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 ...

Sir John Airth Mace, (born 29 June 1932) is a retired senior commander of the

New Zealand Army , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

. He served 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 ...

, the professional head of the New Zealand Army, from 1984 to 1987, and then as Chief of Defence Staff from 1987 until his retirement in 1991.

Military career

John Airth Mace was born in

Ashburton, New Zealand Ashburton ( mi, Hakatere) is a large town in the Canterbury Region, on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The town is the seat of the Ashburton District. It is south west of Christchurch and is sometimes regarded as a satell ...

, on 29 June 1932. He received his secondary school education at Ashburton High School and

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it runs a private preparatory school for year 7 and 8 boys. The school also has ...

. He entered the

Royal Military College, Duntroon lit: Learning promotes strength , established = , type = Military college , chancellor = , head_label = Commandant , head = Brigadier Ana Duncan , principal = , city = Campbell , state = ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, Australia, in 1950 as an

officer cadet Officer Cadet is a rank held by military cadets during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by members of University Royal Naval Units, University Officer Training Corps and University Ai ...

sponsored by the New Zealand government. He was attached to a

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

battalion for two weeks of training in his final year at the college and, on graduation, was commissioned into 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 ...

in December 1953. Mace served with the New Zealand Special Air Service Squadron in the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces o ...

from 1955 to 1957, for which he was

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. He later commanded the Squadron from 1960 to 1962 and again in 1965, after he had graduated from the

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which i ...

in the United Kingdom. In 1966, he deployed to

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

during the

Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation The Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation or Borneo confrontation (also known by its Indonesian / Malay name, ''Konfrontasi'') was an armed conflict from 1963 to 1966 that stemmed from Indonesia's opposition to the creation of the Federation of ...

as a company commander in the 1st Battalion,

(1RNZIR). Mace subsequently led the battalion's V Company during its deployment to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

in 1967. He was appointed a

Member 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 ...

in 1968 in recognition of his "distinguished service in Vietnam". Mace was Director of Infantry and SAS from 1969 to 1970, commanding officer of 1RNZIR in Singapore from 1971 to 1973, 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 ...

in the

1974 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1974 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1974 to celebra ...

, and attended the Australian Joint Services Staff College in Canberra, also in 1974. He served as Commander,

New Zealand Force South East Asia New Zealand Force South East Asia (NZFORSEA) (1974–1989) comprised the elements of the Royal New Zealand Navy, New Zealand Army and Royal New Zealand Air Force. Much of the New Zealand military left Singapore as part of operation Kupe in 1989, ...

in Singapore from 1979 to 1980, graduated from the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1981, and was appointed Deputy Chief of Defence Staff from 1981 to 1984. Mace succeeded Major General Rob Williams as

(CGS), the professional head of the New Zealand Army, on 12 December 1984. 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 the

1986 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1986 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

and, having served as CGS for three years, was selected as the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in 1987. He handed over as CGS to Major General

Don McIver Lieutenant General Donald Stuart McIver, (22 January 1936 – 22 August 2016) was a New Zealand military officer who was the Chief of the General Staff (1987–1989) and the director of the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (1991–1999 ...

on 30 November and, promoted

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 ...

, succeeded Air Marshal David Crooks as CDS. Mace retired from the New Zealand Army in 1991, having been appointed a

Knight 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 ...

in the 1990 Queen's Birthday Honours.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mace, John (New Zealand Army officer) 1932 births Alumni of the Royal College of Defence Studies Chiefs of Defence Force (New Zealand) Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Living people New Zealand Companions of the Order of the Bath New Zealand generals New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand military personnel of the Malayan Emergency New Zealand military personnel of the Vietnam War People from Ashburton, New Zealand Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates People educated at Ashburton College People educated at Nelson College