George Augustus King Lieutenant - Colonel George Augustus King DSO & Bar ( 3 March 1885 – 12 October 1917 ) was a New Zealander who served in the New Zealand Military Forces during World War One . 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 World War One . 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 . King 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 . World War One . Following the outbreak of World War One , King volunteered for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force and embarked for the Middle East in October 1914 . He was appointed staff captain to the then Colonel Andrew Russell , commander of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade . The brigade was initially based in Egypt and did not participate in the 25 April 1915 landings at Gallipoli which marked the start of the Gallipoli campaign . The following month , King and the brigade moved to the Gallipoli peninsula to fight as infantry . During the August offensive King , having been promoted to major , commanded the Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment , and was wounded on 27 August during a battle for Hill 60 . Evacuated from Gallipoli , King was appointed to the Distinguished Service Order for his " distinguished service in the field " during the campaign . After recovering from his wounds , in February 1916 King was appointed commander of the New Zealand Pioneer Battalion . The battalion was part of the New Zealand Division then being formed by Russell ( now a major general ) in Egypt following the withdrawal of Allied forces from Gallipoli . The battalion was a mix of personnel and included the survivors of the Otago Mounted Rifles , men of the Māori contingents as well as Pacific Islanders . King , well regarded by Russell , set about merging the various elements of the battalion , many of whom were not particularly happy at losing the identity of their parent formations , into an effective unit . 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 . The battalion shifted north to Belgium in early 1917 , and began work preparing the necessary infrastructure for the forthcoming Battle of Messines . For a month from early July , it was attached to the New Zealand Rifle Brigade , which was temporarily part of the French First Army . During this period , it was based in the area around Ypres , constructing roads and trenches . For his service during this brief attachment to the French Army , King was awarded the Croix de Guerre . In late August 1917 , King was appointed commander of 1st Battalion , Canterbury Infantry Regiment . He would be in command of the battalion for just over a month . Having led the battalion during the Battle of Broodseinde and in the early stages of the Battle of Passchendaele in October , he was killed during an artillery barrage on his battalion headquarters on 12 October . Highly regarded by those under his command , he was buried in Ypres . Māori soldiers of the New Zealand Pioneer Battalion performed a " waiata tangi " , normally reserved for high - ranking chiefs , during his funeral . King was survived by his wife Annie , whom he married in 1910 , and two children , Edward and Nancy . Andrew Russell , King ' s former commanding officer , would assist in the education of his children . Edward later became a group captain in the Royal New Zealand Air Force .