Neill Aylmer Rattray (7 November 1896 – 1 June 1964) was a member of the

New Zealand Legislative Council The New Zealand Legislative Council () was the upper house of the General Assembly of New Zealand between 1853 and 1951. An earlier arrangement of New Zealand Legislative Council (1841–1853), legislative councils for the colony and provinces ...

, a farmer, and a war veteran of both world wars. Rattray was born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

on 7 November 1896. He was the son of Charles William Rattray. His middle name is the maiden name of his grandmother, Catherine Charlotte Aylmer. He received his education at Christ's College in

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 ...

. In 1922, he married Ella Helmore, the daughter of George Helmore. They were to have two sons and one daughter. In 1914 and 1915, Rattray was aide-de-camp to the governor-general,

Arthur Foljambe, 2nd Earl of Liverpool Arthur William de Brito Savile Foljambe, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (27 May 1870 – 15 May 1941), styled Viscount Hawkesbury between 1905 and 1907, was a British Liberal politician, the 16th and last Governor of New Zealand, and the first Governor-G ...

. From April 1915 to 1922, he was with the

Royal Irish Fusiliers The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was an Irish line infantry (later changed to light infantry) regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 89th (Princess ...

, was twice wounded, and decorated with the French ''

Croix de guerre 1914–1918 Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort depa ...

''. He served in France and then north-west

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and Iraq (1920–1921). He returned to New Zealand in 1922 and commenced sheep farming in South Canterbury, settling in

Waimate Waimate is a town in Canterbury, New Zealand, and the seat of Waimate District. It is situated just inland from the eastern coast of the South Island. The town is reached via a short detour west when travelling on State Highway One, the main N ...

. In early 1940, Rattray enlisted as captain for service in World War II. In May 1941, he was captured in Greece by German forces, having since been promoted major. He left the prisoner of war camp and reached England in April 1945 and was back in New Zealand by the following July. Rattray was chairman of the Waimate County Council for some time and a member for 23 years. He was on the Timaru Harbour Board. He was a longstanding member of many community organisations, including as president or equivalent, for example the

Waimate High School Waimate is a town in Canterbury, New Zealand, and the seat of Waimate District. It is situated just inland from the eastern coast of the South Island. The town is reached via a short detour west when travelling on State Highway One, the main N ...

board, the Pioneer Park board, the Waimate Hunt Club, the Waimate Racing Club, the Waimate A and P Association, an executive member of the

New Zealand Red Cross New Zealand Red Cross or Rīpeka Whero Aotearoa is a humanitarian organisation, which has more than 9,000 members and volunteers. In New Zealand, Red Cross delivers core community services, such as Meals on Wheels, refugee re-settlement servic ...

Society, and

Federated Farmers Federated Farmers of New Zealand is a lobby and advocacy group for farmers and rural communities. It has a network of 24 regional organisations and six industry groups. Federated Farmers lobbies on farming issues both nationally and within eac ...

. He was appointed a member of the

on 22 June 1950 as a member of the

suicide squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...

nominated by the First National Government in 1950 to vote for the abolition of the Council. Most of the new members (like Rattray) were appointed on 22 June 1950, and served until 31 December 1950 when the Council was abolished. Rattray was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(Military Division) in 1946, in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the field during

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 ...

. In the

1964 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1964 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1964 to celebra ...

, he was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

, for public services, particularly as president of the New Zealand Counties Association. He died on 1 June 1964 aged 67.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rattray, Nei 1896 births 1964 deaths Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council New Zealand National Party MLCs People from Waimate 20th-century New Zealand politicians New Zealand Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Christ's College, Christchurch Politicians from Dunedin