Second Lieutenant

Dennis Siddall Fielden

Conflict: 
Korean
NZ WAR GRAVES
CONTRIBUTED

Biographical Notes:

" In April 1951, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army fought a major engagement with The 27th British Commonwealth Brigade at Kapyong.

The Royal New Zealand Artillery’s 16 Field Regiment fired in direct support of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, and the Canadian army’s 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry, from the 23rd to the 25th of April.

New Zealand ground forces in Korea were specially raised as ‘Kayforce’.

During the action at Kapyong, ‘Kayforce’ suffered its first fatal battle casualty with the death of Second Lieutenant Dennis Fielden, MiD RNZA. The experienced Fielden had previously served for seven years with the Royal Artillery and the Royal Air Force before joining ‘Kayforce’ in New Zealand. He was serving as a Forward Observation Officer with A Company 3 RAR when he was killed in action on the eve of Anzac Day 1951.

The A Company position had been initially so quiet that Fielden’s signaller was asleep. In the confusion of the sudden Chinese attack at around 1 am that night he was woken, told to get out and up the ridge to call-in fire. Fielden was killed as he left the scrape to do the same. His body was not recovered until the 27th of May 1951.

He was posthumously Mentioned in Dispatches for his conduct at Kapyong .

The death of the ‘popular and unassuming officer [was] much regretted by officers and men alike’."

[ Paul Simadas/NZ Remembrance Army/Facebook. Retrieved 11/4/22]

Public Contributions:

Photograph taken on 26 April 2013 at UN commemoration service.

Personal Tributes:

Casualty

Service Number: 
203624
Name:
Dennis Siddall Fielden
Rank: 
Second Lieutenant
Date of Birth:
17 November 1918
Place of Birth: 
St Albans, England
Next of Kin: 
Mr F. Fielden (father), England
Date of Enlistment:
Not known
Enlistment Address: 
Auckland, New Zealand
Occupation on Enlistment:
Salesman

Casualty Details

Cause of Death:
Killed in action
Date of Death:
24 April 1951
Day of Death:
Tuesday
Conflict: 
Korean

Embarkation Details

Embarkation Body:
Kayforce
Embarkation Place:
Wellington, New Zealand
Embarkment Date:
10 December 1950
Vessel:
Ormonde
Destination:
Pusan, Korea (1 January 1951)

Text in italics supplied by Cenotaph Online, Auckland War Memorial Museum

Cemetery

Cemetery Location: 
South Korea
Dennis Siddall Fielden
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