Richard Hutton Davies Major General Richard Hutton Davies CB ( 14 August 1861 – 9 May 1918 ) was an officer of the New Zealand Military Forces during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries , the first New Zealander to command an independent force overseas and one of the most senior New Zealand officers during the First World War . Born in London , he emigrated to New Zealand after leaving school , where he worked as a surveyor . He joined a volunteer militia unit in 1893 , and went to South Africa as an officer with the first New Zealand contingent sent to the Boer War in 1899 . He later commanded the third , fourth and eighth contingents , becoming the first New Zealand officer to command an independent unit on active service overseas . Following his return to New Zealand , he became inspector - general of the New Zealand Military Forces , and in 1909 was attached to a British Army brigade to gain staff experience . This led to him being offered command of 6th Brigade , a regular infantry brigade of British troops , in 1910 ; he was the first colonial officer to hold such a position . In the summer of 1914 the brigade was mobilised with the British Expeditionary Force , and he commanded it at the Battle of Mons and the First Battle of the Aisne before being invalided back to England due to exhaustion . He was given command of the newly formed 20th ( Light ) Division , which he took to France in 1915 , but was relieved of command early in 1916 . After a period in command of a reserve centre in Staffordshire , he was sent to hospital suffering from both mental and physical ill health , and committed suicide in May 1918 . Early life and family . Davies was born in London , the son of a journalist , and was educated at Hurstpierpoint College . After leaving school , he emigrated to New Zealand , where he spent two years working for a relative before settling at Taranaki , setting up a farm and practising as a surveyor . He married Ida Mary Cornwall in February 1886 ; they had two sons and a daughter . One son , Henry Cornwall Davies , served with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force during the First World War , and , like his father , transferred to the British Army in 1915 , becoming a captain in the Royal Engineers . Ida died in pregnancy with their fourth child in December 1906 ; he remarried , to Ida ' s sister Eileen Kathleen Cornwall , in May 1908 . In October 1887 Davies became the surveyor to the Manganui Road Board . On 10 April 1893 , he joined the Hawera Mounted Rifle Volunteers , and was commissioned as a lieutenant in May 1895 ; he was quickly promoted to captain six weeks later , becoming the commander of the unit . He was also active in local government , and in February 1897 was elected a member of the New Plymouth Harbour Board , representing Taranaki North . South Africa . On 3 October 1899 Davies transferred into the Permanent Force of the New Zealand Militia , where he was made responsible for the training of volunteer mounted units . The Boer War , however , was declared a week later ; Davies was quickly seconded to command a company of the volunteer First New Zealand Contingent being sent to the Cape . The contingent sailed on 21 October , arrived in late November , and was on active service within a week . Davies was promoted to Major in May 1900 , and in the same month was given temporary command of the Third New Zealand Contingent . He was transferred to the Rhodesian Field Force , where he commanded the Fourth New Zealand Contingent in August 1900 . He established a high professional reputation commanding the unit , and was promoted to lieutenant - colonel and made a Companion of the Order of the Bath ( CB ) , as well as winning the respect of his men - one described him as " not only liked but loved " . A soldier wrote home calling Davies , who stood five feet six inches tall , " a grand little chap " , whilst another noted with pleasure that Davies objected to " Imperial ideas of discipline " being forced upon his men . After being mentioned in despatches in May 1901 he returned home to command the Auckland Military District , but was ordered back to South Africa in command of the eighth New Zealand Contingent , in February 1902 , with the brevet rank of colonel . The contingent operated as a single unit , unlike its predecessors , and Davies became the first officer from New Zealand to command an independent force on active service overseas . Military reform . Returning to New Zealand in late 1902 , Davies resumed command of the Auckland military district . He held command until 1906 , when he was appointed inspector - general of the New Zealand Military Forces and became a member of the Council of Defence , the body responsible for controlling the dominion ' s military forces . The position of inspector - general , newly created that year , was originally expected to go to an " Imperial " - that is , British - officer , but the government had announced it planned to rotate New Zealand officers in the role , on up to five - year terms , so as to allow them to gain experience . Davies threw himself into the role , travelling around the country and inspecting local units to gain an overall idea of their efficiency . Even under favourable circumstances , however , he found that only 54 % of the volunteers attended parades in 1906 ; at the annual camps , the proportion was as low as 45 % . He pressed for greater use of active day - time tactical training rather than evening indoors drill , which he felt was key for a part - time volunteer force , and for a greater emphasis on the training and standards of officers . By the end of his second year in office , he had organised local selection boards for appointing officers , and a central promotion board for senior field officers , as well as mandatory regular fitness and efficiency tests . As a member of the Council of Defence , he strongly supported the movement for universal military training - not conventional conscription , but rather a form of basic military training on a part - time basis for all adult men - arguing that it would mean " the flower of the nation would be the soldiers , not the weeds " . British service . After three years as Inspector - General , and in order to gain staff experience , Davies was attached as an observer to a number of units in the United Kingdom in 1909 - 10 . During this time , he also attended the Imperial Defence Conference and represented the New Zealand forces at the funeral of King Edward VII . At the end of the one - year attachment , he had so impressed the British Army that they offered him an appointment as commander of 6th Brigade in October 1910 , with the temporary rank of brigadier - general . As such , he became the first overseas officer to command a regular brigade , only eleven years after taking up a permanent military commission . Davies ' tenure in command of 6th Brigade was due to expire in October 1914 , when he was to hand over command to John Keir , and it was rumoured in New Zealand that he might be appointed as general officer commanding the home forces in 1915 , succeeding Alexander Godley . However , with the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 , his command was mobilised as part of 2nd Division in the British Expeditionary Force and sent to France . The brigade saw heavy combat at the Battle of Mons , where Davies was mentioned in despatches , but he was quickly worn down by his habit of always marching at the head of his brigade , which put him under heavy physical and mental strain , and from the lasting effects of an attack of pneumonia earlier in the year . One report described him as " much changed , full of nerves . . . very jumpy " . He was relieved of command after the First Battle of the Aisne in September and ordered home , replaced by Colonel Robert Fanshawe , formerly GSO 1 of 1st Division , on 20 September . He was appointed a divisional commander , with the rank of temporary major - general , on 19 October 1914 , and took command of the newly raised 20th ( Light ) Division at some point in September – October . This made him the first New Zealand officer to command a division in the War . On 18 February 1915 , he was formally transferred to the British Army , and promoted to major - general . The 20th Division moved to France in July 1915 , and he commanded it during a minor operation in September , but handed over command on 8 March 1916 due to ill - health . He was appointed to command a reserve centre at Cannock Chase , Staffordshire , where the arrival of elements of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade in September 1917 meant that he once again had the opportunity to command his own countrymen . He was relieved of command by General Robert Wanless O ' Gowan in March 1918 , and on 9 May 1918 , after a prolonged period of physical and mental ill health , he committed suicide at the Special Neurological Hospital for Officers , Kensington .