Leonard Thornton

Sir Leonard Thornton
Lieutenant Colonel Leonard Thornton in 1943
Born	(1916-10-15)15 October 1916 Christchurch, New Zealand
Died	10 June 1999(1999-06-10) (aged 82) Wellington, New Zealand
Allegiance	New Zealand
Service/branch	New Zealand Army
Years of service	1934–1971
Rank	Lieutenant General
Service number	20010[1]
Commands held	Chief of the Defence Staff Chief of the General Staff 5th Field Regiment
Battles/wars	Second World War German invasion of Greece Battle of Crete North African campaign Italian campaign
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Mentioned in Despatches (2)
Spouse(s)	Gladys Janet Sloman
Other work	Ambassador of New Zealand to Vietnam (1972–74)

Lieutenant General Sir Leonard Whitmore Thornton, KCB, CBE (15 October 1916 – 10 June 1999) was a senior officer in the New Zealand Army.

Born in Christchurch, Thornton joined the Royal New Zealand Artillery in 1937 after having been encouraged by his uncle, Leonard Isitt, to pursue a military career. He served throughout the Second World War in a number of artillery and staff posts. Shortly after the war, he was appointed the commander of the artillery of the 2nd New Zealand Division. After holding a series of senior posts in the New Zealand Army, including a period as its commander, he was appointed Chief of the Defence Staff in 1965 for a six-year term. Knighted in 1967, he was later the New Zealand ambassador to the Republic of Vietnam. He died in 1999 at the age of 82.