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 ...

Sir Geoffrey Sylvester Peren (30 November 1892 – 19 July 1980) was an agricultural scientist, university professor, and agricultural college principal, as well as a soldier in the two world wars, serving in the Canadian, British, and New Zealand armies.

Biography

Peren was born in

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England, on 30 November 1892. While still a teenager, he emigrated to Canada, working on farms and orchards in Ontario and British Columbia. He was subsequently awarded a scholarship to attend the

Ontario Agricultural College The Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) originated at the agricultural laboratories of the Toronto Normal School, and was officially founded in 1874 as an associate agricultural college of the University of Toronto. Since 1964, it has become affil ...

. After completing his studies, Peren worked in an orchard for a short time and then enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in March 1915. He was a sergeant in the ammunition column of the 4th Field Artillery Brigade, which was part of the

2nd Canadian Division The 2nd Canadian Division (2 Cdn Div; ) is a formation of the Canadian Army in the province of Quebec, Canada. The present command was created 2013 when Land Force Quebec Area was re-designated. The main unit housed in this division is the Roy ...

. After arriving in England in May 1915, he applied for a transfer to the British Army, and was commissioned in the Royal Field Artillery. From late 1915, he served on the Western Front as an artillery officer in the 49th Field Artillery Brigade, which was part of the

14th (Light) Division The 14th (Light) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, one of the Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener during the First World War. All of its infantry regiments were originally of the fast march ...

, seeing service on the Somme and at Arras. He was later posted to the division's headquarters as an artillery staff officer. He received the French Croix de guerre with Star and was also

mentioned in despatches 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 ...

for his service. After his discharge in 1919, Peren secured a position at the East Malling Fruit Research Station, and then an inspector's role with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. In 1920, he was appointed to the University of Bristol as a lecturer in pomology (fruit research). Peren married in 1923, and the following year he was appointed Chair of Agriculture at Victoria University College (now

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

). He left to be foundation principal of Massey Agricultural College (now

Massey University Massey University () is a Public university, public research university in New Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. Data from Universities New Zealand ...

) in 1927. 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 ...

he commanded the 2nd Brigade for part of 1941 and 1942, and the

4th Division In military terms, 4th Division may refer to: Infantry divisions *4th (Quetta) Division, British Indian Army * 4th Alpine Division Cuneense, Italy * 4th Blackshirt Division (3 January), Italy *4th Canadian Division *4th Division (Australia) * 4th ...

for parts of 1942 and 1943 and eventually reached the rank of brigadier. Following the war he played a major role in the development of the

Perendale The Perendale is a breed of sheep developed in New Zealand by Massey Agricultural College (now Massey University) for use in steep hill situations. The breed is named after Sir Geoffrey Peren, and it achieves its aims by being the offspring o ...

breed of sheep and also continued to serve in various Army and defence roles. In 1935, Peren was awarded the

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver Ju ...

. In the

1953 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1953 for the United Kingdom were announced on 30 December 1952, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1953. This was the first New Year Honours since the accession of Queen Elizabeth II. The ''Honours list'' ...

, he was made a

Commander 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 ...

, for services to agriculture. Six years later, in the

1959 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1959 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 30 December 1958 to cele ...

, he was promoted to

Knight Commander 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 ...

, for services to agriculture, especially as head of Massey Agricultural College.

named the main building on its Manawatū campus the Sir Geoffrey Peren Building in honour of Peren in 2010. 1928 - G Peren - Principal - 1950s

References

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peren, Geoffrey 1892 births 1980 deaths People from Streatham Academic staff of Massey University New Zealand brigadiers Canadian emigrants to New Zealand Academic staff of Victoria University of Wellington New Zealand military personnel of World War II New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) British Army personnel of World War I Royal Artillery officers Royal Field Artillery officers Canadian military personnel of World War I British emigrants to Canada