- James Hargest
Brigadier James Hargest CBE, DSO & 2 bars, MC,ED , MP, (4 September 1891 -12 August 1944 ) was aNew Zealand military officer and politician.Hargest was born in Gore, where his father was a farmer. He joined the Territorial Force in 1911, and when
World War I broke out, he volunteered to serve in theNew Zealand Expeditionary Force , being commissioned as asecond lieutenant . He fought and was wounded in theGallipoli Campaign , and later fought inFrance . By the end of the war, he had risen to command abattalion , and had been awarded the Military Cross, the DSO, and the FrenchLégion d'honneur .Upon his return to New Zealand, Hargest returned to farming, buying land near
Invercargill . He became active in local affairs, and in 1931 was elected to Parliament as the MP for Invercargill. He held Invercargill from 1931 to 1935, and then the Awarua seat from 1935 to 1944.Initially an Independent
Reform MP, Hargest was a supporter of the coalition between the United Party and the Reform Party. The coalition coalesced to become the National Party, and Hargest formally joined the new party.With the outbreak of
World War II , Hargest sought to return to military service. Initially, he was turned down on medical grounds, but this was overridden by the Prime Minister,Michael Joseph Savage . Hargest left New Zealand in 1940, holding the rank of Brigadier. He and his forces took part in theBattle of Crete (where some of his actions were questioned), and subsequently theWestern Desert Campaign . In late 1941, Hargest was captured, and was imprisoned inCastle Vincigliata , nearFlorence , along with a number of other Allied officers. A group of officers, including Hargest, managed to escape — Hargest and Brigadier Miles, another New Zealander were the only two to reach safety in neutralSwitzerland . With the help of theFrench Resistance , Hargest travelled through France toSpain , from which he flew toEngland . Later, he was appointed New Zealand's observer in theD-Day landings inNormandy , being attached to a British division. He was wounded twice, and on12 August 1944 was killed by shell fire.James Hargest College in Invercargill is named after him.References
*"Goodbye Campo 12" by James Hargest (first published 1946; mainly on his POW experiences)
*"New Zealand Parliamentary Record 1840-1984" by J. O. Wilson (1985, 4th edition, Government Printer, Wellington)
*"The First 50 Years: A History of the New Zealand National Party" by Barry Gustafson (1986, Reed Methuen, Auckland; biographical appendix of National MPs, page 319) ISBN 0474001776
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