Lance Macey Explained

Lance Macey should not be confused with Lance Mackey.

Lance Macey
Birth Name:Leslie Lancelot Macey
Birth Date:4 August 1881
Birth Place:Blenheim, New Zealand
Death Place:Auckland, New Zealand
Country:New Zealand
Sport:Lawn bowls
Club:Remuera
Show-Medals:yes

Leslie Lancelot Macey (4 August 1881 – 28 September 1950) was a New Zealand lawn bowls player who won a gold medal at the 1938 British Empire Games.

Early life and family

Born in Blenheim on 4 August 1881, Macey was the son of Henrietta Macey (née Simson) and William Henry Macey, a photographer who later served as mayor of Blenheim between 1903 and 1904.[1] [2] [3] Lance Macey married Brenda Smith at St Paul's Church, Auckland on 14 November 1906,[4] and the couple went on to have two children.

Public service career

Macey joined the Post and Telegraph Department in 1897, beginning as a telegraph messenger in Blenheim. He rose through the ranks, becoming district telegraph engineer for Otago, based in Dunedin, in 1925, and Auckland district telegraph engineer in 1932. He was associated with the introduction of automatic telephone exchanges, and retired after 40 years' service in 1937.[5]

In 1935, Macey was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.[6]

During World War II, Macey was recalled to work as a telegraph engineer,[7] and he was commissioned as a captain in the Lines of Communication Signals (Post and Telegraph) in 1941.[8]

Bowls

At the 1938 British Empire Games in Sydney, Macey won the men's pairs gold medal alongside Walter Denison.[9] In Auckland, he was a member of the Remuera Bowling Club, and served in various capacities, including as the club's president, treasurer, and secretary.[10]

Death

Macey died in Auckland on 28 September 1950, and his body was cremated at Waikumete Crematorium.[11] [12]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Birth search: registration number 1881/7536 . Births, deaths & marriages online . Department of Internal Affairs . 12 August 2017.
  2. News: Birth . 4 August 1881 . Marlborough Express . 12 August 2017 . 2.
  3. News: Obituary: Mr W. H. Macey . 8 June 1931 . The Press . 12 August 2017 . 2.
  4. News: Marriages . 24 November 1906 . Taranaki Herald . 12 August 2017 . 2.
  5. News: Service ends . 16 March 1937 . New Zealand Herald . 12 August 2017 . 14.
  6. News: Official jubilee medals . 6 May 1935 . CXIX . 105 . . 12 August 2017 . 4.
  7. News: Personal items . 12 August 1941 . New Zealand Herald . 12 August 2017 . 8.
  8. Web site: New Zealand, World War II appointments, promotions, transfers and resignations, 1939–1945 . 2014 . Ancestry.com Operations . 12 August 2017 . subscription .
  9. Web site: Lance Macey . 2016 . New Zealand Olympic Committee . 12 August 2017.
  10. News: Presentation . 13 August 1941 . New Zealand Herald . 12 August 2017 . 10.
  11. Web site: Death search: registration number 1950/23835 . Births, deaths & marriages online . Department of Internal Affairs . 12 August 2017.
  12. Web site: Cemetery search . Auckland Council . 12 August 2017.