Bernard Freyberg , 1st Baron Freyberg Lieutenant - General Bernard Cyril Freyberg , 1st Baron Freyberg ( 21 March 1889 – 4 July 1963 ) , was a British - born New Zealand Victoria Cross recipient and soldier who later served as the seventh Governor - General of New Zealand . A veteran of the Mexican Revolution , he became an officer in the British Army during the First World War . Freyberg took part in the beach landings during the Gallipoli Campaign and was the youngest general in the British Army during the First World War , later serving on the Western Front where he was decorated with the Victoria Cross and three DSOs , making him one of the most highly decorated British Empire officers of the First World War . He liked to be in the thick of the action — Winston Churchill called him " the Salamander " due to his ability to pass through fire unharmed . During the Second World War , he commanded the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Battle of Crete , the North African Campaign and the Italian Campaign . Freyberg was involved in the Allied defeat in the Battle of Greece , defeated again as the Allied commander in the Battle of Crete and performed successfully in the North African Campaign commanding the New Zealand division , including the Battle of El Alamein . In Italy , he was defeated again at the Second Battle of Cassino as a corps commander , but later relieved Padua and Venice , and was one of the first to enter Trieste , where he successfully confronted Josip Broz Tito ' s Partisans . By the end of the Second World War , Freyberg had spent ten and a half years fighting the Germans . Early life . Freyberg , born in Richmond , London , UK of distant Austrian ancestry , moved to New Zealand with his parents at the age of two . He attended Wellington College from 1897 to 1904 . A strong swimmer , he won the New Zealand 100 - yards championship in 1906 and 1910 . On 22 May 1911 he gained formal registration as a dentist . He worked as an assistant dentist in Morrinsville and later practised in Hamilton and in Levin . While in Morrinsville he was asked to take up a subaltern ship in the local Territorial Army unit , but he did not succeed in gaining the King ' s commission . Freyberg left New Zealand in March 1914 . Records exist of him in San Francisco and in Mexico , where he may have taken part in the civil war then raging in that country , reportedly becoming a captain under Pancho Villa . Upon hearing of the outbreak of war in Europe in August 1914 , he travelled to England via Los Angeles ( where he won a swimming competition ) and New York ( where he won a prizefight ) , to earn money to cross the United States and the Atlantic . World War I . In late 1914 Freyberg met Winston Churchill , then First Lord of the Admiralty , and persuaded him to grant him a Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve commission in the ' Hood ' Battalion of the newly constituted Royal Naval Division . In 1915 Freyberg became involved in the Dardanelles campaign . During the initial landings by Allied troops following the unsuccessful naval attempt to force the straits by sea , Freyberg swam ashore in the Gulf of Saros . Once ashore , he began lighting flares so as to distract the defending Turkish forces from the real landings taking place at Gallipoli . Despite coming under heavy Turkish fire , he returned safely from this outing , and for his action he received the Distinguished Service Order . He received serious wounds on several occasions and left the peninsula when his division evacuated in January 1916 . In May 1916 Freyberg was transferred to the British Army as a captain in the Queen ' s ( Royal West Surrey ) Regiment . However , he remained with the ' Hood ' Battalion as a seconded temporary major and went with them to France . During the final stages of the Battle of the Somme , when commanding a battalion as a temporary lieutenant - colonel , he so distinguished himself in the capture of Beaucourt village that he was awarded the Victoria Cross . On 13 November 1916 at Beaucourt - sur - Ancre , France , after Freyberg ' s battalion had carried the initial attack through the enemy ' s front system of trenches , he rallied and re - formed his own much disorganised men and some others , and led them on a successful assault of the second objective , during which he suffered two wounds , but remained in command and held his ground throughout the day and the following night . When reinforced the next morning , he attacked and captured a strongly fortified village , taking 500 prisoners . Although wounded twice more , the second time severely , Freyberg refused to leave the line until he had issued final instructions . The citation for the award , published in the London Gazette in December 1916 , describes the