George Spafford Richardson

Early life

George Spafford Richardson was born in Northamptonshire, England, on 14 November 1868, the illegitimate son of a farmer, George Richardson, and Mary Ann Baxter. After a brief period in the workforce, he enlisted in the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery in 1886 for a 21-year term of engagement.

Military career

Richardson trained at the Shoeburyness Gunnery School before being posted to Gibraltar where he served for four years. By 1891, he was a non-commissioned officer with the rank of staff sergeant instructor in gunnery and the same year, he was seconded to the New Zealand Permanent Forces, at the time the official title for the military forces of New Zealand. He began his four-year term as a gunnery instructor in New Zealand with the rank of master gunner.

Based in Wellington, he was well regarded by his superior officers. He was an innovative trainer, developing several inventions to better enable his work in instructing artillery personnel. His secondment was extended several times, a situation Richardson was comfortable with as he enjoyed life in New Zealand. He married Caroline Warren on 29 October 1892, and the couple would go on to have six children.

In 1907, Richardson, still in New Zealand, completed his original term of enlistment of 21 years with the British Army. He was immediately commissioned as a captain in the New Zealand Permanent Forces, becoming its Director of Artillery. In 1911, following the reorganisation of the New Zealand Permanent Forces into the New Zealand Military Forces, Richardson was transferred to the newly established New Zealand Staff Corps, still in the rank of captain. He was promoted to major the following year and returned to the United Kingdom in order to attend the Staff College in Camberley. While he was overseas, a son, also in the New Zealand Military Forces, was killed in an accident.

First World War

Richardson was serving on the Imperial General Staff in London as New Zealand's representative, having taken over Colonel Alfred Robin in this capacity, when the First World War broke out. He helped in the formation of the Royal Naval Division and deployed to France in September 1914 as its chief of staff, and then as assistant adjutant and quartermaster general with the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel. With the division, he served in the unsuccessful defence of Antwerp, and managed to avoid being taken prisoner of war when the city fell to the Germans.

Returning to England in November 1914 and still with the Royal Naval Division, Richardson helped prepare it for the Gallipoli Campaign and landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. His work as a staff officer throughout the campaign was so highly regarded that he was promoted to brigadier general and appointed deputy adjutant and quartermaster general of the British XII Corps. In October 1915, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George. He served in Salonika with XII Corps as part of the British Salonika Army from December 1915 to February 1916. In recognition of his service at Gallipoli and Salonika, he was awarded the Croix de Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honour) in March 1916. This French award is uncommon to New Zealanders with fewer than 100 awards made, and Richardson was one of only 14 members of the New Zealand Military Forces to be decorated with the Legion of Honour during the war.

At the request of the New Zealand Government, in February 1916 Richardson returned to England to become the New Zealand representative at the War Office. Transferring to the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF), he also took responsibility for its administration. His responsibilities extended to the overall command of all NZEF personnel in the United Kingdom. This included wounded personnel receiving medical treatment, nurses and doctors, as well as soldiers undergoing training before being transferred to the front. The overall commander of the NZEF, Lieutenant General Alexander Godley, thought highly of Richardson's work and it was recognised in the June 1917 Birthday Honours with his appointment as a Companion of the Order of the Bath.

Shortly after the cessation of hostilities Richardson was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1919 New Year Honours. He had also been mentioned in despatches on three occasions during the course of the war.

Postwar career

Richardson returned to New Zealand in February 1919 and, based in Wellington, became administrator for General Headquarters of the New Zealand Military Forces. He also chaired the Reconstruction Committee which was established to reduce the New Zealand Military Forces to a peacetime setting. However, he soon tired of this work and the following year tendered his resignation. It was not accepted by the New Zealand Government and he remained in his role until early 1923. He was awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre in 1922 for his services in the First World War, and also wrote a chapter on the education of soldiers, a subject in which he was particularly interested, for one of the volumes of the Official History of New Zealand's Effort in the Great War. This was published in 1923.

Western Samoa

In March 1923, Richardson was appointed Administrator of Western Samoa, a former possession of Imperial Germany but now a mandate for which New Zealand was responsible on behalf of the League of Nations. This effectively ended his military career but not before he received a final promotion to major general.

Richardson met with some initial success in his new role, learning Samoan and implementing a number of reforms. He focussed on transforming the country's economy into one based upon agriculture with a long term view of Samoan self-governance, and also implemented welfare and educational programs. His results were such that his term of three years in Western Samoa was extended by a further two years. He was also knighted, being made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the June 1925 Birthday Honours. However, over the next two years he had to deal with the increasing influence of the Mau movement, a nationalist group agitating for independence via peaceful means. While his administrative experience was helpful for carrying the reforms he had initiated, he lacked the political and diplomatic skills to deal with the Mau. He took a heavy handed approach to asserting his authority and deported several leaders of the Mau. This did not have the desired effect and dissent amongst the general population towards the New Zealand administration only increased. Richardson was forced to call in marines from the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy to deal with the civil unrest. Shortly afterwards, on 31 March 1928, he retired. Later in the year he was the New Zealand representative to the League of Nations meeting which discussed the administration of Western Samoa.

Later life

Retiring to the city of Auckland, he was an advocate for returned servicemen, particularly those who were disabled, but became involved with local body politics and became a member of the Auckland City Council (ACC) at the 1935 local elections. Voted again onto the ACC after the next local election in May 1938, he was appointed the Deputy Mayor of Auckland. He died suddenly on 11 June 1938, and was buried at Waikumete Cemetery. He was survived by his wife and five children. Auckland City Council unveiled a memorial plaque for Richardson in the foyer of the Auckland Town Hall on 30 March 1939.