Francis Barette “Frank” Edmundson
Lieutenant Colonel · NZ #991 · T Patrol · OBE, MID
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
|---|---|
| Service number | NZ #991 |
| Patrol | T Patrol |
| Regiment | N.Z.R.A.M.C. |
| Role | Medical Orderly |
| Known as | “Frank” |
| Born | 1910-01-22 |
| Honours | OBE, MID |
| Campaign medals | War Medal 1939-45, NZ War Service Medal |
| Record | https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/137325 |
What this roll records
HIS MENTION IN DESPATCHES, DATED. London Gazette, Supplement 35396, page 7362, published 30 December 1941 to the Gazette of 26 December 1941. Under the heading “NEW ZEALAND MILITARY FORCES” the entry reads, in full: “Capt. F. B. Edmundson.” THE LIST THIS BELONGS TO, IN ITS OWN WORDS. Page 7339 of the same supplement heads it: “War Office, 30th December, 1941. The KING has been graciously pleased to approve that the following be Mentioned in recognition of distinguished services in the Middle East (including Egypt, East Africa, The Western Desert, The Sudan, Greece, Crete, Syria and Tobruk) during the period February, 1941, to July, 1941.” THAT PERIOD IS HIS: he was the Long Range Patrol’s and the LRDG’s Medical Officer through the Fezzan campaign of January 1941 and the months that followed. *** AND IT EXPLAINS WHY NOBODY FOUND IT. *** The note above records that the Gazette held “no notice pairing his name with the New Zealand Medical Corps”. HE IS NOT LISTED UNDER A CORPS AT ALL — no unit, no service number, nothing but rank, initials and surname beneath a national heading. His O.B.E. hid the same way, filed under 4 New Zealand Field Ambulance rather than the Medical Corps. WHAT THIS DOES NOT PROVE, said plainly: with no number printed, the identification rests on the rank, the initials, the surname and the New Zealand heading, not on 991. Read from the Gazette’s scanned page image and transcribed by eye. Found by searching the Gazette’s full text for “Edmundson” together with “Zealand”, which returns this notice and no other. Source: The London Gazette, Supplement 35396, page 7362 (list preamble, page 7339).
"Capt. F.B. Edmundson, the LRDG Medical Officer" (HQ, Fezzan campaign Jan 1941). Not a lettered patrol. Brendan O'Carroll, "The Long Range Desert Group in North Africa".
On original LRP Roll (5 Dec 1940): HQ — MO; returned to 5 NZ Fd Amb. Source: LRP Roll (Original LRP Nominal Roll as at 5 Dec 1940, Capt L H Browne).
Full name Francis Barette Edmundson (also recorded as “Francis Baretle”). A medical practitioner; served with No. 1 N.Z. General Hospital, N.Z. Medical Corps; enlisted at Aldershot, England. AWMM records his final rank as Lieutenant Colonel. Source: Auckland War Memorial Museum Online Cenotaph.
Rank raised to Lieutenant Colonel (final rank per AWMM Online Cenotaph).
The Kiwi Scorpions (Brendan O'Carroll): Col. F. B. Edmundson — medical practitioner, Auckland; born Napier, 22 Jan 1910; Medical Officer LRP and LRDG; CO 4, 5 and 6 NZ Field Ambulances at various times; Deputy Director of Medical Services 2 NZEF, 1945.
The Kiwi Scorpions (Brendan O'Carroll) — formation of the LRP patrols, 1940: At formation Lieutenant F. B. Edmundson (a New Zealander) was the unit's medical officer.
The Kiwi Scorpions (Brendan O'Carroll): The LRP's first Medical Officer (NZ Medical Corps); pictured at the base, 1940.
New Zealand medical officer of the Long Range Patrols and LRDG from their formation in 1940. Source: ‘Long Range Desert Group in Libya, 1940–41’, Episodes & Studies Vol. 1 (NZ official war history).
Medical practitioner, of Auckland; born Napier, 22 Jan 1910. OBE, m.i.d. DDMS 2 NZEF 1945. Source: Episodes & Studies Vol. 1 (biographical notes).
Checked (2026): The London Gazette holds no notice pairing his name with the New Zealand Medical Corps. Recorded so the search is not repeated.
See him in the full roll →Where this comes from
- Missing info added from the LRDG Preservation Society’s Troopers roll.
- AKA added from the LRDG Preservation Society’s Troopers roll (missing information).
- Honours & campaign medals from Online Cenotaph: OBE, MID, War Medal 1939-45, NZ War Service Medal. Source: Auckland War Memorial Museum Online Cenotaph.
- Murzuk Raid roll (courtesy Tarek el Mahdy)
- LRDG Nominal Roll, 28 Dec 1940 – Jan 1941 (courtesy Tarek el Mahdy) — roll appointment: R.A.M.C. Medical Officer
- Additional sources (AWMM Online Cenotaph). Nominal Roll 2NZEF No. 3, p.138; No. 15 (Embarkations 1945), p.44. Unit history: McKinney, J. (1952). Medical units of 2NZEF in Middle East and Italy. External links: Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision recording (U-series, Further talks on the LRDG Pts 1-6, 11734): https://www.ngataonga.org.nz/search-use-collection/search/11734; Johnston, Sarah (2023). With the boys overseas: https://phanza.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Sarah-Johnston-With-the-Boys-Overseas.pdf
This page is part of the Long Range Desert Group roll of members at lrdgarchive.org. If you hold rights to anything on it and would like it credited differently, or taken down, please see Sources and Copyright. It will be dealt with promptly.
Not By Strength But By Guile