Major Norman Frederick Hastings | |
|---|---|
 Died of Wounds, Gallipoli, August 1915 | |
| Born | 14 July 1879 Auckland, New Zealand |
| Died | 9 August 1915 (aged 36) Chunuk Bair, Gallipoli, Ottoman Turkey |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom New Zealand |
| Service |  British Army New Zealand Army |
| Years of service | 1899–1902 1905–08 1909–14 1914–15 |
| Rank | .png){kind=icon} Major |
| Unit | 34 Company Army Service Corps Rimington's Scouts and Guides Damant's Horse 6th (Manawatu) Mounted Rifles Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade New Zealand and Australian Division New Zealand Expeditionary Force |
| Commands | 6th (Manawatu) Squadron, Wellington Mounted Rifles |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in Despatches Legion of Honour |
Major Norman Frederick Hastings, DSO (14 July 1879 – 9 August 1915) served as Officer Commanding New Zealand's 6th (Manawatu) Squadron, Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment. After serving with British military units during the Second Anglo-Boer War in South Africa, he worked as an engineering fitter with the New Zealand Railways Department workshops at Petone. He enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force at the outbreak of World War I, and served with distinction before dying of wounds after the attack on Chunuk Bair, Gallipoli, in August 1915. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (second only to the Victoria Cross for officers), was Mentioned in Despatches, and was one of only 14 members of the New Zealand Army to receive the French Legion of Honour decoration during the war. The memorial flagstaff at Petone railway station appears to have been erected in his honour, and was the site of New Zealand's first public Anzac Day ceremony on 25 April 1916.