Kenneth Henry “Ken; also recorded as Kenneth H.” Lazarus
Major · #305966 / 66304 · R2 Patrol · MBE, MID
| Rank | Major |
|---|---|
| Service number | #305966 / 66304 |
| Patrol | R2 Patrol |
| Regiment | East African Engineers |
| Known as | “Ken; also recorded as Kenneth H.” |
| Honours | MBE, MID |
| Record | https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/98877 |
What this roll records
*** THE SERVICE NUMBER ON THIS CARD WAS TRANSPOSED, AND HAS BEEN CORRECTED. *** It read 309566; the correct number is 305966, the 9 and the 5 having been swapped. 309566 belongs to a Capt. (Qr.-Mr.) R. St. V. C. M. Hiorns of the R.E.M.E. (London Gazette, 8 September 1959, Supplement 41812, page 5711). The right number comes from two notices naming him outright: 18 January 1944, Supplement 36339, page 398, “A.C.F. Section. Kenneth Henry LAZARUS (305966) to be 2nd Lt., 5th Oct. 1939”; and 4 March 1947, Supplement 37899, page 1115, “War Subs. Capt. K. H. LAZARUS, M.B.E. (305966) relinquishes his commn., 6th June 1946, and is granted the hon. rank of Maj.” The second of those also CONFIRMS HIS M.B.E. against the number, where this card carried it with no reference, and shows that he was commissioned with seniority from 5 October 1939 and ended as an honorary Major. Source: The London Gazette.
Patrol R2 officer (Capt. K.H. Lazarus). Brendan O'Carroll, "R Patrol, Long Range Desert Group" (R Patrol Truck Names and Officers appendix).
PATROL COMMANDER of R2/S1 per W.B. Kennedy Shaw, "Long Range Desert Group", Appendix 4 Patrol Commanders.
Additional service number(s) from Rhodesia roll: 66304. Source: Rhodesia Nominal Roll (Brendan O’Carroll).
March 1942 roll (courtesy Tarek el Mahdy): Sur off
Patrol commander: commanded R2 Patrol. Kiwi Scorpions (Appendix II — Commanders of NZ Patrols).
A New Zealander serving in the British Army, commanded M2 patrol in the Aegean (1943), stationed on Stampalia. Source: ‘Invasion of the Dodecanese Islands’ (Battle of Leros / Assault on Levita), Episodes & Studies Vol. 1 (NZ official war history).
His M.B.E. was announced on 21 June 1945 in a Supplement to The London Gazette, p. 3224, and he was Mentioned in Despatches twice. His Cenotaph record carries no New Zealand service number and gives his embarkation simply as British Army, which fits an officer of the British service attached to the New Zealand squadron. Source: Auckland War Memorial Museum Online Cenotaph.
Forenames given in full in August 2026 as Kenneth Henry, where this roll held only “Kenneth H.”. The Auckland War Memorial Museum’s L.R.D.G. Membership Roll of February 1970 gives the full form against the same service number. The old form is kept in the AKA field and stays searchable. His Cenotaph record carries no New Zealand service number, so the identification rests on the name and on his listing in the 1970 membership roll. Source: Auckland War Memorial Museum Online Cenotaph, record 98877.
Cenotaph record linked — record 98877. The identification rests on the name and on his listing in the Auckland War Memorial Museum’s L.R.D.G. Membership Roll of February 1970, NOT on a service number: as noted above, his Cenotaph record carries no New Zealand number and gives his embarkation simply as British Army. Source: Auckland War Memorial Museum Online Cenotaph.
His service number has deliberately NOT been prefixed NZ. This card carries two figures, 305966 and 66304, and his Cenotaph record is explicitly noted here as carrying NO New Zealand service number of its own — the identification rests on his name and his listing in the 1970 membership roll. Prefixing a number the Museum does not itself give would be asserting more than is known.
See him in the full roll →Where this comes from
- AKA added from the LRDG Preservation Society’s Troopers roll (missing information).
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