Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Walter Sneddon McKinnon, (8 July 1910 – 20 May 1998) was an officer in the
New Zealand Army
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. He joined the military in 1935 and served in 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 ...
with various artillery units of the
Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. After the war he held a series of senior positions in the army, culminating with a term as
Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff.
List
* Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States)
* Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia)
* Chief of General Staff (Af ...
from 1965 to 1967. In his retirement, he was Chairman of the
New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation
The New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC) was a publicly owned company of the New Zealand Government founded in 1962. The Broadcasting Act 1976 then reformed NZBC as the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand (BCNZ). The corporation was ...
.
Early life
McKinnon was born 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 ...
.
He earned a degree in science from the
University of Otago
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, motto = la, Sapere aude
, mottoeng = Dare to be wise
, established = 1869; 152 years ago
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before joining the New Zealand Military Forces in 1935.
[McGibbon, 2000, p. 287] He married Anna Plimmer in 1937, and the couple went on to have five children, four sons and one daughter.
Second World War
When the Second World War broke out, McKinnon was in England on an artillery training course. He joined the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force and served with the
3rd New Zealand Division during the
campaign in the Solomon Islands.
He was initially commander of the 28th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment
[Gillespie, 1952, p. 81] but when his unit was disbanded in July 1942 he took over 29th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment.
[Gillespie, 1952, pp. 111–112] With his regiment, he
landed on the Treasury[Gillespie, 1952, p. 148] and
Green Islands
The Green Islands is a small archipelago of islands in the Solomon Sea, within the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, in northeastern Papua New Guinea.
They are located at , about northwest of Bougainville Island, and about east of Rabaul ...
.
[Gillespie, 1952, p. 179] When the division was demobilised in 1944, he returned to England to attend the
Staff College
Staff colleges (also command and staff colleges and War colleges) train military officers in the administrative, military staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career. For ex ...
at
Camberley
Camberley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately south-west of Central London. The town is in the far west of the county, close to the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. Once part of Windsor Forest, Cambe ...
. After completing his staff course, he joined 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 ...
,
[ at the time fighting in Italy with the Eighth Army, along with other artillery officers who had served in the ]Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. Arriving in Italy in February 1945, he was second-in-command of firstly 4th Field Regiment and then 6th Field Regiment.[Murphy, 1966, pp. 685–686]
Postwar career
After the war, McKinnon remained in Italy with a brigade group which was intended to serve in Japan with J Force
J Force (sometimes referred to as "Jayforce") was the name given to the New Zealand forces that were allocated to the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) which occupied Japan following the end of the Second World War. The force was deploy ...
, the New Zealand contribution to the occupation of Japan. J Force shipped out to Japan in November 1945, where he was the group's Chief Administrative Office.[Gillespie, 1952, pp. 310–311] In the 1947 King's Birthday Honours 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 ...
. He attended the Joint Staff College in the United Kingdom in 1948 and then commanded the Southern and Northern Military Districts. After a three-year period in Washington, D.C.
)
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, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, as head of New Zealand's Joint Services Staff, he was appointed adjutant-general of the New Zealand Army in 1958. Three years later, in the 1961 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was made a Commander 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 ...
. The following year, he was made quartermaster-general and then in 1965, he was appointed Chief of the General Staff. In this role he persuaded the government to send an artillery battery to serve in the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. He retired from the army in 1967 having been made 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 ...
the previous year.[
]
Later life
In his retirement, McKinnon served as Chairman of the New Zealand Broadcasting Commission.[ He died in ]Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
on 20 May 1998, and was survived by his four sons, all of whom had notable careers in their own right. Don
Don, don or DON and variants may refer to:
Places
*County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON
*Don (river), a river in European Russia
*Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name
*Don, Benin, a town in Benin
*Don, Dang, a vill ...
was a politician who was served as Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...
from 2000 until 2008; John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
is a career diplomat and public servant; Malcolm
Malcolm, Malcom, Máel Coluim, or Maol Choluim may refer to:
People
* Malcolm (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters
* Clan Malcolm
* Maol Choluim de Innerpeffray, 14th-century bishop-elect of Dunkeld
Nobility
* Máe ...
is an historian; while Ian
Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...
was deputy mayor of Wellington.[Dominion Post 18 June 2009 page C2]
Notes
References
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*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKinnon, Walter
1910 births
1998 deaths
People from Invercargill
New Zealand Companions of the Order of the Bath
New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Chiefs of Defence Force (New Zealand)
New Zealand generals
New Zealand military personnel of World War II
University of Otago alumni
Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley