It was the New Zealand Division's final action of the First World War. On 4 November 1918, just a week before the Armistice was signed, New Zealand troops stormed the walled French town of Le Quesnoy. The 90 men killed were among the last of the 12,483 who fell on the Western Front.
The capture of the French town of Le Quesnoy by the New Zealand Division on 4 November 1918 has special significance in New Zealand's military history. This is not merely because it was the last major action by the New Zealanders in the Great War - the armistice followed a week later - but also because it was captured in a particular way.
Just 4 kilometres east of Beaudignies in northern France is Le Quesnoy. This town was in German hands for almost all of the First World War, from August 1914, until the New Zealanders liberated it on 4 November 1918.
Leslie Cecil Lloyd Averill was born on 25 March 1897. He volunteered for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in 1916 and left New Zealand with the 34th Reinforcements two years later.
Captain James Matheson Nimmo was born on 22 September 1897. When he enlisted in 1917, he omitted his first Christian name for obvious reasons. He left New Zealand with the 37th Reinforcements in May 1918 and, after further training in England, joined 3rd Battalion, 3rd New Zealand (Rifle) Brigade on 27 September 1918.
