Francis Morphet Twisleton

Francis Morphet Twisleton, known as Frank, was born on 17 February 1873, in Settle, Yorkshire, England to a farmer and his wife. After completing his education, he went farming in Yorkshire. In 1895, he emigrated to New Zealand with his brother Thomas and worked his way around the country as a farm labourer. ==Boer War==

In January 1900, he joined the Second New Zealand Contingent, which was being raised for service in the Boer War. He arrived in South Africa the following month. Thomas followed him to South Africa as part of the Fourth New Zealand Contingent but was killed in action in 1901. Frank served as a mounted soldier in the country until May 1901. He wrote home regularly and his letters were published in a number of newspapers in New Zealand. Following his return to New Zealand, these letters formed the basis of a book, entitled ''With the New Zealanders at the front: a story of twelve months' campaigning in South Africa''. In the book, he commented extensively on the competence of British Army officers as well as the treatment of soldiers. ==Interwar period==

Twisleton based himself near Gisborne and took up farming. In 1905, he married Emily Mary Speedy, and the couple would go on to have two daughters. In 1911 he became involved with the Legion of Frontiersmen, an organisation which found favour with many veterans from the Boer War like Twisleton. It was run along military lines with imperialist sympathies with an aim to provide men with military skills should they be required for service in the British Empire. Twisleton was involved in organising and training of a squadron of horsemen for the Legion's Poverty Bay branch. He eventually was appointed the New Zealand commandant of the Legion. ==First World War==

After the Legion's offer of the services of two squadrons of horsemen was rejected by the New Zealand government following the outbreak of the First World War, Twisleton enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. He was assigned to the Otago Mounted Rifles Regiment, with which he landed at Gallipoli nearly a month after the Landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915. As a lieutenant, he continued his letter–writing habits of the Boer War, regularly describing life in the trenches in correspondence home. As with his previous writing, British officers were often the subject of criticism. He was awarded the Military Cross for his services during the Gallipoli Campaign, which saw him involved in the Battle of Hill 60. He became ill with dysentery and was evacuated from Gallipoli in September 1915. He is buried at Ramleh War Cemetery, in Israel. After Twisleton's death, the Legion of Frontiersmen recognised his services with the Pioneer Axe, its highest award. His widow was made an honorary lieutenant of the Legion. ==Notes==