George Augustus King

Lieutenant-Colonel George Augustus King (3 March 1885 – 12 October 1917) was a New Zealander who served in the New Zealand Military Forces during the First World War.

Born in Christchurch, King worked in surveying and farming before he became a professional soldier in New Zealand's Permanent Forces in 1910. He volunteered for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force following the outbreak of the First World War. After participating in the Gallipoli Campaign, he was selected by the commander of the newly formed New Zealand Division, Major General Russell, for command of the New Zealand Pioneer Battalion on the Western Front. He later commanded a battalion in the Canterbury Infantry Regiment and was killed in action during the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917.

Early life King, the son of a merchant, was born in Christchurch, New Zealand on 3 March 1885. Following his schooling at Warwick House School and then Christ's College, he worked as a shepherd. He later performed surveying work in the Hawke's Bay before working on his father's sheep farm in Nelson.

Military career Having always had an interest in the military, King decided to make it his profession and joined the New Zealand Permanent Forces in 1910, having previously served with the local Cadet Corps and militia. Commissioned as a lieutenant in the New Zealand Staff Corps, he was posted to Hamilton as adjutant of the 4th (Waikato) Mounted Rifles. during the campaign.

The battalion embarked for the Western Front after two months training. Although intended as labour force for preparing trenches and the like, the battalion also conducted trench raids in the early stages of its tenure in the trenches although these were unsuccessful. The battalion was based in the Somme where it would construct communication trenches in preparation for the Battle of the Somme. One trench, called Turk Lane and which King was particularly proud of, was approximately two kilometres long. Under King's leadership, the battalion quickly gained a reputation for its quality work, its digging exploits earning the battalion the nickname of Diggers (this nickname would soon be extended to the New Zealand Division and the Australian Divisions also became known by this nickname as well). King's distinguished work with the battalion would later be recognised with the gazetting in January 1918 of a bar to his DSO. For his service during this brief attachment to the French Army, King was awarded the Croix de Guerre.

King was survived by his wife Annie, whom he married in 1910, and two children, Edward and Nancy.