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Bernard Freyberg

Lieutenant General The Right Honourable
The Lord Freyberg
VC, GCMG, KCB, KBE, DSO & Three Bars
General Freyberg.jpg
Bernard Freyberg in 1952
7th Governor-General of New Zealand
In office
17 June 1946 – 15 August 1952
Monarch George VI
Elizabeth II
Preceded by Sir Cyril Newall
Succeeded by Sir Willoughby Norrie
Member of the House of Lords
as Baron Freyberg
In office
19 October 1951 – 4 July 1963
Preceded by Peerage created
Succeeded by Paul Freyberg
Personal details
Born (1889-03-21)21 March 1889
Richmond, London
Died 4 July 1963(1963-07-04) (aged 74)
Windsor, Berkshire
Military service
Nickname(s) Tiny
Allegiance United Kingdom (1914–37)
New Zealand (1939–45)
Service/branch Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
British Army
New Zealand Military Forces
Years of service 1914–37
1939–45
Rank Lieutenant General
Unit Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
Commands X Corps (1943)
2nd New Zealand Division (1939–45)
2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force (1939–45)
1st Battalion, Manchester Regiment (1929–31)
88th Brigade (1917–18)
173rd (3/1st London) Brigade (1917)
Battles/wars First World War
Second World War
Awards Victoria Cross
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Service Order & Three Bars
Mentioned in Despatches (6)
Knight of the Venerable Order of St. John
Croix de Guerre (France)
Legion of Merit (United States)
Grand Commander with Swords of the Order of George I (Greece)
Cross of Valour (Greece)
War Cross (Greece)

Lieutenant General Bernard Cyril Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, VC, GCMG, KCB, KBE, DSO & Three Bars (21 March 1889 – 4 July 1963) was a British-born soldier and Victoria Cross recipient, who served as the 7th Governor-General of New Zealand from 1946 to 1952.

A veteran of the Mexican Revolution, he served as an officer in the British Army during the First World War. Freyberg took part in the beach landings during the Gallipoli Campaign and was the youngest general in the British Army during the First World War, later serving on the Western Front, where he was decorated with the Victoria Cross and three Distinguished Service Orders, making him one of the most highly decorated British Empire soldiers of the First World War. He liked to be in the thick of the action — Winston Churchill called him "the Salamander" due to his ability to pass through fire unharmed.

During the Second World War, he commanded the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Battle of Crete, the North African Campaign and the Italian Campaign. Freyberg was involved in the Allied defeat in the Battle of Greece, defeated again as the Allied commander in the Battle of Crete and performed successfully in the North African Campaign commanding the 2nd New Zealand Division, including during the Second Battle of El Alamein.


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