devotion to duty the past 18 months. The personal influence and zeal displayed by this Officer while in Command of the New Zealand Maori (Pioneer) Battalion from its formation in February 1916, until August, 1917, has made it an extraordinary efficient unit. His coolness under fire, and his tact and judgement have been an example and inspiration to the Native race lately under his Command. I cannot too strongly recommend him for the valuable service he has so rendered to the Service." AWMM - Victory Medal AWMM
- British War Medal (1914-1920) AWMM
- Plaque & Scroll # 507109Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 24 March 2016 - Military Record
- Companion of the Distinguished Service Order and bar (DSO*) AWMM
Training and Enlistment
- Military training
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- Branch Trade Proficiency
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- Enlistment
- WW1 Farmer/Civilian AWMM
- 9 March 1911 at Tauherenikau, Wgn: NZ Permanent ForcesPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 24 March 2016 - Military Record
- Age on enlistment
- 26yrsPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 24 March 2016 - Military Record
- Occupation before enlistment
- SoldierPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 24 March 2016 - Military Record
Embarkations
- Embarkation details
- WW1 16 Oct 1914-03 Dec 1914 AWMM
HMNZT 8 or HMNZT 12 AWMM Vessel was Star of India or Waimana AWMM Captain/Military AWMM Auckland Mounted Rifles AWMM Main Body AWMM
Prisoner of war
- Capture details
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- Days interned
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- Liberation date
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- POW liberation details
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- Liberation Repatriation
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- POW serial number
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Medical history
- Medical notes
- Killed in Action, Cause of Death AWMM
Last known rank
- Last rank
- WW1 Lieutenant Colonel/Military AWMM
Canterbury Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion AWMM - Last rank
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Biographical information
- George King was the son of Elizabeth Clifton King (née Wilson) and the late George King.
Husband of Annie Letitia King (née Coster), of 27 Fairview Crescent, Kelburn, Wellington. They were married in 1910.
Was the first Commanding Officer of the New Zealand Pioneer Battalion, (which was from September 1917 known as the New Zealand (Maori) Pioneer Battalion).
He was posted out from the New Zealand Pioneer Battalion to Command the 1st Battalion, Canterbury Regiment. he was with them when he was killed by British artillery fire during the attack before Passchendaele on 12 October 1917.
Of the attack where Lt.-Col. King lost his life, it was said that "They had poured out their blood like water. The bodies of 40 officers and 600 men lay in swathes about the wire.". This was the blackest day in New Zealand's experience of war, with 2700 casualities. New Zealand Pioneer Battalion known as this until September 1917 when the unit became known as New Zealand (Maori) Pioneer Battalion
Auckland War Memorial Museum Scars on the Heart WWI "Remember" display. Display item is the Gus King Lamp. The memorial lamp is of the 'Toc H' Association which was an ex-serviceman's association founded after the First World War to embody christian fellowship. Notes about this label are on the ACF8276.
"Lieutenant Colonel George Augustus King: A brave and diligent soldier
Cantabrian George Augustus King enlisted with 1st (North Canterbury) Mounted Rifles in 1910 aged 25. At the outbreak of war in August 1914 he joined the New Zealand Expeditionary Force as an officer in the Auckland Mounted Rifles. Rapid promotion to Temporary Lieutenant Colonel saw him become the first commanding officer of the New Zealand Pioneer Battalion in March 1916, which was in Gallipoli preparing for a move to the Western Front.
Seen to be a brave and efficient commander, Lieutenant Colonel King was presented with the Distinguished Service Order (DSO):
"Gallipoli April - August 1915. Steady good work for past 3 months. Very valuable." - London Gazette, 3 June 1916, p5570, WA 22/5/10.
Once confirmed as Lieutenant Colonel he was appointed to command the 1st Battalion, Canterbury Infantry Regiment in France in August 1917, where he too saw service at the Somme and Messines.
The 1st Canterbury Infantry Regiment was in the rear during the battle when it came under artillery fire killing Lieutenant Colonel King. King was one of 126 men of the battalion killed during the battle. It later emerged that he had been accidentally killed by British gunners. His body was recovered by men of the Pioneer Battalion, his former regiment. He was given a funeral at Ypres.
Lieutenant Colonel King was recognised for his bravery and gallantry with a posthumous bar to his DSO in January 1918. Earlier in his service he had been Mentioned in Despatches five times and awarded the French Croix de Guerre.
