Graham Beresford Parkinson

Graham Beresford Parkinson
Brigadier Graham Parkinson in Egypt, August 1943
Born	(1896-11-05)5 November 1896 Mount Cook, Wellington, New Zealand
Died	10 July 1979(1979-07-10) (aged 82) Christchurch, New Zealand
Allegiance	New Zealand
Service/branch	New Zealand Military Forces
Years of service	1914–52
Rank	Major General
Commands held	Southern Military District (1949–51) 2nd New Zealand Division (1944) 6th Infantry Brigade (1943–44, 1944–45) 1st New Zealand Army Tank Brigade (1942) 7th Infantry Brigade (1941–42) 4th Field Artillery Regiment (1940–41)
Battles/wars	First World War Western Front Second World War Battle of Greece Tunisian campaign Italian campaign
Awards	Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order & Bar Mentioned in Despatches Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States)

Major General Graham Beresford Parkinson, CBE, DSO & Bar, OStJ (5 November 1896 – 10 July 1979) was a professional soldier in the New Zealand Military Forces who served during the First and Second World Wars.

Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Parkinson was commissioned as a lieutenant in the New Zealand Military Forces in 1916 and served in the First World War as part of the New Zealand Field Artillery. He remained in the military during the interwar period and served in a number of staff and training positions. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, he commanded an artillery regiment in the Western Desert campaign and participated in the Battle of Greece. In late 1941 he returned to New Zealand to command newly raised formations, but returned to the Middle East in 1943. He commanded the 6th Infantry Brigade of the 2nd New Zealand Division during the Italian campaign, at one stage taking over temporary command of the division itself. After the war he served as Quartermaster General of the New Zealand Military Forces. He finished his military career in command of the Southern Military District. After his retirement in 1952, he lived in Christchurch. In his later years he was involved with the St. John Ambulance Association. He died in 1979 at the age of 82.