Henry Robert Lapwood (1 November 1915 – 26 April 2007) was a New Zealand soldier and a National Party politician.

Biography

Born at

Tuakau Tuakau ( mi, Tūākau) is a town in the Waikato region at the foot of Bombay hills, formerly part of the Franklin district until 2010, when it became part of Waikato District in the North Island of New Zealand. The town serves to support local fa ...

, just south of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, Lapwood was raised by an uncle and aunt, his mother having died when he was four and his father when he was ten. He attended Tuakau and

Dilworth School Dilworth School, often referred to simply as Dilworth, is an independent full boarding school for boys in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest full boarding school in both the country and Australasia. Owned and operated by a charitable tru ...

s in Auckland, before working first on a dairy farm in Awakeri, and later as a police officer in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

. At the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in 1939 he joined the

New Zealand Army , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

and was a warrant officer class 1 in the 2nd Division. On 26 June 1942, he was appointed the

Regimental Sergeant Major Regimental sergeant major (RSM) is an appointment that may be held by warrant officers class 1 (WO1) in the British Army, the British Royal Marines and in the armies of many other Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, including Australi ...

of 18 New Zealand Armoured Regiment. The next day, during fighting at Minqar Qaim leading up to the

First Battle of El Alamein The First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert campaign of the Second World War, fought in Egypt between Axis (German and Italian) forces of the Panzer Army Africa—which included the under Field Marshal ...

, he was wounded by enemy artillery fire, resulting in the loss of use of one arm. He moved to Rotorua in 1947 with his wife Cath (''née'' Gow) and purchased a grocery business. In , he stood as the National Party candidate for the Rotorua electorate, which to his surprise he won, defeating

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

incumbent

Ray Boord Raymond Boord (4 February 1908 – 29 April 1982) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. Biography Early life and career Boord was born in Rotorua in 1908 to Francis Moss Boord and Agnes Jane Boord. His grandfather being one of t ...

. Lapwood represented Rotorua for six terms from 1960 until his retirement in 1978. He was senior

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

from 1970 to 1974, and was known for having the loudest voice in Parliament, attributed to his previous role as RSM during the war. He was

Minister of Tourism The Minister of Tourism is the head of the governmental department that specializes in tourism, recreation and/or culture. The position exists in many different countries under several names: *Ministry of Tourism and Environment (Albania) * Minist ...

and Minister in charge of Publicity and of the Government Printing Office from 1975 to 1978, in the Muldoon government. In 1990, Lapwood was awarded the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...

, and in the

1992 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1992 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

he was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for public services. His wife Cath died in 2003. Lapwood died on 26 April 2007 after a short illness, and was survived by five daughters.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lapwood, Harry 1915 births 2007 deaths Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand military personnel of World War II New Zealand National Party MPs New Zealand police officers New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates People from Tuakau 20th-century New Zealand politicians