Profile

LAWRENCE, Ernest Edward
(Service number 2/1862)

Aliases
First Rank Driver Last Rank Driver

Birth

Date 25 May 1892 Place of Birth Hayes, Middlesex, England

Enlistment Information

Date 17 April 1915 Age 22
Address at Enlistment Grosvenor Hotel, Timaru, New Zealand
Occupation Barman
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status Single
Next of Kin Mr E.G. Lawrence (father), Sherington Ave, Manor Park, Essex, England
Religion Church of England
Medical Information Height 5 foot 5 inches, fair complexion, blue eyes, fair hair, weight 130 lbs, chest 33 inches

Military Service

Served with NZ Armed Forces Served in Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation 5th Reinforcements
Unit, Squadron, or Ship NZ Field Artillery
Date 30 August 1915
Transport Southland
Embarked From Wellington, New Zealand Destination Suez, Egypt
Other Units Served With 3 Brigade, NZ Divisional Artillery, 11 Battery RNZA (as cook)
Last Unit Served With NZ Field Artillery

Military Awards

Campaigns Egyptian, Gallipoli, & Western Europe
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 7 June 1919 Reason End of war

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Post-war Occupations

Death

Date Age
Place of Death
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery
Memorial Reference
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

Ernest was born at Hayes, Middlesex, England, on 25 May 1892, to Mr E.G. Lawrence, Sherington Avenue, Manor Park, Essex, England.

Prior to enlisting for service with the NZEF, he was employed as a barman at the Grosvenor Hotel, Timaru. Joining up on 17 April 1915, he was described as being aged 22, single, 5 foot 5 inches tall, of fair complexion, eyes blue, hair fair, weight 130 lbs and chest measuring 33 inches and of the Anglican persuasion. He listed his father in England as his next of kin. After initial training, he embarked with the 5th reinforcements from Wellington on 30 August 1915, aboard HMTS Southland, bound for Suez, Egypt.

Arriving on 24 July 1914, he served with 3 Brigade NZ Field Artillery in Egypt and Gallipoli before embarking for service in France on 7 April 1916. He had a varied service life on the Western Front having served as a cook for short periods between his gunnery stints. After hostilities, he boarded the Kia Ora in England on 27 March 1919, arriving back in NZ 9 May 1919, and received his final discharge from the army on 7 June 1919. For his service he received the 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.

It is thought he returned to England, as his address in February 1920, was the Spur Hotel, Mortlake, Surrey, England.

Sources

Auckland Museum Cenotaph database (June 2015); Archives NZ (Personal File); ancestry.com.au

External Links

Related Documents

No documents available. 

Researched and Written by

Ted Hansen (SC branch NZSG)

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.

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