Murray Ken Hudson, (24 February 1938 – 13 February 1974) was a Sergeant with the

Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment The Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment is the parent administrative regiment and corps of regular and reserve infantry battalions in the New Zealand Army. It was originally formed in 1947 with a singular Regular regiment and multiple reserve r ...

who lost his life when trying to protect soldiers under his command at

Waiouru Military Camp Waiouru Military Camp is a camp of the New Zealand Army in the central North Island of New Zealand near Waiouru. All New Zealand Army soldiers complete their initial basic training, the All Arms Recruit Course (AARC), at Waiouru Military Camp. ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. He was awarded the George Cross posthumously on 11 October 1974. Born in Ōpōtiki in the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaw ...

, where he attended Ōpōtiki College, Hudson enlisted in the New Zealand Army on 24 May 1961. He served in Malaya,

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and

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, serving with the

New Zealand Special Air Service The 1st New Zealand Special Air Service Regiment, abbreviated as 1 NZSAS Regt, was formed on 7 July 1955 and is the Special forces unit of the New Zealand Army, closely modelled on the British Special Air Service (SAS). It traces its origins ...

. Sergeant Hudson was a drill instructor at Waiouru supervising a training exercise when an NCO accidentally armed a grenade he was about to throw. Hudson saw the soldier freeze, and immediately ordered him to throw it. The NCO was still unable to react so Hudson grasped his hand and tried to release the grenade, which exploded, killing both men.

Notes

References

*The New Zealand Almanac {{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, Murray 1938 births 1974 deaths New Zealand Army personnel New Zealand recipients of the George Cross People from Ōpōtiki People educated at Opotiki College