Freyberg, Lt-General Sir Bernard

Freyberg, Lt-General Sir Bernard (1889–1963),British-born, but New Zealand raised, commander of the New Zealand Division which fought in all the Mediterranean campaigns. In May 1941 he commanded the mixed British, Commonwealth, and Greek forces on Crete. After the war his handling of the island's defences was often criticized on grounds which a biography published in 1991 argues were largely unjustified (see P. Freyberg, Bernard Freyberg VC, London, 1991).

A trained dentist, Freyberg fought with the Naval Division during the First World War before transferring to the army, and was awarded the Victoria Cross and two DSOs (see decorations). Forced to retire in 1937, he was recalled when war broke out and was given command of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, later known as the New Zealand Division. He was promoted lt-general in 1942, but his command only occasionally swelled to that of a corps. He produced one of the toughest, most hard-hitting combat formations of the war at whose head he won two more DSOs. He was not a disciplinarian because he considered camaraderie and self-respect were more effective. ‘You cannot treat a man like a butler,’ he would say, ‘and expect him to fight like a lion.’ Orders were made as suggestions and officers and men were on first-name terms. When Montgomery remarked that his troops did not salute much Freyberg replied: ‘If you wave to them they'll wave back’, and one of his officers said of him: ‘he's as simple as a child and as cunning as a Maori dog.’ He was knighted in 1942 and served as New Zealand's governor-general from 1946 to 1952.