ZackNZ Posted 10 May , 2009 Share Posted 10 May , 2009 Hi all Someone - I think Keith - was asking sometime last year about Owen Mead 6/296 and I can't find the thread. I know I provided the file but I've just come across a photo of him that may be of interest. Captain Owen Herbert Mead was born in Blenheim in 1892 educated at Marlborough College and became a Major General. He served in the expeditionary forces in the 1st world war rising from lieutenant to that of Major in March 1917. He held command of the 1st, 2nd & 3rd battalion Canterbury regiment until his return to NZ in November 1919. He was wounded twice, mentioned in dispatches twice and awarded the DSO for distinguished services in France and Flanders inWW1 and the CBE in 1940. In 1919 he became Captain in the NZ staff Corps. He was attached to the War Office in London in 1929. He subsequently held the position of Adjutant and quartermaster General of the NZ military forces and was 2nd member of the Army Board. In November 1937 he was appointed officer commanding the Northern Military District and in 1939 he became Adjutant General at Army headquarters. He later went to Christchurch to command the Southern Military District in the rank of Brigadier and was appointed to command the southern division. He was reported missing on an aircraft flight over Fiji sometime after World War Two. Photo source: Auckland Weekly News Nov 16 1916 page 40 Zack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest grand daughter Posted 17 January , 2010 Share Posted 17 January , 2010 Hello Thanks for locating this picture of my grandfather. He passed away well before I was born and I have always wanted to learn more about him. I made enquires a few years ago but found very little, now, as information is stored on the net more and more is coming to light. You may be interested to know we have volumes of hand written diaries which my mother and I have started to transcribe. Thank you again for posting this - I would be interested in anything more that is available or anyone that has an interest in him also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesmessenger Posted 18 January , 2010 Share Posted 18 January , 2010 The Marlborough College Register does not include his name. Perhaps he was educated elsewhere? Charles M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoMH Posted 18 January , 2010 Share Posted 18 January , 2010 Hello Everyone, I have recently discovered that my grandfather was also at Marlborough College (then known as Marlborough High School) - 1902 - 1906. He was Rev Charles J H Dobson (1886 - 1930, born Westport, NZ, died Lisbon, Portugal). It's possible that he and Owen Mead knew one another - despite the differences in ages. After about a year at St John's College in Auckland (1907?), Charles Dobson worked in the Nelson area, particularly in the Marlborough Sounds, until the War. He was attached to the Otago Mounted Rifles initially, and the 2nd Battalion Auckland Regiment subsequently, as a Chaplain. As such he will have had contact with different units, particularly as he was appointed Assistant Principal Chaplain for NZEF in late 1917 - so also may have come across Owen Mead during the War. It's wonderful that you have the diaries. When you have made ten posts on the GWF, you will be able to send and receive personal messages via the site. If you would like more information on Charles Dobson, or can offer me any more information in terms of a connection between our two grandfathers, I would be delighted to hear from you. In the meantime, you can post anything here. Welcome to the Forum, by the way! Charles, can I ask - how did you come upon the Marlborough College Register? Is this Marlborough College in New Zealand and not England? Hi Zack, I hadn't come across this thread before, but wouldn't have recognized the connection until a few weeks ago. Joanna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesmessenger Posted 18 January , 2010 Share Posted 18 January , 2010 Joanna Ignore my previous post - I had not realised that there was a Marlborough College in New Zealand. My apologies! Charles M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoMH Posted 18 January , 2010 Share Posted 18 January , 2010 Mystery solved! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 18 January , 2010 Share Posted 18 January , 2010 What`s also misleading is that Blenheim is also in NZ, not England. I thought he was a friend of Churchill`s! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoMH Posted 18 January , 2010 Share Posted 18 January , 2010 Ah, a while ago I would have made the same assumptions. But now, if I see 'Marlborough College' or 'Blenheim', I think New Zealand first! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest grand daughter Posted 21 August , 2010 Share Posted 21 August , 2010 finally had these diaries fully transcribed they run from Oct 1914 through to July 1916 including daily entries covering Gallipoli et al. Wondering if it would be of interest to others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Upton Posted 22 August , 2010 Share Posted 22 August , 2010 He was reported missing on an aircraft flight over Fiji sometime after World War Two. CWGC gives his date of date sometime between July 1st and 31st 1942, which would make more sense than a post-war date: Name: MEAD, OWEN HERBERT Initials: O H Nationality: New Zealand Rank: Major General Regiment/Service: New Zealand Infantry Age: 50 Date of Death: between 01/07/1942 and 31/07/1942 Awards: C B E, D S O Additional information: Son of Edward and Flora Mead; husband of Barbara Mead (nee Loughman). Three times mentioned in despatches in the 1914-18 war. Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 1. Memorial: BOURAIL MEMORIAL http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2187362 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoMH Posted 22 August , 2010 Share Posted 22 August , 2010 "Wondering if it would be of interest to others." It certainly would be of interest to me, from start to finish - not just the Gallipoli bits. And I am sure others would be interested too. Joanna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyMacdonald Posted 1 January , 2011 Share Posted 1 January , 2011 "Wondering if it would be of interest to others." It certainly would be of interest to me, from start to finish - not just the Gallipoli bits. And I am sure others would be interested too. Joanna OH Mead wrote a few letters back to Blenheim from the trenches at Gallipoli. In particular, he wrote to the headmaster of Marlborough College, and some of these letters were published in the school magazine of the day (not the register). If you contact the school, they have/had an archivist who had pulled all of this material together away back in the early 1990s. Best Andy M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoMH Posted 10 January , 2011 Share Posted 10 January , 2011 Thanks for that information, Andy. The archivist at Marlborough College has been very helpful in the past, and I will contact him about these letters. All the best, Joanna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Henrysurrey Posted 25 June , 2013 Share Posted 25 June , 2013 Hello All. I'm new to this and only stumbled on it while searching for Owen Mead who was my mothers uncle. This family connection was through her aunt, Barbara Loughnan that being the sister of Charles Loughnan - her father/my grandfather. Andrew Upton has the surname incorrect of Barbara. Grand Daughter and I must be related! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Sloane Posted 10 March Share Posted 10 March On 18/01/2010 at 12:18, Guest grand daughter said: Hello Thanks for locating this picture of my grandfather. He passed away well before I was born and I have always wanted to learn more about him. I made enquires a few years ago but found very little, now, as information is stored on the net more and more is coming to light. You may be interested to know we have volumes of hand written diaries which my mother and I have started to transcribe. Thank you again for posting this - I would be interested in anything more that is available or anyone that has an interest in him also. please contact Keith at Sloane.howeATxtra.co.nz re Mead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 10 March Admin Share Posted 10 March Guest prefix means grand daughter is no longer a member of the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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