Most decorated · 7 medals and honours, 3 for gallantry
Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Jardine
Leonard Jardine, a Napier-born surveyor and Territorial officer, landed at Gallipoli as a Main Body lieutenant in the Wellington Battalion and ended the war commanding the 2nd Battalion, New Zealand Rifle Brigade. He won the Military Cross on the Somme in 1916, the Distinguished Service Order for the September 1918 fighting on the Trescault Spur near Gouzeaucourt, and a Bar to the DSO for his battalion's part in the capture of Le Quesnoy on 4 November 1918. That makes three gallantry awards, all of them earned as a front-line company or battalion commander.
7medals and honours
3of them for gallantry
His medals and honours
Won for gallantry
Gallantry award
Military Cross
15 September and 1 October 1916 · Flers, and Grid (Gird) Trench and Grid Support Trench, Somme, France · Captain, 2nd Battalion, Wellington Infantry Regiment
Gazetted: Supplement to the London Gazette, issue 29886, 1 January 1917, p. 45 (New Year Honours)
Jardine's Military Cross rewards two days in the New Zealand Division's first big battle, on the Somme in the autumn of 1916. He was a company commander in 2nd Wellington. On 15 September, the day the division took Flers, his company was ordered up in the afternoon to cover the north of the village and to dig in on a new line, and the citation says he handled it with great skill while German shelling and a counter-attack built up around the battalion. The second occasion was 1 October. Two companies of 2nd Otago had been raked by machine-gun fire until every one of their officers was either killed or wounded, and Jardine's company was sent to support them. Under heavy fire he took command of the leaderless line, steadied it and reorganised it at a critical moment. The citation calls this 'presence of mind, resource and initiative' and says his work deserved special recognition. The award was announced in the 1917 New Year Honours alongside two other 2nd Wellington officers, and the regimental history notes the three decorations on 1 January 1917. By the start of April 1917 Jardine, now styled Captain L. H. Jardine MC, had been commanding the battalion for a week or so, before leaving for a battalion commanders' course at Aldershot.
The citation text as held on Online Cenotaph and in McDonald reads 'Grid Trench' (the trench is Gird Trench on most maps). The regimental history describes the fighting of 1 October 1916 as the capture of Eaucourt l'Abbaye on the left of the division, so the Gird Trench wording and the history are not easy to line up; I have followed the citation. The history does not say which company Jardine commanded.
Counted in his gallantry totalSource: London Gazette issue 29886, 1 Jan 1917, p. 45 (page read, name confirmed); citation text via Online Cenotaph and McDonald, Honours and Awards to the NZEF (Rec. No. 381); Wellington Regiment history, chapters XVII, XIX and XXI (NZETC)
Order or honour
Distinguished Service Order
8-13 September 1918 · Gouzeaucourt Wood and the Trescault Spur, near Havrincourt, France · Lieutenant-Colonel, 2nd Battalion, New Zealand Rifle Brigade
Gazetted: Supplement to the London Gazette, issue 31158, 1 February 1919, p. 1616
Jardine had been made lieutenant-colonel of the 2nd Battalion in August 1918 and returned from leave on 6 September to resume command. Three days later the battalion attacked across the Trescault valley and through Gouzeaucourt Wood towards African Trench and African Support, on the ridge east of the wood. Its leading company took 42 prisoners in the first rush, then held a position with both flanks open against repeated bombing counter-attacks, and the Germans struck again on the evening of 11 September. On 12 September the New Zealand Rifle Brigade attacked again at 5.25 a.m. The 2nd Battalion took its length of African Trench, but the units on each side failed to keep up, and the battalion beat off counter-attacks at about 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. before it was relieved after dark. One of its companies went in about 50 strong and came out with two officers and 23 men. It was also a patrol from this battalion, under Sergeant Harry Laurent, that earned the Victoria Cross that morning. The citation praises Jardine for repeatedly reconnoitring the front, passing through gas and enemy barrage, so that by staying in the closest touch with the situation he could meet several counter-attacks. It says the operation succeeded through his skilful leadership and that his courage and coolness under heavy fire inspired all ranks.
The Gazette spells the place Gouzeaucourt; Online Cenotaph transcribes it 'Gauzeancourt'. The citation spans 8-13 September; the brigade history places the 2nd Battalion's main attacks on 9 and 12 September.
