William Gentry Major General Sir William George Gentry KBE , CB , DSO & Bar ( 20 February 1899 – 13 October 1991 ) was a professional soldier in the New Zealand Military Forces who served during the Second World War . He was Chief of General Staff of the New Zealand Military Forces from 1952 to 1955 . Early life . Gentry was born in London on 20 February 1899 to a leather salesman and his wife . When he was 11 years old , his family emigrated to New Zealand . Educated at Wellington College , he was one of the limited number of New Zealand entrants in 1916 which enrolled in the Royal Military College in Duntroon , Australia . Military career . Graduating from the college in 1919 and posted to the New Zealand Staff Corps , Gentry was seconded to the British Indian Army for two years , serving on the North - West Frontier . On returning to New Zealand , he held a number of staff positions in the Central Military District and was promoted to captain in 1926 . In 1934 he was sent to England on attachment to the Corps of Royal Engineers for 18 months and also attended engineering courses . He then served at General Headquarters in Wellington as staff officer , Engineers , before returning to England to attend the Staff College at Camberley , graduating in 1939 . Second World War . Shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War , Gentry was promoted to major . He briefly served with the British Expeditionary Force in France before traveling to Egypt to join the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force ( 2NZEF ) . Promoted to lieutenant colonel , he served as assistant adjutant and quartermaster general of the 2nd New Zealand Division during the Battle of Greece . In the Battle of Crete he was acting GSO1 in the stead of Brigadier Keith Stewart , who was fulfilling an equivalent role with Creforce . Gentry performed his duties competently and was later appointed to the Order of the British Empire for his services during this time . He was also awarded the Greek Military Cross . In October 1941 , after the departure of Stewart to take up the position of Deputy Chief of Staff in New Zealand , Gentry became general staff officer ( GSO1 ) of the division . In this role , he served under General Freyberg and developed a relationship where he could question Freyberg ' without arousing impatience or irritation ' . He earned a Distinguished Service Order ( DSO ) for his conduct during the First Battle of El Alamein . The citation for his award read : In September 1942 , he was promoted to brigadier and appointed commander of the 6th Infantry Brigade , the previous commander having been made a prisoner of war . Despite having no experience in commanding infantry , he led the brigade well until August 1943 , at which time he replaced Stewart as Deputy Chief of Staff to Lieutenant General Edward Puttick . He served in this role for nearly 18 months before rejoining the 2NZEF . After a period in Egypt in command of New Zealand troops there , from February 1945 Gentry commanded the newly formed 9th Infantry Brigade . His new command included the Divisional Cavalry and Machine Gun Battalion , both of which had been converted to an infantry role and were joined by the 22nd Battalion . After a period of training , the brigade participated in the final stages of the Italian Campaign and Gentry was awarded a Bar to his DSO for his leadership of the brigade during this time . Command of his brigade was passed to Stewart on 10 November 1945 and he returned to New Zealand . He was discharged from the 2NZEF in March 1946 . Later life . After serving for a time with the Joint Chiefs of Staff , the organisation responsible for the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces in Japan , Gentry had a second term as Deputy Chief of Staff , this time to Major General Norman Weir . In 1949 he attended the Imperial Defence College in England . After completion of his courses , Gentry returned to staff duties in New Zealand , serving as Adjutant General to Stewart , now Chief of Staff , and worked with him in preparing plans for the Government ' s commitment to deploy military forces to the Middle East in the event of hostilities with the Soviet Union . This work led to several clashes with the Government . Promoted to major general , from 1952 to 1955 Gentry served as Chief of Staff of the New Zealand Military Forces . He represented New Zealand in ANZUS and was involved in planning for the defence of Southeast Asia . In 1954 he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath and the following year retired from the military . In a break with convention was not rewarded with a knighthood for his services . This may have been due to some ill - feeling within the Government regarding his work developing proposed plans for New Zealand ' s Middle East deployment . He was knighted three years later by the newly elected Labour Government . In his retirement Gentry had a strong relationship with the Boy Scouts Association and served as its New Zealand president from 1957 to 1967 . He was awarded the association ' s Silver Wolf . He died on 13 October 1991 in Lower Hutt , where he had lived for many years , at the age of 92 . His wife , who he married in 1926 , had predeceased him in 1984 .