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Bernard Cyril Freyberg was born at Richmond, Surrey, on 21st March 1889. He was the fifth son of James Thomas and Julia Kate (née Hamilton), his brothers being Oscar (b. 1881), Paul Milton (b. 1884), Cuthbert (b. 1886), and Claud Victor (b. 1888). James had four further children from a previous marriage. In 1891, the family moved to Wellington, New Zealand.
Bernard was educated by his mother and then at Wellington College. At 14, he was apprenticed to a dentist and became a sergeant in the cadets around this time. Between 1905 and 1907, he was a member of the New Zealand Field Artillery Volunteers. A superb sportsman, he competed in rugby, boxing, rowing, and sailing. Above all of these, it was swimming in which he truly excelled, becoming New Zealand junior champion in 1906 and senior champion in 1910, and this would lie behind his initial DSO. In 1911, he was registered as a professional dentist, as well as being commissioned in the territorial Hauraki Regiment.
In March 1914, Bernard decided that dentistry was not for him and set sail for San Francisco to seek a better life. He is rumoured to have fought in the Mexican Civil War. This story appears to originate from Winston Churchill, who stated that he deserted to return to England at the outbreak of World War I. He originally tried to enlist in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Finding that no officer places were available, he approached Winston Churchill regarding a position in the newly formed Royal Naval Division and was granted a temporary commission as an RNVR Lieutenant on September 24th. His surname is recorded with the spelling Freyburg on his service record, and his arrival in Army uniform would earn him the nickname 'Khaki Jack'; Naval officers were still wearing blue.
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With Sub Lt. Brooke at Lemnos
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It was at Antwerp that Bernard first came to prominence within the Division. Commodore Backhouse reported that he "performed meritorious operations" during the action, and on November 30th he was posted to Hood Battalion as a temporary Lieutenant-Commander.
With the Division at Gallipoli, Bernard received a gunshot wound to his right forearm in early May. He was evacuated from the peninsula to Deaconess Hospital, Alexandria. Bernard's brother Oscar was serving as a temporary Sub-Lieutenant with the Collingwood Battalion when it landed at Gallipoli in late May. He was killed in action on June 4th during the Third Battle of Krithia.
Once recovered, Bernard rejoined his unit on June 8th, and four days later it was recorded that he was to become a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order. The citation reading:
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Displayed conspicuous gallantry on April 25th during the landing operations in the Gulf of Xeros. He swam ashore towing rafts with flares, and although alone, reconnoitred the enemy's position and swam back; he was over two hours in the water. |
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On 20th July, Bernard received shrapnel wounds to his right hand and abdomen. He was evacuated to No. 1 New Zealand Stationary Hospital at Port Said. On the 27th, it was recorded that the wound to the abdominal wall was severe. Rejoining his unit on August 18th, he was promoted to Commander two days later.
By the time the Division had reached the Western Front, Bernard had decided on a military career and, on 18th May 1916, his temporary commission as a Commander in the RNVR was terminated as he was appointed to a captaincy in the Royal West Surrey Regiment. He remained in command of Hood as a temporary Major. Fracturing his ulna in an accident eight days later, he was discharged from No. 2 Stationary Hospital at Abbeville at his own request to continue to command the Hood Battalion. In July, he was Mentioned in Despatches for his distinguished and gallant service with the M.E.F.
On 15th November, Bernard was admitted to 1st General Hospital at Havre, where it is recorded that he had a severe gunshot wound to his throat that he had received on the battlefield at Beaucourt. He reverted to the rank of Captain, having relinquished command of a battalion. On the 23rd, he was placed on sick leave until the following February, and the following day he disembarked H.S. *Gloucester Castle* at London and was admitted to the Honourable Mrs Guest's Hospital at Alford House on Park Lane. He was discharged from the Hon. Mrs Guest's Hospital on December 22nd and admitted to the 4th London General Hospital at Denmark Hill.
On 14th January 1917, Bernard was taken on the strength of the 3rd Reserve Battalion. He assumed command of Hood as Acting Lieutenant-Colonel on the 25th of the following month before leaving the Division on April 21st. Now commanding the 173rd Brigade (58th Division), he was the youngest Brigadier-General in the Army.
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On 18th June, his brother Paul was killed whilst serving with the New Zealand Rifle Brigade. During the Battle of Menin Road, Bernard was again wounded, receiving five penetrating shrapnel wounds from an artillery shell. Further recuperation was required, and he reverted to Major on relinquishing command on November 15th.
The new year saw him appointed to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and, on January 2nd, he was presented with his VC. He returned to France as temporary Brigadier-General, commanding the 88th Infantry Brigade (29th Division). He received his ninth wound of the war at the Forest de Nieppe on June 3rd, with shell fragments in the leg and head. On 28th September, he was awarded a Bar to his DSO for the battle success of his brigade at Gheluvelt and, on November 11th, he received a second Bar to his DSO just minutes before the Armistice. Ordered to seize the Dendre River Bridge at Lessines, he led a squadron from the 7th Dragoon Guards and captured 106 prisoners.
