BAXTER, Edgar Tyrrell
(Service number 10/278)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Lance Corporal |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 21 September 1891 | Place of Birth | Ashburton, New Zealand |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 19 August 1914 | Age | 22 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Marton, New Zealand | ||
| Occupation | Farm labourer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | Nine months with Eltham Rifles | ||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Isaac William Tyrrell Baxter (father), 81 Murray Street, Temuka, New Zealand | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | Main Body | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | Wellington Infantry Battalion | ||
| Date | 16 October 1914 | ||
| Transport | Limerick or Arawa | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington, New Zealand | Destination | Suez, Egypt (3 December 1914) |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Wellington Infantry Battalion | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Egyptian & Gallipoli | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal | ||
Award Circumstances and Date
No information
Prisoner of War Information
| Date of Capture | |
|---|---|
| Where Captured and by Whom | |
| Actions Prior to Capture | |
| PoW Serial Number | |
| PoW Camps | |
| Days Interned | |
| Liberation Date |
Death
| Date | 8 August 1915 | Age | 23 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Gallipoli, Turkey | ||
| Cause | Killed in action | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Chunuk Bair (NZ) Memorial, Chunuk Bair Cemetery, Gallipoli, Turkey | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | On Memorial wall, Timaru; Temuka War Memorial and Ashburton War Memorial | ||
Biographical Notes
Edgar was born at Ashburton, on 21 September 1891, the eldest son of Isaac William Tyrrell and Mary Elizabeth (nee Treeby) Baxter. His father was a printer/journalist by trade, had married three times, and produced a family of nine boys and five girls. Edgar had received his education at the Hampstead School, Ashburton.
At the time of enlisting at Wanganui, on 19 August 1914, Edgar was employed as a farm labourer by S. Coombes, Farm Flat, Marton. He was described as being aged 22, single, Anglican, 5 foot 10 inches tall, weighing 151 lbs, chest measuring 35 inches, of dark complexion, blue eyes, black hair, having good teeth and the third finger on his right hand was deformed. He stated that he had had nine months military experience with the Eltham Rifles. Lance Corporal Baxter left Wellington on 16 October 1914, aboard the Arawa or Limerick with the Main Body bound for Suez, Egypt, arriving in Alexandria on 3 December 1914. After Egyptian service, he left for the Dardanelles on 12 April 1915. On 15 August he was reported as being wounded on 8 August, but this was, on 22 August, changed to "killed in action". No body was found to be buried; therefore he is commemorated on Panel 19, Chunuk Bair (NZ) Memorial. For his service, Edgar was awarded the 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal and the Victory Medal, which, along with a scroll and plaque, were forwarded to his father at 81 Murray Street, Temuka at the war’s end.
A younger brother, Private William Garland Baxter (no.6/2536), also served in Egypt, Gallipoli, and France with the 6th Machine Gun Corps, but was fortunate enough to survive the war.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph database (July 2015); Archives NZ (Personnel File); ancestry.com.au
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Carol Bell, SC branch NZSG & Timaru Herald; Ted Hansen, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
Tell us more
Do you have information that could be added to this story? Or related images that you are happy to share? Submit them here!