Profile

DOBIER, Arthur Richard
(Service number 6/3682)

Aliases
First Rank Private Last Rank Private

Birth

Date 7 October 1891 Place of Birth Timaru

Enlistment Information

Date 18 October 1915 Age 24
Address at Enlistment Russel Square, Timaru, NZ
Occupation Draper's Assistant
Previous Military Experience Compulsory Military Training, Timaru
Marital Status Single
Next of Kin Mrs F. Dobier (Mother) , Russell Square, Timaru New Zealand
Religion Wesleyan
Medical Information Previousaly rejected For Naval / Military service for the crown. Bad Teeth. Declared fit for service for WWI

Military Service

Served with NZ Armed Forces Served in Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Unit, Squadron, or Ship 9th Reinforcements Canterbury Infantry Battalion, C Company
Date 1 August 1916
Transport Maunganui
Embarked From Wellington Destination Suez, Egypt
Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With Canterbury Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion

Military Awards

Campaigns Western European (Somme, France)
Service Medals British War Medal , Victory Medal
Military Awards

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

Discharge

Date Reason

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

16 May 1916 - Admitted to No 1 field hospital. Influenza

Post-war Occupations

Death

Date 16 September 1916 Age 25
Place of Death Somme, France
Cause Killed In action
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery Caterpillar Valley (New Zealand) Memorial, Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval, Somme, France
Memorial Reference Longueval
New Zealand Memorials On Memorial wall, Timaru; Timaru South School WW1 Memorial plaque

Biographical Notes

Arthur Richard Dobier was born on 10 July 1891 in Timaru. He was the son of Fanny Dobier of 17 Russell Square Timaru NZ and the late Thomas Dobier.

Arthur DOBIER attended Timaru South School and is mentioned in Papers Past (Timaru Herald), for achieving his standard four certificate. Arthur had two known brothers Ernest and Jack and a sister Doris. Arthur and his brother Ernest were living in Christchurch at the start of World War One in 1914 (according to NZ Electoral Rolls). Arthur was living at 249 Gloucester Street Christchurch and was working for Thomas Armstrong’s Department Store and Drapers.

Arthur enlisted into service on 18 October 1915 and left from Wellington to Suez Egypt on 8 February 1916. After a reformation of troops Arthur then joined the Canterbury Infantry Regiment (CIR), 2nd Battalion and sailed to Marseilles, France in April 1916. Arthur trained for the front lines, and spent three months guarding a quieter sector of the frontline at Armentières. The NZEF maintained an infantry presence in Étaples where troops were housed on their way to the Front.

Arthur was admitted to the NZ field hospital on 16 May 1916 for influenza, but rejoined his unit after a few weeks recouperation on 3 June 1916 in Rouen France. Arthur and his unit was subsequently involved in attacking the enemy on the 15 September 1916 during the battle of the Somme, around Longueval. The NZ Division needed to capture the village of Flers-Courcelette from the Germans. The NZ Division achieved their objective but with the heavy cost of the loss of 2000 men. One of those men was Arthur Richard Dobier who, during this period, was killed in action in the field on 16 September 1916.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [4/09/2013]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ Ref. 42351508 4601 5783 431) [4/8/2013];

External Links

Related Documents

No documents available.

Researched and Written by

Patrina Buchanan

Currently Assigned to

PB

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