Major-General Lindsay Merritt Inglis, (16 May 1894 – 17 March 1966) was a New Zealand military leader, lawyer and magistrate.
Born in
Mosgiel, Inglis volunteered for service in the
New Zealand Expeditionary Force
The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...
during the
First World War. He served on the
Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to:
Military frontiers
*Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...
and won the
Military Cross for his actions during the
Battle of Flers-Courcelette
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
. He ended the war as a company commander and returned to New Zealand in 1919. In civilian life, he was a solicitor and barrister in
Timaru but also served in the
Territorial Force. He volunteered for service during the
Second World War and commanded the
4th Infantry Brigade in the campaigns in
Crete and North Africa. He had two periods in command of the
2nd New Zealand Division
The 2nd New Zealand Division, initially the New Zealand Division, was an infantry Division (military), division of the New Zealand Army, New Zealand Military Forces (New Zealand's army) during the World War II, Second World War. The division was ...
. After the war, he was appointed to a military court of the Allied Control Commission, which administered occupied Germany. He later served as chief judge of the Allied Control Commission's Supreme Court from 1947 to 1950.
Early life
Inglis was born in
Mosgiel,
Otago
Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...
, New Zealand on 16 May 1894 to a banker and his wife. After completing his education at
Waitaki Boys' High School in
Oamaru, he commenced legal studies at the
University of Otago in 1913.
Military career
In late April 1915, eight months after the outbreak of the
First World War, Inglis volunteered for the
New Zealand Expeditionary Force
The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...
(NZEF). He had some military experience, having served as an officer in the
Territorial Force with the
2nd (South Canterbury) Regiment
The 2nd (South Canterbury) Regiment was a territorial infantry regiment of the New Zealand Military Forces. It was formed in 1911 from various volunteer corps raised during the second half of the nineteenth century. Men from the regiment saw com ...
. Posted to the
New Zealand Rifle Brigade, he served in Egypt and on the
Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to:
Military frontiers
*Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...
. As a company commander in his battalion, he participated in the
Battle of Flers-Courcelette
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
during the
Somme Offensive in September 1916.
He was awarded the
Military Cross for his part in the battle, after which he was the only surviving officer from his section of the front line.
Inglis later transferred to the
New Zealand Machine Gun Corps, in which he commanded a company for the remainder of the war. Present at the
capture of Le Quesnoy in late 1918, he was discharged from the NZEF in April 1919 and returned to New Zealand.
Interwar period
Inglis resumed his legal studies, completing them in 1920. He also became married to his fiancée, Agnes, and the couple had two children. Now a solicitor, he moved his young family to
Timaru and established a legal practice there. He remained involved with the Territorial Force, and in 1926 was commander of 1st Battalion, Canterbury Regiment, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Promoted to colonel in 1931, he commanded 3rd New Zealand Infantry Brigade before retiring from the Territorial Force in 1936.
As a long serving member of the territorials, he was awarded the
Efficiency Decoration. In 1935, he was awarded the
King George V Silver Jubilee Medal
The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V.
Issue
This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver J ...
.
Second World War
Inglis enlisted in the
2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force
The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...
(2NZEF) following the outbreak of the
Second World War. He needed to have treatment on his thyroid before he could go on active service.
He commanded the
27th Machine-Gun Battalion, part of the first echelon of the 2NZEF which had been shipped to Egypt, from December 1939 to August 1940. In early 1941, Inglis was promoted to
brigadier and given command of the 9th Infantry Brigade, composed largely of training battalions.
Crete
Having missed the
Battle of Greece
The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita ( de , Unternehmen Marita, links = no), was the attack of Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usu ...
, Inglis was appointed commander of the
4th Infantry Brigade of
2nd New Zealand Division
The 2nd New Zealand Division, initially the New Zealand Division, was an infantry Division (military), division of the New Zealand Army, New Zealand Military Forces (New Zealand's army) during the World War II, Second World War. The division was ...
in May 1941. During the
Battle of Crete, his brigade served as the reserve for the Allied forces, codenamed ''
Creforce This is the complete order of battle for the Battle of Crete and related operations in 1941.
Allied
Land forces
Commonwealth & Allied Forces, Crete - "Creforce"
;Headquarters Creforce - (Eastern Zone, east of Chania)
:Major-General Bernard Frey ...
'' and commanded by Major-General
Bernard Freyberg
Lieutenant-General Bernard Cyril Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, (21 March 1889 – 4 July 1963) was a British-born New Zealand soldier and Victoria Cross recipient, who served as the 7th Governor-General of New Zealand from 1946 to 1952.
Freyb ...
, on Crete. The battle ended in the evacuation of ''Creforce'' to Egypt.
Freyberg selected Inglis to travel to the War Office in London and provide a report on the battle. When he met with
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
the month after the evacuation from Crete, Inglis was critical of Freyberg's conduct of the battle and made a number of inaccurate and misleading statements. However, Inglis' own conduct in the battle had not been exemplary. At one stage, he disobeyed an order to take over a newly created reserve and remained at divisional headquarters, possibly with hopes of taking over command of the division.
