Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

James Thomas Burrows (13 July 1904 – 10 June 1991) was a New Zealand teacher, sportsman, administrator, and military leader. Burrows was born in

Prebbleton Prebbleton is a small town in the Selwyn District in the Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury Region of New Zealand. It is 11 km southwest of the centre of Christchurch and about 2 km south of the outlying industrial suburb of Hornby, N ...

, just outside

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand, on 13 July 1904. Following his education at

Christchurch Boys' High School Christchurch Boys' High School, often referred to as CBHS, is a single sex state secondary school in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is situated on a site between the suburbs of Riccarton, New Zealand, Riccarton and Fendalton, to the west of ce ...

, he became a teacher. He graduated from Canterbury College in 1935 with a master's thesis titled ''A comparison between the early colonisations of New Zealand and America.'' As a

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player, Burrows was a hooker. He represented in 1923 and from 1925 to 1930. He was a member of the New Zealand national side, the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

, on their first ever

tour of South Africa The Tour of South Africa was a stage cycling race in South Africa that was only held once, in 2011. It was part of UCI Africa Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by ...

in 1928. On that tour he played in nine matches and scored two tries, but he did not appear in any of the Tests. He was sole selector and coach of the Canterbury team from 1932 to 1933, and manager–coach for the All Blacks in their 1937 series against South Africa. Burrows also played nine

first-class match First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

es for the

Canterbury cricket team Canterbury is a first-class cricket team based in Canterbury, New Zealand. It is one of six teams that compete in senior New Zealand Cricket competitions and has been the second most successful domestic team in New Zealand history. They compete ...

in the

Plunket Shield New Zealand has had a domestic first-class cricket championship since the 1906–07 season. Since the 2009–10 season it has been known by its original name of the Plunket Shield. History The Plunket Shield competition was instigated in Octo ...

between 1926 and 1933. An opening bowler, he took 4 for 24 when Canterbury dismissed

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

for 56 in 1931–32. Batting customarily at number eleven, he had the unusual record of never being dismissed in any of his 12 innings. A Territorial Force officer, Burrows volunteered for overseas service during the

Second World War 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 ...

. Serving in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, he rose to the rank of

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

. He was made a

Companion of the Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful command and leadership during active operations, typicall ...

(DSO) in 1942, and awarded a bar to the DSO in 1944. Leaving the army in 1944, Burrows became rector of

Waitaki Boys' High School Waitaki Boys' High School is a secondary school for boys located in the northern part of the town of Oamaru, Otago, New Zealand, with day and boarding facilities, and was founded in 1883. , it has a school roll of approximately 400 students. The ...

. He resigned this position in 1949 and rejoined the Army, serving as commander of the New Zealand force in Korea in 1953. In 1953, Burrows was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal () is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir from the Queen to members of the Royal Family ...

. He served as commander of the Southern Military District from 1955 to 1960, and finished his military career as regional commissioner for Civil Defence from 1960 to 1972. Burrows published an

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

, ''Pathway Among Men'' (), in 1974. He died in

on 10 June 1991.

References

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burrows, James Thomas 1904 births 1991 deaths New Zealand international rugby union players People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School New Zealand brigadiers New Zealand military personnel of World War II New Zealand military personnel of the Korean War New Zealand cricketers Canterbury cricketers New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand Companions of the Distinguished Service Order New Zealand rugby union players Canterbury rugby union players Rugby union hookers University of Canterbury alumni New Zealand rugby union coaches New Zealand national rugby union team coaches Heads of schools in New Zealand Military personnel from the Canterbury Region