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Biography: Russell, David

David Russell

David Russell

After more than a year on the run in northern Italy, New Zealand prisoner of war David Russell was recaptured and executed in February 1945. His courage in the face of death earned him the first George Cross awarded to a member of New Zealand’s military.

Using this item

National Army Museum, New Zealand

Reference: 1998.954

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How to cite this page

Shirley Tunnicliff. 'Russell, David', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 2000. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/47294/david-russell (accessed 27 June 2026).