MINI BIO

Born in the backblocks settlement of Apiti, the eighth of nine children, his family lived on a succession of poor farms in the vicinity. Practical, keen on sport, but not academic, he commenced farm work in 1933, in 1935 he became manager of a 96acre family farm.
Rough years, scraping out a living on the farm ended when he enlisted at the start ofWW2.  He left NZ 1 May 40 with 22nd Battalion. He took part in the fighting in Greeceand Crete. 
Zest for life and a certain reckless jollity helped Elliott and his mates to survive in difficult conditions.   After the evacuation of Crete, he fought in North Africa where he was captured in Nov 41.  He was liberated in Jan 42.
15 July 1942, he showed “great courage and leadership” in North Africa.  
Commissioned Second Lieutenant in May 1943. He was sent home in July. 
He resumed farming and on 2 Feb 44, married Margaret Rachel Markham, whom he had met before the war. They had five children.
He became an Anglican Clergyman and was posted to many parishes, also working with the military.
In 1959 he joined the Maori mission.  Good nature and bluntness won him Maori friends despite his ignorance of the language.
May 66 he returned to Wellington as city missioner. 
He and his wife retired to Raumati in April 1981.
His down-to-earth honesty, modesty and no-nonsense faith impressed all who knew him.

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LONDON GAZETTE

No. 35715

22 September 1942

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At dawn on 15 July 1942 the battalion to which Sergeant Elliot belonged was attacked on three flanks by tanks. Under heavy tank, machine-gun and shell fire, Sergeant Elliott led the platoon he was commanding to the cover of a ridge three hundred yards away, during which he sustained a chest wound. Here he re-formed his men and led them to a dominating ridge a further five hundred yards away, where they came under heavy enemy machine-gun and mortar fire. He located enemy machine-gun posts to his front and right flank, and while one section attacked on the right flank, Sergeant Elliott led seven men in a bayonet charge across five hundred yards of open ground in the face of heavy fire and captured four enemy machine-gun posts and an anti-tank gun, killing a number of the enemy and taking fifty prisoners. His section then came under fire from a machine-gun post on the left flank. He immediately charged this post single-handed and succeeded in capturing it, killing several of the enemy and taking fifteen prisoners. During these two assaults he sustained three more wounds in the back and legs. Although badly wounded in four places, Sergeant Elliott refused to leave his men until he had reformed them, handed over his prisoners, which were now increased to one hundred and thirty, and arranged for his men to rejoin the battalion. Owing to Sergeant Elliott's quick grasp of the situation, great personal courage and leadership, nineteen men, who were the only survivors of B Company of his battalion, captured and destroyed five machine-guns, one anti-tank gun, killed a great number of the enemy and captured one hundred and thirty prisoners. Sergeant Elliott sustained only one casualty amongst his men, and brought him back to the nearest advanced dressing station.