William George Malone - Military Career

Military Career

Malone had a keen interest in the military and participated in New Zealand's militia, the Volunteer Force. In 1900, he helped raise the Stratford Rifle Volunteers, one of many units formed in the enthusiasm for the military during the Second Boer War, with himself as its captain. When he moved to New Plymouth in 1903, he relinquished his command. As a result of a request by his Volunteer Force battalion commander, Malone was made adjutant of the 4th Battalion of the Wellington (Taranaki) Rifle Volunteers. In 1905 he was second-in-command and by 1910, and now a lieutenant-colonel, he was the commander of the battalion.

The following year, the Volunteer Force was abolished and replaced with the Territorial Force. Malone was placed in command of a new Territorial unit, the 11th Regiment (Taranaki Rifles). It was during this time that he introduced the use of the "lemon squeezer" hat to the Territorial Force. By having his troops push out its crown and indenting its sides, the hat mirrored the outline of Mount Taranaki/Egmont, thereby providing a link for the regiment to its parent region, and, more practically, allowed rain to easily run off the hat. In later years, the lemon squeezer hat was formally adopted by the New Zealand Military Forces.