events concluding with : During his time on the Western Front Freyberg continued to lead by example . His bold leadership had a cost : Freyberg received nine wounds during his service in France , and men who served with him later in his career said hardly a part of his body did not have scars . Freyberg gained promotion to the rank of temporary brigadier - general ( although he still had the permanent rank of only captain ) and took command of a brigade in the 58th Division in April 1917 , which reportedly made him the youngest general officer in the British Army . He was awarded a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George the same year . In September a shell exploding at his feet inflicted the worst of his many wounds . When he resumed duty in January 1918 he again commanded 88th Brigade in 29th Division , performing with distinction during the German offensive of March – April 1918 . He won a bar to his DSO in September that year . Freyberg ended the war by leading a cavalry squadron detached from 7th Dragoon Guards to seize a bridge at Lessines , which was achieved one minute before the armistice came into effect , thus earning him a third DSO . By the end of the war , Freyberg had added the French Croix de Guerre to his name , as well receiving five Mentions in Despatches after his escapade at Saros . With his VC and three DSOs , he ranked as among the most highly decorated British Empire officers of the First World War . Interbellum . Early in 1919 Freyberg was granted a regular commission in the Grenadier Guards and settled into peacetime soldiering , as well as attempts to swim the English Channel . From 1921 to 1925 he was a staff officer in the headquarters of the 44th Division . He suffered health problems arising from his many wounds , and as part of his convalescence he visited New Zealand in 1921 . On 14 June 1922 he married Barbara McLaren ( a daughter of Sir Herbert Jekyll and the widow of the Honourable Francis McLaren ) at St Martha on the Hill . Barbara had two children from her previous marriage ; she and Freyberg later had a son , Paul ( 1923 – 1993 ) . In the general election of 1922 he stood unsuccessfully ( coming second ) as an Independent Liberal candidate for Cardiff South . He represented New Zealand on the International Olympic Committee in 1928 – 30 . Promoted to the permanent rank of major in 1927 ( having been a substantive captain since 1916 ) , he held a GSO2 staff appointment at Headquarters , Eastern Command until February 1929 when he was promoted lieutenant - colonel and appointed to command 1st Battalion , Manchester Regiment . In 1931 he was promoted colonel ( with seniority backdated to 1922 ) and was appointed Assistant Quartermaster General of Southern Command . In September 1933 he moved to a GSO1 posting at the War Office before being promoted major - general in July 1934 . With this promotion , at the age of only 45 , he seemed headed for the highest echelons of the army . However , medical examinations prior to a posting in India revealed a heart problem , despite strenuous efforts to surmount this . Freyberg , who was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1936 , was obliged to retire on 16 October 1937 . Second World War . The British Army classified Freyberg as unfit for active service in 1937 . However , following the outbreak of war in September 1939 he returned to its active list in December as a specially employed major - general . Following an approach from the New Zealand government , Freyberg offered his services and subsequently gained appointment as commander of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force and of the New Zealand 2nd Division . In the chaos of the retreat from the Greek mainland campaign of 1941 , London gave Freyberg command of the Allied forces during the Battle of Crete . Controversy surrounds his use of ULTRA intelligence messages during this battle . Promoted to Lieutenant - General and knighted via Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire , Freyberg continued to command the New Zealand 2nd Division through the North African and Italian campaign s of the British Eighth Army . He had an excellent reputation as a divisional - level tactician . Churchill described Freyberg as his " salamander " due to his love of fire and wanting to be always in the middle of the action ; An exploding German shell wounded Freyberg at the Battle of Marsa Matruh in June 1942 , but he soon returned to the battlefield . Freyberg however disagreed strongly with his superior , General Claude Auchinleck , and insisted that as a commander of a national contingent he had the right to refuse orders if those orders ran counter to the New Zealand national interest . On the other hand , Freyberg enjoyed a good relationship with