"For distinguished service in the field (France and Flanders)"
Lieutenant Colonel George Augustus King is remembered at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, World War One Hall of Memories, dedicated to fallen soldiers." Excerpt from Coombe, Sophie. 'Faces of Passchendaele', Auckland War Memorial Museum - Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Published: 12/10/2018.
Next of Kin: Mrs A. L. king Kelburn, Wellington (Roll of Honour, Auckland Province 1914-1918 (Volume 1)) AWMM - Continued:
Gus King was one of the best of the first generation of the New Zealand Staff Corps. He was five feet nine inches in height, with blue eyes, brown hair and a clipped moustache. He loved sport and was a fine horseman. Pre-war confidential reports noted a 'good eye for country, a genial disposition, full of common sense', and that he had 'the knack of handling backblocks men'; when billeted with French civilians he preferred to sleep on the floor. His letters from Gallipoli and the western front show that he relished the activity of battle, yet he longed for the war to end and to get home. Though exasperated at times by his 'menagerie' of a battalion, King fully justified Russell's choice by creating one of the most admired Pioneer units among the empire's armies. Had he lived, he would very likely have been given command of a brigade. King was an effective commander, lost at age 32, before he had reached his prime.Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 24 March 2016 - http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/3k12/king-george-augustus - George Augustus King was born at Christchurch, NZ, on 3 March 1885, the son of George King, a merchant, & his wife, Elizabeth Clifton Wilson. Gus King was educated at Warwick House School & Christ's College, where he played in the First XV. Shepherding at Waitohi Peaks, North Canterbury, & surveying in Hawke's Bay preceded work on his father's sheep run at Gleniti, Nelson. On 25 Oct 1910 at Nelson, King married Annie Letitia Coster.
Keen on the army from an early age, King had served in the school cadets 7 later joined the Volunteer Force, becoming adjutant of the 1st Regiment North Canterbury Mounted Rifle Volunteers. In 1910 he applied to join the NZ Permanent Forces & received a commission as lieutenant on 14 January 1911. 2 months later he was appointed to the NZ Staff Corps & posted to Hamilton as adjutant of the 4th (Waikato) Mounted Rifles.
In the NZ Expeditionary Force, which sailed in October 1914, King was staff captain to Colonel Andrew Russell, commander of the NZ Mounted Rifles Brigade. During the Gallipoli landings the brigade remained in Egypt, but in May 1915 was sent to Anzac Cove as infantry. In the push to capture the peninsula during August, Russell's Mounted Rifles Brigade successfully secured the foothills. King recorded a 'great go for the past week', but was pained at the failure to consolidate the Wellington Battalion's capture of Chunuk Bair on 8 August. On the 16th, as a temporary major, King took over the remnant of the Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment. In the last major thrust of the campaign he was 2nd in command of the unsuccessful attack on Hill 60 on 27 August. During the attack he was wounded, & he was sent to Egypt to recuperate.
King was appointed a DSO for his service at Gallipoli. As one of the best officers to survive the campaign he was given one of the toughest jobs when Major General Russell formed the NZ Division, namely command of the NZ Pioneer Battalion. This unit provided the skilled labour for making trenches, roads and tramways. It began as a combination of the original Maori Contingent, Maori reinforcements and the Otago Mounted Rifles Regt, & also included Rarotongans, Niueans & other Pacific islanders.
King moulded these disparate elements into a well-disciplined battalion, which went to France in April 1916. To break the monotony of trench digging they were permitted to send night-raiding parties across no man's land in the vicinity of Armentières in July 1916, but these were not successful. However, in the battle of the Somme in August & September the battalion distinguished itself at the front. The communications trench known as Turk Lane, which King dubbed 'our masterpiece', was 'just about the largest trench in France'. The Pioneers earned a reputation as the 'Digging Battalion' & soon their sobriquet, 'Diggers', was adopted for the N Z Division &, eventually, all the Anzacs.
Early in 1917 the battalion was moved to Belgium & in June took part in the battle of Messines (Mesen), building forward trenches and a tramline to bring up ammunition & evacuate wounded. A brief attachment to the French First Army with the New Zealand Rifle Brigade led to King's receipt of the Croix de guerre. After a short period of leave in England, on 30 August 1917 he took over as officer commanding the 1st Battalion, Canterbury Infantry Regiment.
On 12 October 1917, during the battle for Passchendaele (Passendale) King was killed when a shell from the supporting barrage exploded on the battalion headquarters. His body was recovered by the Maori Pioneers, who buried him at Ypres (Ieper). King was survived by his wife, Annie, and two children. He was awarded a bar to the DSO posthumously in January 1918.Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 24 March 2016 - http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/3k12/king-george-augustus
- George King was the son of Elizabeth Clifton King (née Wilson) and the late George King.
