Major General Sir Howard Karl Kippenberger, (28 January 1897 – 5 May 1957), known as "Kip", was an officer of the New Zealand Military Forces who served in the First and Second World Wars. Born in the Canterbury region of New Zealand, Kippenberger joined the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) in late 1915. He saw action in France on the Western Front, participating in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. A serious wound in November 1916 saw him repatriated to New Zealand and discharged from the NZEF. He qualified as a solicitor in 1920 and worked in a legal practice in Rangiora. In 1924, he joined the Territorial Force and by 1936 had advanced in rank to lieutenant colonel. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, Kippenberger was appointed to command the 20th Battalion. He led the battalion for two years, through the Battles of Greece and Crete as well as part of the North African Campaign before being promoted to brigadier and taking command of the 5th Infantry Brigade. The pinnacle of his military career was as commander of the 2nd New Zealand Division during the Italian Campaign. He was wounded on 3 March 1944 during the Battle of Monte Cassino when he stepped on a land mine. As a result of his wounds, he lost both of his feet. After recovery in England, during which he was fitted with artificial limbs, he helped prepare for and assisted in the repatriation of newly released New Zealand prisoners of war. In 1946, he was appointed Editor-in-Chief of New Zealand's largest-ever publishing project, the Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–45. He was still working on the project when he died on 5 May 1957 in Wellington. Early life Howard Kippenberger was born on 28 January 1897 in Ladbrooks, in the Canterbury region of New Zealand, to Karl and Annie Kippenberger. His unusual surname came from his paternal great-grandparents, who emigrated to New Zealand from Germany in 1863. The oldest of five children, he received his early education at local schools in Ladbrooks and nearby Prebbleton (Kippenberger's father was the headmaster at Prebbleton School). When he was 14, his father became a farmer and moved the family to Oxford. Kippenberger continued his schooling at Christchurch Boys' High School as a boarder. Intellectually advanced for his age, he was not academically challenged at school and misbehaved in class. This,