General Bernard Montgomery , who thought highly of the experienced New Zealander . In the climactic Battle of El Alamein in October – November 1942 , the New Zealand Division played a vital part in the Allies ’ final breakthrough ; for his leadership of it , Freyberg was immediately promoted to a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath . During the ensuing pursuit of the Axis forces across North Africa to Tunisia , where they surrendered , he led the New Zealanders on a series of well - executed left hooks designed to outflank successive enemy defence lines . In April and May 1943 Freyberg briefly commanded X Corps . Freyberg was injured in an aircraft accident in September 1944 . After six weeks in hospital he returned to command the New Zealand Division in its final operations , which involved a series of river crossings and an advance of 250 miles in three weeks . By the time of Germany ’ s capitulation , the New Zealanders had reached Trieste , having already liberated both Padua and Venice , where there was , briefly , a tense standoff with Yugoslav partisans . This success earned him a third bar to his DSO in July 1945 , and he was also made a commander of the US Legion of Merit . Freyberg had excelled in planning set - piece attacks , such as at Operation " Supercharge " at Alamein , Operation " Supercharge II " at Tebaga Gap , and in the storming of the Senio line in 1945 . However , the two occasions that Freyberg commanded at Corps level — at Crete and Monte Cassino — counted as less successful . Throughout the war he showed a disdain for danger . He showed notable concern for the welfare of his soldiers , taking a common - sense attitude to discipline and ensuring the establishment of social facilities for his men . He had become a very popular commander with the New Zealand soldiers by the time he left his command in 1945 . Freyberg is closely associated with the controversial decision to bomb the ancient monastery at Monte Cassino , Italy , in February 1944 . Freyberg , commanding the troops which fought what later became known as the Second and Third Battles of Monte Cassino , became convinced the abbey , founded in 529 A . D . , was being used as a military stronghold . The analysis of one of Freyberg ' s divisional commanders , Francis Tuker , concluded in a memo to Freyberg that regardless of whether the monastery was currently occupied by the Germans , it should be demolished to prevent its effective occupation . He also pointed out that with 150 foot ( 45 m ) high walls made of masonry at least 10 feet ( 3 m ) thick , there was no practical means for field engineers to deal with the place , and that bombing with " blockbuster " bombs would be the only solution since 1 , 000 pound bombs would be " next to useless " . The theatre commander , General Harold Alexander , agreed to the bombing ( which did not employ blockbuster bombs ) ; the ruins were occupied by German forces which held the position until 18 May . Following the war , the abbot of the monastery and other monks confirmed that German troops had not occupied the inside of the abbey and it was not being used for military purposes . Post - war . Freyberg relinquished command of the New Zealand division , on 22 November 1945 having accepted an invitation to become Governor - General of New Zealand – the first with a New Zealand upbringing . He left London for his new post on 3 May 1946 , after being made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George . His links with the army were cut when his retirement took effect on 10 September 1946 . Freyberg served as Governor - General of New Zealand from 1946 until 1952 . In this post he played a very active role , visiting all parts of New Zealand and its dependencies . On Freyberg was appointed a Knight of the Order of Saint John . The Crown raised Freyberg to the peerage as Baron Freyberg of Wellington in New Zealand and of Munstead in the County of Surrey in 1951 . After his term as New Zealand Governor - General had finished , Freyberg returned to England where he sat frequently in the House of Lords . On 1 March 1953 he became the Deputy Constable and Lieutenant - Governor of Windsor Castle ; he took up residence in the Norman Gateway the following year . In 1955 , Freyberg High School in Palmerston North , New Zealand opened . Freyberg died at Windsor on 4 July 1963 following the rupture of one of his war wounds , and was buried in the churchyard of St Martha on the Hill near Guildford , Surrey . His wife is buried at his side , and their son , who had been awarded the Military Cross , at the end of their graves . The Sir Bernard Freyberg Cup is awarded to the winner in single sculls at the New Zealand Rowing Championship . Styles . " Note : An asterisk ( * ) denotes a Bar to the DSO . "