In 2006, Jim Wynyard was inducted into the Te Awamutu Walk of Fame.
In 2006, Jim Wynyard was inducted into the Te Awamutu Walk of Fame.
Kihikihi-born James (Jim) Gladwin Wynyard became All Black No. 420 in 1935, Waikato rugby's third All Black.
Born in 1914, Wynyard attended Kihikihi Primary School, Te Awamutu District High School and New Plymouth Boys' High School before going to Ruakura Farm School.
Wynyard was Waikato No. 206 and played 21games for the province, scoring seven tries, after debuting in 1934.
In 1939, he captained the side and was considered a standout performer.
"The pack was weighty, and a match for any in the country, possessing several players of international standard.
"It was here that the strength of Waikato lay. Wynyard, great in the loose and lineout; W. Warrender, a vastly improved player of exceptionally fine ability in all phases of the game; and A.J. Thompson, all played good games, while E.H. Catley, J.M. Taylor and C.F.S. Caldwell equalled the best front row," it says in The 1940 Rugby Almanack of New Zealand.
All Black Jim Wynyard. Photo / Crown Studios Ltd
The 21-year-old loose forward played for Waipā Suburbs and was the only All Black to come out of that club.
His All Blacks debut was against Abertillery and Cross Keys in Abertillery, Wales.
"Wynyard is an improving forward of whom more will be heard. He is at present lacking in experience. Quite a fair lineout forward," said the late former All Black Eric Tindill in his book The Tour of the Third All Blacks.
From 1935-1938, Wynyard played 15 matches for New Zealand, scoring five tries.
Two of the tries were versus Leicestershire and East Midlands at Welford Rd, Leicester, England, during 1935; one against Combined Western Districts at Bell Road Ground in Wellington, Australia, and two in the match-up with ACT at Manuka Oval in Canberra, Australia. The latter two matches were during 1938.
Apparently, the bigger the occasion, the better he played.
His uncle William, known as "Tabby", also played for New Zealand in 1893.
Previously, Tabby was in the 1888-1889 New Zealand Natives team alongside two of his brothers.
He played in 75 out of 107 tour matches over a 14-month tour of New Zealand, Britain and Australia.
Captain Jim Wynyard of Te Awamutu. Photo / New Zealand Herald
Wynyard served in the Waikato Mounted Rifles alongside two of his brothers.
He left New Zealand to serve his country overseas during World War II.
It is said that in the battle for Crete he went back several times to rescue injured men in the face of enemy fire.
A captain in the Second Divisional Cavalry Regiment, New Zealand Armoured Corps, Wynyard played for the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force rugby team in Egypt during 1940.
Wynyard was killed in action on November 2, 1942, during the Second Battle of El Alamein in Egypt.
Two shells exploded beside the tank he was travelling in, killing Wynyard and his driver.
This was only seven years after his All Blacks debut, Wynyard was 28 years old.
He is buried at the El Alamein War Cemetery about 130km west of Alexandria, Egypt, amongst 6480 other identified casualties and 815 unidentified.
Jim Wynyard's final resting place - the El Alamein War Cemetery west of Alexandria, Egypt. Photo / Auckland War Memorial Museum
The cemetery contains the graves of soldiers who died at all stages of the Western Desert campaigns, but especially those who died in the Battle of El Alamein.
Brother Henry Cuthbert Wynyard died of wounds in Italy during April 1945 aged 29. He is buried at Forli War Cemetery, Italy.
Wynyard's mother Agnes Mary Wynyard (nee Northcroft) and father, James Gladwin Wynyard, are buried in the Kihikihi Cemetery after passing away in 1954 and 1960 respectively - laid to rest some 16,800km away from Jim and 18,400km away from Henry.
In 2006, Jim Wynyard was inducted into the Te Awamutu Walk of Fame.
The Te Awamutu Walk of Fame itself was built in 2009 through the Heart of Te Awamutu project and officially opened by Kingi Tūheitia.
This is situated in Arawata St next to Te Awamutu i-Site and Selwyn Park.
Former All Black Jim Wynyard's headstone at El Alamein War Cemetery, Egypt. Photo / Auckland War Memorial
