Profile

KELLY, James Joseph
(Service number 24178)

Aliases
First Rank	Private	Last Rank	Sergeant

Birth

Date	8 January 1893	Place of Birth

Enlistment Information

Date		Age
Address at Enlistment
Occupation	Farm hand
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status
Next of Kin	Jeremiah KELLY (father), Fairview, Timaru
Religion
Medical Information

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	13th Reinforcements Canterbury Infantry Battalion, C Company
Date	27 May 1916
Transport	Willochra or Tofua
Embarked From	Wellington	Destination	Plymouth or Devonport, England

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With

Military Awards

Campaigns
Service Medals
Military Awards	Military Medal (M.M.)

Award Circumstances and Date

For gallant conduct in the field.

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

Jun 1917 reported wounded in France; moved to Brockenhurst Hospital, England, suffering from a gunshot wound in the right foot. June 1918 again wounded & in hospital - not severe case.

Post-war Occupations

Coal miner

Death

Date	22 March 1967	Age	73 yrs
Place of Death
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery	Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch
Memorial Reference	Block 21, Plot 161NS
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

Son of Jeremiah & Deborah (nee O'CONNOR) KELLY. Brothers Jeremiah & John Joseph also served in WWI. Educated at Salisbury, Marist Brother Timaru & Gleniti schools. Prize for proficiency in Standard VI in 1907 at Wai-iti (later Gleniti) School. Left Timaru on 10 February 1916 for camp. James returned home on Draft No. 221 on the Hororata which was due in Wellington on the 13 March 1919. As soon as the Hororata reached Wellington, the South Island men travelled to Lyttelton and then on to Timaru by a special express, which was decorated with flags and red, white and blue bunting, while painted on the front was "welcome home". They arrived in Timaru on 16 March 1919 to an rousing reception by the crowd packed into Station Street. They were addressed by Mr J. Craigie, M.P., and the Deputy Mayor, welcomed back and complimented on all they had done for the Empire and freedom. The National Anthem was played before being taken home in decorated cars. Welcomed home on 27 June 1919 at Washdyke Hall. Married Kathleen Margaret CHALKEN nee COUTTS in 1941.

Sources

Cenotaph Database [19 February 2014]; Timaru Herald, 21 December 1907, 9 February 1916, 8 May 1916, 25 June 1917, 26 June 1917, 18 June 1918, 20 June 1918, 2 January 1919, 5 March 1919, 17 March 1919, 19 June 1919, 25 June 1919 (Papers Past) [22 February 2014; 09 September 2014]; NZ BDM indexes (DIA historical records) [20 & 23 February 2014]; NZSG Cemetery records - Bromley Cemetery (SC Branch NZSG microfiche collection) [23 February 2014].

External Links

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