Counted in his gallantry totalSource: London Gazette issue 31158, 1 Feb 1919, p. 1616 (page read, citation confirmed); McDonald, Honours and Awards to the NZEF; Austin, Official History of the NZ Rifle Brigade, ch. XVI (NZETC)
Bar: a second award
Bar to the Distinguished Service Order
4 November 1918 · Le Quesnoy, northern France · Lieutenant-Colonel, 2nd Battalion, New Zealand Rifle Brigade
Gazetted: Supplement to the London Gazette, issue 31219, 8 March 1919, p. 3225 (First Bar, name only); citation published in the Supplement of issue 31583, 4 October 1919, p. 12219
On 4 November 1918 the New Zealand Division was given the walled town of Le Quesnoy, and Jardine's 2nd Battalion held the left of the Rifle Brigade's line, facing the town's north-west side. Its task was to clear the railway triangle, a junction of embankments the brigade had learned to dread, and then the ground north of the main line. From 5.30 a.m. the leading companies ran into machine-guns on the railway, and the centre company lost over a third of its strength in the first few minutes. The citation says the German hold on the railway embankment briefly stopped the attack and that Jardine used his reserve troops so skilfully that the resistance was overcome and the advance could go on. Austin's history records the reserve company going through the broken centre and joining up with the flanks. The fight then became a siege. Patrols reached the sunken road by the moat, a four-man patrol got across the moat at about 8 a.m. but was driven back, a bridge to the northern gate was blown at 1.45 p.m., and trench mortars fired on the ramparts from 3.30 p.m. At 4.15 p.m. the 4th Battalion scaled the wall on the west side with a ladder, and at 4.30 p.m. the 2nd Battalion stormed the Valenciennes Gate and entered the town. The citation ends by saying his gallant and able leadership was instrumental in bringing about the fall of the city. The text was reported in New Zealand newspapers in December 1919.
Online Cenotaph gives two gazette dates for the bar: its structured note says 8 March 1919, while the citation panel says 4 October 1919, p. 3225. The Gazette pages show both are right: the bar was announced on p. 3225 of the 8 March 1919 supplement, and the citation text came later in the 4 October 1919 supplement (p. 12219). Austin names Lieutenant L. H. (or T. H.) Denniston as the officer who brought the reserve company forward; the citation credits Jardine's use of the reserve.
Counted in his gallantry totalSource: London Gazette issue 31219, 8 Mar 1919, pp. 3224-3225 (read: 'Awarded a First Bar to the DSO', Jardine listed, DSO gazetted 1 Feb 1919); London Gazette issue 31583, 4 Oct 1919, p. 12219 (citation read); Austin, Official History of the NZ Rifle Brigade, ch. XIX part 2 (NZETC); Evening Post, 18 Dec 1919
Every other medal and honour (4)
1914-15 Star1914-1915 · Egypt and GallipoliJardine embarked with the Main Body of the NZEF in October 1914 as a lieutenant in the Wellington Battalion, trained in Egypt, and went to Gallipoli with the battalion in April 1915. The regimental history records…British War Medal1914-1918 · Overseas service, 1914-1919Awarded to those who entered a theatre of war or served overseas between 1914 and 1918; Jardine's service from October 1914 to 1919 qualified him.Victory Medal1914-1918 · Western Front and GallipoliIssued to those who served in a theatre of war, and worn with the oak-leaf emblem if mentioned in despatches, as Jardine was in 1919.Mentioned in Despatches16 September 1918 to 15 March 1919 · France, Belgium and GermanyA despatch covering the last weeks of the war and the march to the Rhine named Jardine for distinguished and gallant services and devotion to duty. It is his only mention in despatches in the Gazette lists, and it is…
His story
Napier, school and survey work
Born in Napier, the son of John Ferguson Jardine, he was educated at Wanganui Collegiate School and worked as a surveyor. He served in the New Zealand Volunteers (Territorials) from 1907, and gave his address on enlistment as Lincoln Road, Napier.
He enlisted on 5 August 1914, aged 24, and embarked in mid-October with the Main Body as a lieutenant in the Wellington Battalion. After training in Egypt he sailed for Lemnos in April 1915 in the transport Achaia.
Source: Online Cenotaph; Wellington Regiment history
Gallipoli
He landed with the Wellington Battalion and was wounded on 28 April, by shrapnel from a New Zealand naval gun by the regimental history's account, rejoining some weeks later. On 7 July at Quinn's Post a bomb wounded him in the leg and he was evacuated to Lemnos, returning on 2 August.
Source: Wellington Regiment history, chapters VI and VII
The Somme
Promoted captain in 1916, he commanded a company of 2nd Wellington at Flers on 15 September and on 1 October, the actions for which he won the Military Cross.
Source: Online Cenotaph; McDonald
Staff courses and the Rifle Brigade
He commanded 2nd Wellington for a week or so in spring 1917 and then attended a battalion commanders' course at Aldershot. Back in France as a major in December 1917 he moved to the NZ Rifle Brigade, serving as second-in-command of the 4th Battalion. He took temporary command of the 2nd Battalion when Major Pow was wounded on 6 April 1918.
Source: Wellington Regiment history, chapters XXI, XXXV and XXXVI; Austin, Official History of the NZ Rifle Brigade, ch. XII
Lieutenant-colonel, the hundred days
Online Cenotaph records his promotion to lieutenant-colonel on 6 August 1918. He led the 2nd Battalion through the Trescault Spur fighting in September (DSO) and the capture of Le Quesnoy on 4 November (Bar to DSO).
Source: Online Cenotaph; Austin, Official History of the NZ Rifle Brigade
To the Rhine and the end of the Brigade
He went on leave to the United Kingdom on 16 December 1918. In January 1919 the 3rd and 4th Battalions were combined as 'B' Battalion under his command, until the Rifle Brigade ceased to exist on 4 February 1919.