North Africa
Despite this show of disloyalty to his commander, Inglis remained in command of 4th Brigade through much of the
North African campaign. He led his brigade in the capture of Belhamed, a hill adjacent to Sidi Rezegh, which resulted in the opening of a corridor to
Tobruk during
Operation ''Crusader'', for which he was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order (DSO).
After being reformed during the early part of 1942, 4th Brigade spent time in
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
with most of the 2nd New Zealand Division. In June, the New Zealanders were rushed back to Egypt after the
Panzer Army ''Afrika'' attacked
Gazala, near Tobruk, to begin an advance into Egypt in pursuit of the retreating
Eighth Army. The division made a stand at Minqar Qaim and was surrounded by German forces on 27 June. As the Germans probed the perimeter of the New Zealand positions, Freyberg was wounded. Inglis assumed temporary command of the division and successfully led it in an outbreak from Minqar Qaim that night. He would remain as divisional commander for the next two months as Freyberg recovered,
and was later awarded a
bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar (u ...
to his DSO which acknowledged his leadership of the division during this period.
However, during this time Inglis' relationship with his brigade commanders, particularly Brigadier
Howard Kippenberger deteriorated. Kippenberger had become highly rated as a field commander during the war and Inglis may have become resentful. This was uncomfortable for Kippenberger, who had served under Inglis in the Territorial Force and considered him a mentor in the art of warfare. This was further exacerbated on 30 June when Inglis went to Cairo without informing his staff who, in his absence, subsequently asked Kippenberger to take temporary command of the division. Inglis returned on 1 July having become lost when returning from Cairo.
Prior to the
First Battle of Ruweisat Ridge, which commenced on 14–15 July, Inglis failed to adjust his artillery support following concerns raised by Kippenberger and
Jim Burrows
James Edward Burrows (born December 30, 1940), sometimes known as Jim "Jimmy" Burrows, is an American television director who has been working in television since the 1970s.Stated in interview on ''Inside the Actors Studio'' Burrows has direct ...
, the commanders of the brigades involved in the planned advance on the defended ridge. Instead, he chose to rely on assurances from his corps commander,
Lieutenant-General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
William Gott, that British armour would provide any necessary assistance. This proved to be a mistake; although the brigades manage to seize the ridge, they were unable to hold it in the face of stronger than expected counterattacks, and the expected armour support never fully eventuated. Afterwards, while Inglis was critical of the conduct of the brigades and laid primary blame for the failure on them and the lack of armour, he overlooked the influence of his own role as divisional commander on the outcome of the battle. An attack mounted a few days later by 6th Brigade was a further failure and highlighted Inglis' failings as a divisional commander by not ensuring adequate support from his corps commander.
In September 1942, Inglis reverted to command of 4th Brigade, and it was decided that the brigade would be converted to an armoured formation. As an infantry brigade, it had suffered heavy losses at Ruweisat Ridge. Inglis oversaw 4th Brigade's transition to armour, a process which took a nearly a year. He was again acting divisional commander from June to July 1943 when Freyberg was occupied elsewhere. Afflicted with dysentery, Inglis was repatriated to New Zealand in November 1943 for treatment.
Italy
Inglis returned to 4th Brigade, now in Italy, in March 1944. For much of the
Italian campaign the brigade did not participate in large-scale operations; instead, his armoured regiments were deployed piecemeal in support of infantry operations. In the absence of Inglis while he recovered from his illness the previous three months, Kippenberger had become the preferred acting divisional commander. Kippenberger, commanding the division while Freyberg commanded the New Zealand Corps, was wounded shortly after Inglis arrived in Italy. Command of the division passed to another brigade commander, despite Inglis' seniority. Again overlooked as temporary divisional commander in September, Inglis requested to be relieved of his command and he was promptly sent home to New Zealand.
For his wartime services, he was made a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Later life
After the end of the war in Europe, Inglis was one of New Zealand's delegates for the Allied Control Commission for Germany, which administered the now occupied country. He was appointed president of a military court in the British-controlled area of Germany dealing with crimes committed by the occupying forces. After six months in this role, in February 1947 he was promoted to major-general and made chief judge of the Allied Control Commission's Supreme Court.
The following year he was appointed a
Companion of the Order of the Bath
Companion may refer to:
Relationships Currently
* Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance
* A domestic partner, akin to a spouse
* Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach
* Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...
.
In 1950, Inglis ended his appointment as chief judge and returned to New Zealand. He became a magistrate in
Hamilton in 1953, and retired in 1965. He died in Hamilton the following year.
His collection of military history books was donated to the ''Kippenberger Research Library'' in the
QEII Army Memorial Museum
The National Army Museum ( mi, Te Mata Toa) is the museum of the New Zealand Army. It was formerly known as the Queen Elizabeth II Army Memorial Museum. at
Waiouru.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Inglis, Lindsay Merritt
1894 births
1966 deaths
New Zealand military personnel
New Zealand generals
New Zealand Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
New Zealand Companions of the Order of the Bath
New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
20th-century New Zealand judges
People from Mosgiel
New Zealand military personnel of World War I
New Zealand military personnel of World War II
People educated at Waitaki Boys' High School
New Zealand recipients of the Military Cross