Rank:
Temporary Leading Seaman
Birth date:
03.04.1912
Birth Place:
Dunedin, New Zealand
Service Number:
NZD965
Date Joined:
19.05.1928
Date Discharged:
08.06.1947
Display No. 9D
McCUNN, Herbert
Herbert McCunn joined the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy in 1928. He was sixteen upon enlistment and began with the rate of Boy 2nd Class. He trained in HMS Philomel. In August 1929 he joined the crew of HMS Dunedin and remained with the ship until March of 1931. McCunn reached the rank of Able Seaman in 1931 and shortly afterwards was sent to Napier as part of the disaster relief effort for the Hawke’s Bay earthquake. He spent the next two years in HMS Diomede followed by a four year posting back on Dunedin.
At the outbreak of the Second World War, McCunn was serving in HMS Leander. Leander was operating in the Indian Ocean during 1940 and in the Mediterranean during 1941. He returned to HMNZS Philomel in June 1942 and was attached to the dockyard tug Hipi. In February 1943 McCunn was posted to the minesweeper HMNZS Gale which he remained with until October 1944. Gale spent some time in New Zealand waters before moving to the Solomon Islands where it was attached to HMNZS Kahu, the shore establishment at Renard Sound, Russell Islands. McCunn returned to Philomel at the end of 1944 and then spent some time attached to the minesweepers HMNZ Ships Inchkeith and Tui. After the war McCunn had a brief stint attached to HMNZS Achilles before spending almost a year back in Philomel. He was discharged from the Royal New Zealand Navy in 1947 having been awarded the Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.
The War Medal 1939-1945, The New Zealand War Service Medal, Royal Naval Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Awarded medal(s)
Medal Description [Left to Right]:
The War Medal 1939-1945
The War Medal 1939-45 was awarded across the British Commonwealth to all full-time members of the Armed Forces in the Second World War for 28 days service between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945, irrespective of where they were serving. The ribbon is the red, white, and blue of the (British) Union Flag. There is a narrow central red stripe with a narrow white stripe on either side. There are broad red stripes at either edge, the two intervening stripes being blue.
A bronze oak leaf on the medal ribbon denotes that the recipient was Mentioned in Despatches. To be Mentioned in Despatches a member of the armed forces had their name mentioned in an official report, written by a superior officer, and sent to a higher command. The report would describe the individual’s gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy.
The New Zealand War Service Medal
The New Zealand War Service Medal was awarded for 28 days’ full time service or six months’ part time service in the Second World War in any of the New Zealand Armed Forces including the Reserves, Naval Auxiliary Patrol Service, or Home Guard, between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945.
Royal Naval Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Awarded to ratings who have served a minimum of 15 years in the Royal Navy (previously 21 or 10 years), the first version of this medal was instituted in 1831 and it is still issued to Royal Navy personnel today. It features the reigning monarch’s head on the obverse and HMS Victory on the reverse with the recipient’s details engraved or impressed on the edge of the medal. This medal was also issued to eligible personnel serving in the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy from 1921-1941 and then to Royal New Zealand Navy personnel from 1941-1981. In 1985 a New Zealand Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal was introduced bearing the exact same design.