Edward Puttick

Sir Edward Puttick
Lieutenant General Edward Puttick in Italy, May 1944
Born	(1890-06-26)26 June 1890 Timaru, New Zealand
Died	25 July 1976(1976-07-25) (aged 86) Hamilton, New Zealand
Buried	Karori Cemetery, Wellington, New Zealand
Allegiance	New Zealand
Service/branch	New Zealand Military Forces
Years of service	1911–46
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	Chief of the General Staff (1941–45) 2nd New Zealand Division (1941) 4th Infantry Brigade (1939–41) Central Military District (1939) Fiji Expeditionary Force (1920) 3rd Battalion, New Zealand Rifle Brigade (1917–18) 1st Battalion, New Zealand Rifle Brigade (1917)
Battles/wars	First World War Senussi campaign Western Front Second World War Battle of Greece Battle of Crete Home Front
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order & Bar Mentioned in Despatches (3)

Lieutenant General Sir Edward Puttick, KCB, DSO & Bar (26 June 1890 – 25 July 1976) was an officer who served with the New Zealand Military Forces during the First and Second World Wars. The first New Zealand-born soldier to reach the rank of lieutenant general, he was Chief of the General Staff of the New Zealand Military Forces from 1941 to 1945.

Born in 1890 in Timaru, Puttick served in the Territorial Force prior to the First World War. In August 1914 he was part of the Expeditionary Force that occupied German Samoa. He later served with the New Zealand Rifle Brigade during the Senussi campaign and on the Western Front. He was commanding the 3rd Battalion of the brigade in March 1918 when he was wounded and later repatriated to New Zealand.

Puttick joined the New Zealand Staff Corps in 1919 and held a number of command and staff positions for the next 20 years. During the Second World War, he commanded the 4th Infantry Brigade in the Battle of Greece, for which he was awarded a bar to the Distinguished Service Order he had won in the previous war. Following the Allied evacuation from Greece he commanded the 2nd New Zealand Division during the subsequent Battle of Crete. In September he returned to New Zealand as Chief of General Staff, New Zealand Military Forces, and served in this capacity until late 1945. He retired from the military the following year and died in 1976.