The Press MONDAY, MAY 6, 1957. “Kip”

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28269, 6 May 1957, Page 8

The Press MONDAY, MAY 6, 1957. “Kip”

When Major-General Sir Howard Kippenberger first saw the men who were to be his troops march into Burnham in 1939, some in old civilian clothes and others far from sober, he predicted that they would be the best infantry ih the world. They were. And much of the credit must go to their commanding officer, whose death we report with deep regret today. For “ Kip ”, as he was known throughout the Western Desert and Italy (and in Canterbury, his home province), was not only a fine soldier and leader of soldiers—he won the love and trust of his men. He built the 20th Battalion and commanded it in Greece, part of the time in Crete, and in the first Libyan campaign; and when Brigadier Hargest was captured at Bardia, he was given command of the sth Infantry Brigade. He might have had enviable commands, with greater possibilities for distinction. However, at battalion and brigade level he found he could know his men individually and collectively as a family, while at the same time have a voice in the decisions affecting them.

Major-General Kippenberger saw service in the ranks in World War I, and this and his

commission in the territorial forces in the twenties were valuable experience, but no preparation for the type of war into which the New Zealanders were thrown. There was no glory in the retreat from Greece and Crete and lesser men might have been cowed by such an initial disaster. But when the 20th Battalion went into action, he said he felt his men would do their whole duty. They did, and so did their commander. And they continued to do so through the long desert campaign and into Italy. He took the qualities he displayed on the battlefield into civilian life. His diary for March 2, 1944, simply records that near Cassino “ I “ stepped on a mine and had “one foot blown off, the other “ mangled and thumb ripped “up ”. He accepted this as a natural chance of war, but he realised the tragic consequences —his days with the division were numbered. He was a cripple, but with characteristic courage he threw himself into his work as editor of New Zealand’s war histories. MajorGeneral Kippenberger once said that the outstanding qualities of the New Zealand soldier were unselfishness, devotion to the task in hand, initiative, kindliness and unflinching valour. No-ohe demonstrated them better than he.