In 1919, Bernard was awarded the CMG for his services in the military operations in France and Flanders, and the French Croix de Guerre. He served in the Army of Occupation on the Rhine and relinquished command of the 88th Brigade on March 15th, reverting to his substantive rank of Captain. He attended Staff College and was accepted for Balliol College, Oxford, but the War Office would not release him. Applying for a commission in the Grenadier Guards, he was appointed Company Commander in the 1st Grenadier Guards at the Tower of London in January 1920, and commanded the VC Guard at the interment of the Unknown Warrior on 11th November 1920.
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Continuing to suffer from the wounds he had received, Bernard undertook a sea voyage to New Zealand to visit his mother. After his full recovery, he returned to England and was appointed to the staff of the 44th (Home Counties) Division in Woolwich. On 14th June 1922, he married his long-time acquaintance Barbara McLaren (née Jekyll), the widow of Francis McLaren RFC, who had died in a flying accident in 1917. Barbara had two sons from her first marriage. In the November General Election later that year, Bernard attempted to enter politics. Standing as a Liberal, he reduced the incumbent Unionist Party’s majority by over 17% in Cardiff South. Bernard and Barbara had one son, Paul Richard, born in 1923.
In August 1925, Bernard attempted to swim the English Channel. The attempt ended in failure, as did four further efforts between July and September 1926.
Being fed during the 1925 Channel attempt
He returned to the Grenadier Guards and was promoted to the permanent rank of Major in 1927, holding a GSO2 staff appointment at Headquarters, Eastern Command. He represented New Zealand on the International Olympic Committee from 1928 until 1930.
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With General Montgomery December 1942
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In February 1929, Bernard was transferred to the Manchester Regiment, commanding the 1st Battalion, and he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel. In 1931, he was promoted to Colonel and was appointed Assistant Quartermaster General of Southern Command. In September 1933, he moved to a GSO1 posting at the War Office before being promoted to Major-General in July 1934. In January 1935, he was appointed General Officer Commanding in the Assam district of the Eastern Command in India. A later medical board detected an irregular heartbeat and this appointment to India was cancelled. In February 1936, he was created Knight Commander of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (KCB).
Bernard retired, on half pay, in September 1937, being considered unfit for service. He again attempted to enter politics but was unable to gain a seat. He managed to have his medical grading reappraised and was found fit for home service. He took up the appointment of GOC Salisbury Plain on 3rd September 1939. At the outbreak of war, he attempted to have his medical status revised to allow for active service overseas. This would ultimately prove successful, and he offered his services to the government of New Zealand a few weeks after they had declared war on Nazi Germany. In November, he assumed command of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force as a British officer on loan.
Bernard was in command of the 2NZEF throughout their operations in Crete, North Africa, and Italy. In Crete, he was criticised for his role in the fall of the island, but opinion of him remained high and, in the 1942 New Zealand Honours List, he was made a Knight Commander of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) for his skilful command in Greece and Crete. In Africa, he received a severe neck wound, but not before he had accepted the surrender of Italian Field Marshal Messe, supreme Axis commander in North Africa. On 3rd February 1944, he was promoted to Major-General and commanded the New Zealand Corps.
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In Italy, Bernard received some criticism for the destruction of the Benedictine Monastery during the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944. He was awarded the Third Bar to his DSO for his actions during the advance to Trieste in May 1945 and was later created Commander of the United States Legion of Merit.
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Bernard relinquished command of the 2NZEF on 22nd November 1945. In 1946, he became GCMG (Knight Grand Cross) and was offered the position of Governor-General of New Zealand. He was sworn in on June 17th and retired from the Army with the rank of Lieutenant-General on September 10th. In 1951, he was given the title Baron Freyberg of Wellington and of Munstead. He left Wellington for the last time on 15th August 1952, having relinquished the Governor-General title.
On returning to England, Bernard became the Lieutenant-Governor and Constable of Windsor Castle, where he played a leading role in the conferring of the Order of the Garter on his friend Winston Churchill, and also had a role in the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Representing New Zealand at the Alamein Reunion in 1952, he sat with Winston Churchill and Field Marshals Montgomery and Alexander. He took great pride in being appointed to command the parade at the celebration of the founding of the Victoria Cross, held in Hyde Park on 26th June 1956.
Bernard's health declined in later life, and he suffered from both Parkinson's disease and hardening of the arteries to the brain. On 4th July 1963, the stomach wound he had received at Gallipoli ruptured. He collapsed at Windsor Castle and was immediately taken to the King Edward VII Hospital, but died later that day without regaining consciousness. He was 74 at the time of his death and was buried at St Martha-on-the-Hill Church, Surrey.
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New Zealand Governer-General
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In memory of Bernard there is the memorial in the Crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral, as well as memorial plaques at St Martha’s Church, Chilworth, and St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. There is also a bust in The Guildhall, London. In New Zealand, he is named on the Victoria Cross Memorial at Queens Gardens, Dunedin. There is Freyberg High School in Palmerston North and a statue in Freyberg Place in Auckland. Three streets are named in his memory in Palmerston North, Kaipara, and Lyall Bay, Wellington. There is also Freyberg Road in Trentham, Upper Hutt. Australia also has a Freyberg Street in New Lambton.
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