Army chief rose from the ranks

By GREGG WYCHERLEY

Major-General Les Pearce was the first soldier in the history of the New Zealand Army to rise from the ranks all the way to the top.

Retired Chief of General Staff Major-General Les Pearce CB CBE died in Auckland yesterday morning, aged 84.

He was promoted to Chief of General Staff in 1971, a remarkable achievement for a soldier who began his service 34 years earlier as a private in the regular Army.

Born in Herne Bay in 1918 as World War I came to an end, he joined the Army in 1937, serving in the infantry during World War II in Greece, Italy and North Africa.

He sailed for Egypt in 1940 as a sergeant-major and emerged in 1945 as a major in command of the 26th South Island Battalion.

In 1944 he married Fay Mattocks and the couple had three children, Graham, Anne and Ross.

Known affectionately in his later years as "Old Les Pearce", he was renowned for his unflagging care for the wellbeing of his men and his pride in what he called the honorable profession of arms.

His rise through the ranks was fraught with obstacles at a time when the military hierarchy was the preserve of an elite trained for professional careers at Sandhurst in England and Duntroon in Australia.

After the war, Major-General Pearce excelled as an instructor, both at home and in Australia, and in 1967 was posted to the Imperial Defence College in London, where he achieved distinction among some of the most brilliant military minds of his generation.

He retired from the Army in 1973, and was elected president of the Auckland Rugby Union from 1975-1977, after playing in his younger years as a flanker.

During his time as a rugby administrator, Major-General Pearce campaigned frequently and effectively against foul play.

In a notable tribute, he was invited in 1978 to chair a New Zealand Rugby Union select committee at the end of his three-year term as president.

As a former Chief of the Army, Major-General Pearce will receive full military honours at his funeral, which will take place at St Peter's Anglican Church, Killarney St, Takapuna on Friday at 1pm.