Brigadier James Thomas Burrows (13 July 1904 – 10 June 1991) was a New Zealand teacher, sportsman, administrator, and military leader. He was born in
Prebbleton
Prebbleton is a small town in the Selwyn District in the Canterbury Region of New Zealand. It is 11 km southwest of the centre of Christchurch and about 2 km south of the outlying industrial suburb of Hornby.
Prebbleton dates bac ...
, New Zealand, on 13 July 1904. Following his education at
Christchurch Boys' High School, he became a teacher.
He graduated from Canterbury College in 1935 with a master's thesis titled ''A comparison between the early colonisations of New Zealand and America.''
As a
rugby union player, Burrows was a
hooker
Hooker may refer to:
People
* Hooker (surname)
Places Antarctica
* Mount Hooker (Antarctica)
* Cape Hooker (Antarctica)
* Cape Hooker (South Shetland Islands)
New Zealand
* Hooker River
* Mount Hooker (New Zealand) in the Southern Alps
* Hoo ...
. He represented in 1923 and from 1925 to 1930. He was a member of the New Zealand national side, the
All Blacks, on their first ever
tour of South Africa
The Tour of South Africa was a stage cycling race in South Africa that was only held once, in 2011. It was part of UCI Africa Tour as a 2.2
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world's governing body in the sport of bicycle racing, clas ...
in 1928. On that tour he played in nine matches and scored two tries, but he did not appear in any of the Tests. He was sole selector and coach of the Canterbury team from 1932 to 1933, and manager–coach for the All Blacks in their 1937 test series against South Africa.
Burrows also played nine
first-class matches for the
Canterbury cricket team in the
Plunket Shield. An opening bowler, he took 4 for 24 when Canterbury dismissed
Auckland for 56 in 1931–32. Batting customarily at number eleven, he had the unusual record of never being dismissed in any of his 12 innings.
A Territorial Force officer, Burrows volunteered for overseas service during the
Second World War. Serving in
Greece,
Crete,
North Africa and
Italy, he rose to the rank of
brigadier.
He was made a
Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in 1942, and awarded a bar to the DSO in 1944.
Leaving the army in 1944, he became
rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
of
Waitaki Boys' High School. He resigned this position in 1949 and rejoined the Army, serving as commander of the
New Zealand force in
Korea in 1953.
In 1953, Burrows was awarded the
Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal
The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du couronnement de la Reine Élizabeth II) is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953.
Award
This medal was awarded a ...
.
Burrows published an
autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life.
It is a form of biography.
Definition
The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
covering his experiences in the war, ''Pathway Among Men'', in 1974 ().
Burrows died in
Christchurch on 10 June 1991.
References
External links
Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burrows, James Thomas
1904 births
1991 deaths
New Zealand military personnel
New Zealand international rugby union players
People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School
New Zealand brigadiers
New Zealand military personnel of World War II
New Zealand military personnel of the Korean War
New Zealand cricketers
Canterbury cricketers
New Zealand educators
New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
New Zealand Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
New Zealand rugby union players
Canterbury rugby union players
Rugby union hookers
University of Canterbury alumni
New Zealand rugby union coaches
New Zealand national rugby union team coaches
Heads of schools in New Zealand