William John Lyon (15 February 1898 – 26 May 1941) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. He was killed in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

while serving with the

2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

Early life and career

Lyon was born in London, England, and educated at a

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

Grammar School. He won a scholarship to the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, but did not take it up as he enlisted in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

aged 17. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, while serving on the western front, he was twice

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

and his health was damaged by mustard gas. He was promoted to a non-commissioned officer and later was an officer in the

Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foo ...

and military intelligence. After leaving the military he worked as a linguist and cypher translator at the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

Local politics

Lyon was active in the

UK Labour Party The Labour Party, often referred to as Labour, is a political party in the United Kingdom that sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. The party has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade ...

. As a member of the

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ...

branch he was a party organiser in the 1921 local elections and 1924 general election. Due to his health, still impaired by the mustard gas attack, he emigrated to New Zealand in 1927 where he lived in

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

gaining work as a rubber vulcaniser. Lyon joined the Labour Party in 1928 and was elected a member of the

Hastings Borough Council Hastings Borough Council is the local authority for Hastings in East Sussex, England. Hastings has had a council since medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974, Hastings has been a non-metropolitan district with ...

and Napier Harbour Board in 1929 before moving to Auckland in 1931. In Auckland he became president of the Auckland Provincial Unemployed Workers' Association and president of the Auckland Association Football Association. In

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

he stood unsuccessfully for the

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1989 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elec ...

on a Labour Party ticket.

Member of Parliament

Lyon contested the Hawkes Bay electorate in the , but was beaten by the incumbent,

Hugh Campbell Hugh Thomas Campbell (born May 21, 1941) is an American former professional football player, coach, and executive. He served as a head coach in three different football leagues: the Canadian Football League (CFL), United States Football League ...

of the Reform Party. As a Labour Party MP, he represented the Waitemata electorate from the 1935 general election to 1941. Lyon was an ideological ally of John A. Lee and became a leading advocate for credit reform in the Labour Party. His interest in monetary reform led him to become part of a small group of backbenchers that assisted

Walter Nash Sir Walter Nash (12 February 1882 – 4 June 1968) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 27th prime minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960. He is noted for his long period of political service, havi ...

, the

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

, along with Ormond Wilson and

Arnold Nordmeyer Sir Arnold Henry Nordmeyer (born Heinrich Arnold Nordmeyer, 7 February 1901 – 2 February 1989) was a New Zealand politician and Presbyterian minister. As a member of Parliament (MP) he played a crucial role in the Labour Party, serving fr ...

. Lyon twice moved in caucus that the

Bank of New Zealand Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) is one of New Zealand's Big Four (banking)#New Zealand, big four banks. It has been operating since October 1861, and since 1992 has been owned by National Australia Bank (NAB), retaining local governance with a New Z ...

be nationalised, but was ignored by Prime Minister

Michael Joseph Savage Michael Joseph Savage (23 March 1872 – 27 March 1940) was an Australian-born New Zealand politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of New Zealand, heading the First Labour Government of New Zealand, First Labour Government from 1935 ...

who was opposed to the idea. He was later a member of a caucus committee tasked with drafting the party's

social security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...

policies which later became the

Social Security Act 1938 The Social Security Act 1938 is a New Zealand Act of Parliament concerning unemployment insurance which established New Zealand as a welfare state. This act is important in the history of social welfare, as it established the first ever social se ...

. Lyon, one of the few First World War veterans in the Labour caucus, strongly supported New Zealand's participation in

and had tabled a minority report at the 1939 party conference calling for a greater recruiting effort. While initially an ideological ally of Lee, Lyon was disgusted with Lee's 'Psycho-pathology in politics' article which contained vicious personal attacks on Savage (who was dying of cancer). He was so infuriated thar he ripped up the copy he was reading. He wrote to Nash shortly before his death, that while he still shared Lee's views that reforms could have gone further and faster, Lee's conduct had gone too far stating "What a tragedy it was that personal issues were allowed to obscure political ideology and the culminating tragedy, the death of our beloved leader. I realise more than ever how puerile some of our fights in caucus were and how ridiculous it was that most of our discussions took place in an atmosphere of distrust and suspicion and the comradeship of 1935 was allowed to be dissipated."

Death

With the outbreak of war, Lyon enlisted in the

New Zealand Military Forces The New Zealand Army (, ) is the principal Army, land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in 1845, as the New Zealand Mil ...

, and was a Captain with the 18th Battalion when he was killed during the

Battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (, ), codenamed Operation Mercury (), was a major Axis Powers, Axis Airborne forces, airborne and amphibious assault, amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May ...

. He was survived by his wife and two daughters. Out of respect to Lyon, the

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

decided not to contest the by-election resulting from his death. The by-election resulted in the return of the third woman to the New Zealand House of Representatives, Labour's

Mary Dreaver Mary Manson Dreaver (née Bain, 31 March 1887 – 19 July 1961) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. She was the third woman to sit in the New Zealand House of Representatives, one of the first two women to sit in the New Zealand ...

. His widow Alison considered but, after receiving medical advice, opted not to accept nomination to stand for the seat.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

Captain Lyon during withdrawal from Greece (text)William John Lyon record
at Online Cenotaph {{DEFAULTSORT:Lyon, William John 1898 births 1941 deaths Local politicians in New Zealand British Army personnel of World War I Royal Sussex Regiment officers New Zealand Labour Party MPs New Zealand military personnel killed in World War II New Zealand Army officers English emigrants to New Zealand Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1928 New Zealand general election Military personnel from London