Profile

GRIFFITHS, William Joseph
(Service number 10/354)

Aliases
First Rank Private Last Rank Private

Birth

Date 26 May 1889 Place of Birth Westport

Enlistment Information

Date 17 August 1914 Age 25
Address at Enlistment Glen Durie, Wanganui
Occupation Clerk
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status single
Next of Kin W G Griffiths sen, Glen Durie, Wanganui
Religion Roman Catholic
Medical Information

Military Service

Served with NZ Armed Forces Served in Army
Military District

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 Destination Suez, Egypt
Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With Wellington Infantry Battalion

Military Awards

Campaigns
Service Medals 1914-1915 Star, 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

Post-war Occupations

Death

Date 30 April 1915 Age 24
Place of Death At sea on HMT Mashobra, ex Gallipoli
Cause died of wounds
Notices Wanganui Chronicle, Issue 20353, 13 May 1915, Page 4
Memorial or Cemetery Lone Pine Memorial, Lone Pine Cemetery, Anzac, Turkey
Memorial Reference 75
New Zealand Memorials Whanganui Cenotaph, Whanganui; NB: a "W J Griffiths" appears on the Timaru Memorial Wall, but this appears to be William John GRIFFIRTHS (no.12/1084)

Biographical Notes

Son of William James and Mary Griffiths, Castlecliff, Wanganui. William had four sisters: Josephine Mary (b.1884), Williamina (b.1885), Agnes Mary, (b.1888), Mary Jane (b.1879).

William's will has been found on FamilySearch. His father had to sign an affidavit to confirm his death from information provided by the army. Those records show he suffered bullet wounds to the head and chest incurred on 25 April 1915, confirming he was at the initial landing at Gallipoli. He died on board the ‘Mashobra’ on its way to Egypt, and was buried at sea. An obituary for William posted in the Wanganui Chronicle.

William’s family lived in Wanganui, so his South Canterbury connection is unclear. However, his sister Agnes Mary had married Patrick Keogh, from Studholme, in 1913.

Sources

Auckland Cenotaph (Sep 2013); Familysearch; Paperspast http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/ ; Births, Deaths & Marriages online www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz

External Links

Related Documents

Researched and Written by

Liz Shea, SC branch NZSG

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.

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