Profile

KEARTON, James Arnold
(Service number 6/3059)

Aliases
First Rank Corporal Last Rank Private

Birth

Date 13 February 1894 Place of Birth Cleator Moor, Cumberland, England

Enlistment Information

Date 12 June 1915 Age 21 yrs 4 mths
Address at Enlistment Care of W. J. Roberts, Willow-bridge
Occupation Farm labourer, farmer
Previous Military Experience 2nd Cant. Infantry
Marital Status Single
Next of Kin J. J. KEARTON (father), Hall Street, Hokitika
Religion Presbyterian
Medical Information Height 6 ft 0 in. Weight 12 stone 10 lbs. Complexion medium. Eyes brown. Hair dark brown. Sight, hearing, colour vision, heart, lungs - all normal. Limbs, chest - well formed. Teeth - upper artificial, lower satisfactory. Free from hernia, variocele, varicose veins, haemorrhoids, inveterate or contagious skin-disease. Vaccinated. Good bodily & mental health; no physical defects.

Military Service

Served with NZ Armed Forces Served in Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation 7th Reinforcements
Unit, Squadron, or Ship Canterbury Infantry Battalion
Date 9 October 1915
Transport Aparima or Navua or Warrimoo
Embarked From Wellington Destination Suez, Egypt
Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With

Military Awards

Campaigns Somme
Service Medals
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 3 May 1917 Reason Permanently unfit

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

22 May 1916, reported slightly wounded, remained on duty. 14 August 1916 admitted to N.Z. General Hospital, Walton-on-Thames, having suffered a gunshot wound in left thigh on 8 August 1916 at Armentieres, France (on active service); bullet was extracted & dirty wound treated at Boulogne; the wound led to septicaemia of left hip & inflammation of left shoulder. 29 August 1916 reported as dangerously ill; amended to seriously ill on 5 September 1916. 28 October 1916 returned home by Hospital Ship "Maheno".

Post-war Occupations

Bank clerk. Farmer

Death

Date 23 October 1966 Age 72 yrs
Place of Death
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery Waimate Lawn Cemetery
Memorial Reference
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

Son of John Isaac & Frances Elizabeth (nee THOMPSON) KEARTON. Brother of Thomas KEARTON who also served in WWI & died in hospital while a prisoner of war in WWII. Cousin of Ralph Dawson KEARTON who died of wounds in 1916. Born in 1894; came to NZ with family in 1912. Wounded in the battle of the Somme. Returned home, invalided with a shattered thigh, by the 'Maheno' in December 1916. From 23 December 1916 he was admitted to Timaru for treatment, then from 30 December 1916 transferred to Waimate Hospital (as it was nearer to his home); in April & May 1917 he was required to report as an out-patient & to reside at Studholme Junction at night. Conduct while in Waimate Hospital was exemplary. In August 1917 he was appointed to the clerical staff of the Waimate branch of the Bank of New Zealand. Married Ada Elizabeth LOGAN on 8 September 1920 at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Timaru. Brother Ralph Thompson KEARTON appealed his Call-up in 1918.

Sources

Cenotaph Database [07 February 2014]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ ref. AABK 18805 W5561 0132149) [09 February 2014]; Waimate Council - Waimate Cemetery Records [07 February 2014]; Timaru Herald, 8 June 1916, 2 September 1916, 9 September 1916, 31 October 1916, 21 November 1916, 14 December 1916, 17 August 1917, 6 July 1918 (Papers Past) [07 February 2014]; ancestry.co.au [07 February 2014]; Kearton Genealogy (Kearton grandson of John Isaac Kearton) [07 February 2014]; Trinity Timaru Presbyterian Marriage Register (South Canterbury Museum) [12 February 2014]; Unknown Warriors of the NZEF [Facebook Page] at https://www.facebook.com/Unknown-Warriors-of-the-NZEF-1629775073978020/ [September 2016]

External Links

Related Documents

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TS

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