Owen Mead

Major General Owen Herbert Mead, (24 January 1892 – 25 July 1942) was an officer in the New Zealand Military Forces who served during the First and Second World Wars.

Mead joined the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) following the outbreak of the First World War. He participated in the Gallipoli campaign and served on the Western Front. After the war he joined the New Zealand Staff Corps and held a number of staff positions in the military. During the Second World War he commanded the Pacific Section of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force, which was responsible for the defence of Fiji. He went missing, presumed killed, on 25 July 1942, when the aircraft he was a passenger on was lost at sea while en route to Tonga. He was the highest ranked New Zealand soldier killed on active service during the war.

Early life Owen Mead was born in Dunedin, New Zealand on 24 January 1892. After completing his education at Marlborough High School, he was employed by a banking institution. He also joined the Territorial Force and by 1914 was in charge of senior cadets. Upon the outbreak of the First World War, Mead volunteered for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) which was being raised for service overseas.

Military career First World War Commissioned as a lieutenant, Mead was assigned to the 2nd Company of the Canterbury Battalion and served in the Gallipoli Campaign as the battalion's provost marshal. He was lightly wounded soon after the landings at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915 but was only out the lines briefly for medical attention before returning to the front. He later fought in actions at Cape Helles but became unwell with dysentery and was evacuated to England. He finished the war as commander of the training battalion for the Canterbury Regiment, and was again mentioned in despatches.

Interwar period Mead's service with the NZEF ceased in 1920 but he chose to remain in the military, and subsequently joined the New Zealand Staff Corps. Initially a captain, he received a promotion to major in 1925. He attended the Staff College in Camberley, England, from 1927 to 1928. After completing his courses, he served briefly in the War Office in London. From October 1940, he commanded the Southern Military District.

In March 1942, Mead was promoted to major general and made commander of the Pacific Section, 2NZEF, replacing its former commander, Major General William Cunningham. Mead's new command consisted of two brigades, the 8th and 14th Infantry Brigades, which at the time were responsible for the defence of Fiji. His new role also entailed his appointment to the Executive Council of the Colony of Fiji.

In July 1942, the American 37th Division relieved the New Zealand forces in Fiji and assumed responsibility for the defence of the island. The bulk of the two New Zealand brigades began returning to New Zealand that same month. Mead stayed in Fiji to observe the American preparations for the Guadalcanal landings before leaving on 25 July in a Royal New Zealand Air Force Hudson aircraft for a final inspection trip to Tonga. The Hudson went missing en route. Despite extensive searches, no wreckage or trace of any survivors were found and it was presumed to have been lost at sea. Mead's date of death is recorded as 25 July 1942 and he is memorialised on the Bourail Memorial at the Bourail New Zealand War Cemetery at Bourail in New Caledonia. He was the highest-ranking officer of the New Zealand Military Forces to be killed on active service.