Major General Joseph Osbertus Hamley (25 September 1820 – 5 July 1911) was a British Army Officer who administered the New Zealand station of the British Army Military Store Department during the

New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars () took place from 1845 to 1872 between the Colony of New Zealand, New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori people, Māori on one side, and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. Though the wars were initi ...

. Hamley was the second son of Joseph Hamley, coroner of Bodmin Cornwall and joined the Sydney, New South Wales Office of the

Board of Ordnance The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence ...

in 1838. Taking up the position of Assistant Storekeeper of the Wellington Office of the Board of Ordnance in 1847, Hamley saw service in the Wanganui Campaign of 1847. By 1859 the Military Store Department had replaced the Board of Ordnance, with Hamley in charge of the New Zealand station. Based at Fort Britomart in Auckland, Hamley supervised supervise the Departments operations over the course of the New Zealand Wars from 1860 to 1870. Following the withdraw of Imperial Forces from New Zealand, except of the Imperial officer remaining to pay pensioners, Hamley was one of the last remaining Imperial Officers in New Zealand. Returning to England in 1870, Hamley was appointed in charge of Gun Wharf at Chatham, followed by postings to the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

, Dover and

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

. Hamley retired after fifty years of service (thirty-two overseas) with the honorary rank of Major General. Hamley died in London on 5 July 1911.

References

1820 births 1911 deaths British military personnel of the New Zealand Wars 19th-century British Army personnel Companions of the Order of the Bath People from Bodmin British Army major generals British Army Commissariat officers Military personnel from Cornwall {{British-Army-bio-stub