Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Norris Peart (12 February 1900 – 4 September 1942) was a New Zealand army officer and the fourth headmaster of King's College. He served in the army during

World War II 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 opposing ...

and was killed at El Alamein during the

Battle of Alam el Halfa The Battle of Alam el Halfa took place between 30 August and 5 September 1942 south of El Alamein during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. '' Panzerarmee Afrika'' (''Generalfeldmarschall'' Erwin Rommel), attempted an envelopme ...

at the age of 42.

Early life

Peart was born in Collingwood to Alfred and Salina Peart. He was an alumnus of

Auckland Grammar School Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

, and a graduate of

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

. After graduation, Peart pursued a career in education.

Headmastership

In 1937, Peart was appointed as the fourth headmaster of King's College, an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

secondary school in

Middlemore Middlemore is a suburb of the former Manukau City, one of the four cities that made up the conurbation of Auckland, in northern New Zealand, until 2010. The suburb is located on flat land at the southern end of the Ōtāhuhu isthmus, at the e ...

. During his tenure as headmaster, Peart was remembered by his students as being youthful and as being a disciplinarian.

Military service

Shortly after the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Peart enlisted in the New Zealand Army and was granted a commission as a Major. His first posting was as the

Deputy Assistant Adjutant General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

in Greece and Crete. From November 1941 to March 1942, Peart was the Commanding Officer ( CO) of the 18th Battalion. Later, from 1 May 1942, he was the CO of the 26th Battalion. Peart was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

; the award was gazetted on 24 September 1942, i.e. three weeks after his death. The citation for this award reads as thus:

"For outstanding leadership, bravery and determination. At El Mreir Depression on the night 21/22 July, 1942 Lieutenant Colonel Peart led his Battalion in the 6 (NZ) Infantry Brigade attack on El Mreir Depression ... During all the fighting Lieutenant Colonel Peart was constantly moving about among his men encouraging them and at all times setting a high example of courage and perseverance. It is due to his outstanding leadership, determination and sound judgement that the Battalion remains a fighting unit."

Peart was killed on 4 September 1942 at El Alamein during the

and he is buried at the El Alamein War Cemetery in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

Legacy

* Joseph Peart is the

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

of Peart House, King's College.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peart, Joseph Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge 1900 births 1942 deaths People from Collingwood, New Zealand New Zealand military personnel killed in World War II New Zealand Army officers People educated at Auckland Grammar School New Zealand Companions of the Distinguished Service Order

Early life

Headmastership

Military service

Legacy

See also

References