Source: Austin, Official History of the NZ Rifle Brigade, ch. XX
Territorial command and a second war
He married Agnes Wreford Maud Lewis in London in April 1919. He commanded the Taranaki Infantry Regiment in 1925-30, and in 1940 served as troopship commandant and then again as its commanding officer to 1942.
Source: Online Cenotaph (family-contributed note and biography field)
Death
He died at Katikati, Bay of Plenty, aged 79, and is buried in Kopuatama Cemetery, Stratford (Block 47, Plot 15).
Source: Online Cenotaph (cemetery records)
Rank and insignia
The ranks he held, and the badge a soldier of that rank wore. These are simplified illustrations.
LieutenantOctober 1914 (Main Body, Wellington Battalion)Shoulder strap: two pipsCaptain1916 (a captain by September 1916)Shoulder strap: three pipsMajorBy December 1917 (on joining the NZ Rifle Brigade)Shoulder strap: crownLieutenant-Colonel6 August 1918 (per Online Cenotaph; commanded 2nd Battalion NZRB)Shoulder strap: crown and one pipColonelSecond World War (Taranaki Infantry Regiment; troopship commandant)Shoulder strap: crown and two pips
His ships
HMNZT 7 (Arawa or Limerick)Troopship to Egypt, October-December 1914Online Cenotaph records the vessel as either Arawa or Limerick for the Wellington Infantry Battalion.AchaiaTransport from Alexandria to Lemnos, April 1915A captured German tramp with iron decks. Jardine built a plasticine model of the Gallipoli peninsula on board for fellow officers.
Afterwards
According to Online Cenotaph he married in London in April 1919. He stayed in the Territorial Force and commanded the Taranaki Infantry Regiment in 1925-30. In the Second World War he served again, as a colonel in the Second NZEF's ship staff in 1940-41 and as commanding officer of the Taranaki Infantry Regiment in 1940-42. Online Cenotaph also lists a War Medal 1939-45 with oak leaf, the Africa Star and the New Zealand War Service, Territorial Service and Long and Efficient Service medals. He was a widower by 1941, farmed at Stratford, and died at Katikati on 15 May 1969, aged 79. He is buried at Kopuatama Cemetery, Stratford. A newspaper profile says his sons and grandsons also attended Wanganui Collegiate School.
He is remembered mainly through Le Quesnoy: his battalion fought on the north side of the town on 4 November 1918, and the Cambridge Le Quesnoy honours roll and a Whanganui newspaper profile both single him out for his part in the town's fall.
Later awards, not counted here: War Medal 1939-1945 with oak leaf (listed on Online Cenotaph; the oak leaf normally denotes a mention in despatches, not independently confirmed); Africa Star; New Zealand War Service Medal; New Zealand Long and Efficient Service Medal; New Zealand Territorial Service Medal; No WW2 gallantry award found.
This is the Service Record sign as we would make it from his record: his rank, name, regiment, number and date of embarkation. The medals on the sign are worked out automatically, so the medals listed above are the ones to rely on.
The Service Record
Photograph
We haven’t hosted a photograph here
Rather than copy someone else’s image onto our own site, we’d rather send you to see it where it’s properly held: his entry in the sources below.
Bar to DSO gazette date: earlier notes gave 3 March 1919; the Gazette page header reads 8 March 1919 (issue 31219, p. 3225). The citation text appeared on 4 October 1919 (issue 31583, p. 12219). Online Cenotaph mixes the two.
Online Cenotaph spells the DSO place 'Gauzeancourt'; the Gazette and McDonald give Gouzeaucourt.
MC citation says 'Grid Trench' (Gird Trench on maps). The Wellington Regiment history describes 1 October 1916 as an attack on Eaucourt l'Abbaye, so the fit between citation and history is uncertain.
One mention in despatches only (11 July 1919). No foreign decoration found in McDonald, Austin's honours appendix, Online Cenotaph or the Evening Post foreign-decorations list.
Gallipoli wounds: the regimental history records two (28 April and 7 July 1915). The NZ Herald profile says he was wounded three times; I could not confirm a third.
Birth date: Online Cenotaph's header shows 1 Jan 1890 (a placeholder); a researcher's note from the military file gives 18 July 1890, Napier. Age 24 on enlistment on 5 August 1914 is consistent with 1890.
Date of promotion to lieutenant-colonel (6 August 1918) is from Online Cenotaph only. Austin has him as acting CO of the 2nd Battalion in April 1918 and as Lieut.-Col. by early September 1918.
The marriage (April 1919, London) is from a descendant's note on Online Cenotaph. The Papers Past link cited in that note opened an unrelated article when I checked, so the wedding detail is unverified.
Le Quesnoy: the NZ Herald profile says Jardine sent a German prisoner to demand surrender. Austin attributes the prisoner and demand to a party under 2nd Lieutenant Kingdon at about 1 p.m.; I have followed Austin.
WW2: details of his second war service are from Online Cenotaph only. The Africa Star and ship staff entries suggest overseas service as troopship commandant, but the nominal roll was not read. The 'oak leaf' on the War Medal is not confirmed against a Gazette mention.
Online Cenotaph id has no C prefix (record URL uses 177246).
