Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
Captain O. A. Gillespie, MBE, MM

Captain Gillespie, a journalist by profession, was born at Cust, Canterbury, in 1896. He served in the Great War, leaving New Zealand in 1915 as a private in the 1st Battalion, New Zealand Rifle Brigade. He won the Military Medal and was twice mentioned in despatches. In May 1918 he was given commissioned rank while on active service. Captain Gillespie reentered the army in October 1940, leaving immediately for Fiji with the original 8th Brigade Group as intelligence officer. When the brigade was increased to divisional strength he became GSO3. Returning to New Zealand with the division in July 1942 he was appointed cipher officer, and as such went through the Solomons campaign. He was awarded the MBE in 1943 and afterwards appointed divisional historian, and on his return to New Zealand in 1944 he was transferred to archives branch, Army Head-quarters, to write two surveys of the work of the Third Division and to supervise the production of unit histories.