About death
- Death
- 12 Oct 1917 AWMM
Age 32 AWMM - Date of death
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- Age at death
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- Place of death
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- Cause of death
- Killed in Action AWMM
- Death notes
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- Cemetery
- Ypres Reservoir Cemetery, Ieper, Belgium AWMM I.H.28. AWMM
- Cemetery name
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- Grave reference
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- Obituary
- Lieutenant-Colonel George A. King, late of Hamilton, who has been killed in action, was a native of Canterbury, and was educated there, being an old Christ's College boy. He formerly was engaged in farming in the northern part of the South Island. On the institution of the territorial system he was appointed adjutant to the 4th Waikato Mounted Rifles. Subsequently he was promoted to the charge of No. 4 group, and he held this position on the outbreak of war, when he immediately volunteered for active service. He left New Zealand as staff captain in the Mounted Rifle Brigade. He went through the Gallipoli campaign, and was wounded there. When the troops returned from Gallipoli to Egypt Colonel King was placed in charge of the Maori Pioneer Force, and so far as latest advices show he held that position until the time of his death. Colonel King was the holder of the D.S.O. and also a French decoration. He leaves a wife and two children. (Auckland Weekly News, 1 November 1917, p. 22) AWMM
- Memorial name
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- Memorial reference
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Memorial
- Memorial name
- Memorial plaque, Auckland Garrison Officers Club, St Mary's Church (part of Holy Trinity Cathedral ), corner St Stephens Avenue & Parnell Road, Auckland, New Zealand AWMM
- Hamilton Memorial Park, Memorial Drive, Hamilton East, 3216 AWMM
- Auckland War Memorial Museum, World War 1 Hall of Memories AWMM
- Nelson Cenotaph, Anzac Park, NelsonPublic - Peter - Researcher - 30 October 2018 - on site
Related objects
Sources
- External links
- Military personnel file
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R18057230
Further Reference - Powles, C.G. (1922). The New Zealanders in Sinai and Palestine. Auckland, N.Z.: Whitcombe and Tombs. Digitised copy on NZETC site.
http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH1-Sina.html
Sources Used - Ferguson, D. (1921). The history of the Canterbury Regiment, N.Z.E.F. 1914-1919. Auckland, N.Z.: Whitcombe and Tombs. Digital copy NZETC.
http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH1-Cant.html
Sources Used - Stewart, H. (1921). The New Zealand Division 1916-1919 : a popular history based on official records. Auckland, N.Z.: Whitcombe and Tombs. Digital copy
http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH1-Fran.html
Sources Used - New Zealand Electronic Text Collection topic page
http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/name-208407.html
Further Reference - Coombe, Sophie. 'Faces of Passchendaele', Auckland War Memorial Museum - Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Published: 12/10/2018.
https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/discover/stories/faces-of-passchendaele
Further Reference - A Street Near You record
https://astreetnearyou.org/person/99194/-
Further Reference - Commonwealth War Graves Commission Casualty record
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/99194
Further Reference - Wikidata Entity
http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5536499
Further Reference - New Zealand War Graves Trust
https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/
Further Reference
- 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.
- 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.
- New Zealand Army Expeditionary Force. (1914-1919). Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Volume I. Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
Vol1: 394 - Studholme, J. (1928). New Zealand Expeditionary Force record of personal services during the war of officers, nurses, and first-class warrant officers, and other facts relating to the N.Z.E.F. : unofficial but based on official records. Wellington, N.Z.: Government Printer.
- Stewart, H. (1921). The New Zealand Division 1916-1919 : a popular history based on official records. Auckland, N.Z.: Whitcombe & Tombs.
Stewart, H. (1921), p. 275 - Ferguson, David (1921). The history of the Canterbury Regiment, N.Z.E.F. 1914-1919. Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd: Auckland, N.Z.
Ferguson, D., (1921), p. 112. - 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 - Information kindly provided by family
- Roll of Honour, Auckland Province (digital copy), 1914 - 1919. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS-2016-2.
- Waite, F. (1919). The New Zealanders at Gallipoli. Auckland, N.Z.: Printed and published under Authority of the New Zealand Government by Whitcombe & Tombs.
- Nicol, C.G. (1921). The story of two campaigns: Official war history of the Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment 1914-1919. Auckland, N.Z.: Wilson & Horton.
- Ferguson, David (1921). The history of the Canterbury Regiment, N.Z.E.F. 1914-1919. Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd: Auckland, N.Z.
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