William Percival Hodgson

William started out as a signaler in the 18 NZ Battalion before it changed to an armoured division where he eventually became a 2nd Lieutenant in the 18 New Zealand Armoured Regiment (unit in the 4th New Zealand Armoured Brigade) where he was also an operator and troop sergeant. He commanded Sherman tanks. He fought in Egypt, Libya and Italy and attended Royal Military College, Sandhurst in 1944 as a cadet.

He was a senior rugby league player for North Shore Football Club.

Medals received:

• Africa Star
• Italy Star
• 1939-1945 Star
• Defence Medal
• War Medal 1939-1945
• N.Z. War Service Medal

Promotions:

• Private to Lance Corporal – 22/8/1942
• Lance Corporal to Sargent – 30/8/1943
• Sargent to Warrant Officer Class 2 – 5/1/1945
• Warrant Officer Class 2 to 2nd Lieutenant – 21/2/1945

Courses:

• 3 months NZ signal school – May – July 1941
• NZ signal school Dr Op – 28 September – 24 October 1942
• ME Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) school W/T instrs – 1 Feb – 20 March 1943
• New Zealand Armoured Corps (NZAC) school gun layers - 19-30 April 1943
• 3 day course – Mines and booby traps

http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-18Ba.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4th_New_Zealand_Armoured_Brigade

http://www.flamesofwar.com/hobby.aspx?art_id=246

Detailed history

started out as a signaller in the 18th New Zealand Battalion before it converted to armour and renamed to the 18th Armoured Regiment (a unit in the 4th New Zealand Armoured Brigade) after their North Africa campaign. He eventually became a 2nd Lieutenant in C Squadron where he was a troop sergeant. The Armoured Brigade used M4A2 Sherman’s during the Italy Campaign as part of the United States Lend-Lease initiative.

When the brigade was first formed it was initially going to be armed with tanks in the same manner of other regiments in the Middle East, ‘A’ squadron with Shermans, ‘B’ squadron with Grants and ‘C’ squadron with Crusaders. All that were recieved was a few Lees and Crusaders, these were retained by the armoured training school. In July 1943 the regiments were to be fitted out solely with Sherman III tanks and the Crusaders were given back.

These are just overviews of the campaigns he was involved in with the 18th Armoured Regiment.

North Africa

In November 1941, the battalion participated in Operation Crusader as part of the British Eighth Army and was engaged in offensive operations towards the Sidi Azeiz area.

After a period near Cairo, in February 1942, the 2nd New Zealand Division was dispatched to Syria to defend against a possible attack through Turkey on the Middle East oilfields by the Germans. Along with the rest of the 4th Brigade it worked on defences to the north of Damascus before the whole division was recalled to Libya on 17 June following the attack on the Eighth Army's Gazala Line by Panzer Army Africa. When the division was encircled at Minqar Qaim by the 21st Panzer Division on 27 June, the battalion, temporarily detached from the rest of the 4th Brigade, was one of the lead units in the subsequent breakout that night.

The battalion was withdrawn to the Alamein line after a brief period of recovery at the Kaponga Box.

A German counterattack in the afternoon of 15 July which overwhelmed the 19th and 20th Battalions also caused heavy losses amongst the 18th Battalion. Following the effective destruction of the 19th and 20th Battalions, the 18th Battalion remained in the field attached to the 5th Brigade. It then supported an attack by the 6th Brigade on El Mreir. Inadequately supported by armour, the attack proved a failure although the battalion escaped with relatively few casualties. It remained in the line throughout August and into September but, having been reduced to just 350 personnel, it was withdrawn to Maadi to re-join the reconstituted 4th Brigade.

Italy

The 18th Armoured Regiment disembarked at Taranto on 22 October 1943 and gradually travelled north towards the Sangro River, which it duly crossed on 3 December. In the following weeks, the regiment supported the 5th and 6th Brigades in their attack on Orsogna, as part of the Moro River Campaign. Two squadrons from the 18th Armoured Regiment attacked with the 22 Motor Battalion, Although the infantry made some gains, the German defences were too strong and the attack soon faded into a stalemate, with a number of back and forth actions as winter set in, which led to many of the regiment's tanks becoming stuck in the sodden ground.

Orsogna became the final objective for the Armoured Brigade on 7th December 1943. There, attacks by 18th and 19th Armoured Regiments were repulsed by German Panzer IV tanks, although some ground was gained. Offensive operations around Orsogna ceased in late December and the New Zealanders withdrew from the area on 13 January 1944

Relieved by a Polish unit in March 1945, the regiment returned to the front lines in early April after a period of rest. It made a series of advances against the retreating German rear-guard and on 2 May, the 2nd New Zealand Division entered Trieste. While most of the German garrison quickly surrendered, it was necessary to deal with some diehard elements who refused to surrender to either the New Zealanders or the Yugoslav partisans also present in the city. The partisans were reluctant to allow Germans to surrender to the New Zealanders, and the regiment remained in Trieste for several weeks until the large numbers of Yugoslav partisans also present in the city withdrew.

Not required for service in the Pacific theatre of operations, the regiment was disestablished in December 1945. During the war, the 18th Battalion and its successor, the 18th Armoured Regiment, lost nearly 320 officers and men either killed in action or who later died of their wounds. Of the exactly 350 personnel made prisoners of war, a further 21 men died while in captivity.

William also attended the Royal Military College, Sandhurst in 1944 as a cadet.