102 Gort Place Masterton, street scene 2017
Reason for the name
This street was named in honour of Field Marshal John Standish Surtees Prendergast Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort VC, GCB, CBE, DSO & Two Bars, MVO, MC. He was a senior British Army officer.
Gort Place is a small street in the suburb of Lansdowne, Masterton. Most of the streets in this part of Masterton are named after leading British and New Zealand military figures.
These include Gordon Street (Gordon of Khartoum, died 1885); Roberts Road (Lord Roberts VC, c-in-c South African War, died 1914); French Street (Sir John French, cavalry leader in South African War, c-in-c BEF 1914-1915); Raglan Street (c-in-c British Army, Crimean War, died 1855); Kitchener Street (Lord Kitchener, victor at Omdurman, c-in-c after Roberts in South African War, War Minister 1914-1916, died 1916). These streets were named before World War One, reflecting pre-World War One fame.
Additional streets named after military figures were added after World War Two as this part of Masterton expanded. This latter group included Churchill Avenue, Wavell Crescent, Gort Place, Montgomery Crescent, Montgomery Place, Kippenberger Street and Allenby Street.
Gort Place is a no-exit street off Wavell Crescent. It contains just seven sections.
At a monthly meeting of Masterton Borough Council on Tuesday 21 November 1961, the street was officially named. The motion was moved by Councillor Levien and seconded by Councillor Tankersley.
Although no reason for the name selection was given in minutes, it is an extension of the naming policy outlined above.
Author: Neil Frances Wairarapa Archive
Gort Place is named after John Standish Surtees Prendergast Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort (1886-1946). The Vereker family was Anglo-Irish and the title derived from the town of Gort in Galway, Ireland.
John Vereker, Lord Gort, was a professional soldier, joining the British Army in 1902. He served throughout World War One and, as commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards, won the VC at the Battle of the Canal du Nord in September 1918.
He rose through the ranks and in 1938 was appointed Chief of the Imperial Staff. On the outbreak of World War Two, he led the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) to France. When the German offensive of 1940 defeated the Allies in Belgium and France he organised the retreat of the BEF to Dunkirk for evacuation.
Although Gort did not hold another active military command, he was Governor of Gibraltar (1941-42) and Malta (1942-44). He played a large part in the defence of Malta in 1942 against Italian and German air attack.
In 1943 he was promoted to field marshal. His last position was as Commissioner to Palestine and Transjordan, vacated in 1946. Gort died of cancer in 1946.
Former High Commissioner for Palestine and Transjordan
Field Marshal John Standish Surtees Prendergast Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort VC, GCB, CBE, DSO & Two Bars, MVO, MC was a senior British Army officer. Wikipedia
Born: July 10, 1886, Westminster, United Kingdom
Died: March 31, 1946, Southwark, United Kingdom
Previous office: High Commissioner of Palestine (1944–1945)
Awards: Victoria Cross
Education: Harrow School, Royal Military Academy, Woolwich
Battles and wars: World War I, World War II
Gort won his Victoria Cross on the first day of the Battle of Cambrai-St. Quentin, 27 September-9 October 1918. At the time he was temporarily in command of the 3rd Guards Brigade, which had the job of capturing the third line of objectives in the attack on the Canal du Nord. Unfortunately the second objective was not entirely in Allied hands, and so Gort was forced to lead his men to their starting point under heavy German fire. Once again he was wounded, but remained with his men to take command of the attack itself. He was then wounded for a second time, but refused to leave the front, and left his stretcher to direct the battle. Later on he collapsed as a result of his wounds, but refused to leave until he knew the third objective had been seized.
