Profile

BELCHER, Ernest Wilfred
(Service number 15863)

Aliases
First Rank	Rifleman	Last Rank	Private

Birth

Date	25 May 1893	Place of Birth	Kaiapoi

Enlistment Information

Date	5 April 1916	Age	23 years
Address at Enlistment	"Hackfall", Arundel
Occupation	Farmer
Previous Military Experience	2nd South Canterbury Regiment, C Company (serving)
Marital Status
Next of Kin	T. W. BELCHER (father), Hackfall, Arundel, South Canterbury
Religion	Anglican
Medical Information	Height 5 feet 9½ inches. Weight 8 stone 13 lbs. Chest measurement 30½-35 inches. Complexion dark. Eyes gray. Hair black. Sight - both eyes D 6. Hearing & colour vision both normal. Limbs well formed. Full & perfect movement of all joints. Chest well formed. Heart & lungs normal. Teeth good. No ilnesses. free from hernia, varicocele, varicose veins, haemorrhoids, inveterate or contagious skin disease. Vaccinated. Good bodily & mental health. No slight defects. No fits. Never absent from work through accident or illness.

Military Service

Served with	NZ Armed Forces	Served in	Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation	New Zealand Rifle Brigade
Unit, Squadron, or Ship	6th Reinforcements, 3rd Battalion, G Company
Date	26 July 1916
Transport	Waitemata or Ulimaroa
Embarked From	Wellington	Destination

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With	N.Z. Machine Gun Battalion

Military Awards

Campaigns	Western European
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	19 June 1919	Reason	No longer physically fit for war service on account of wounds received in Action (gunshot wounds right foot)

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Gunshot wounds to right foot, with fracture of 4th metatarsal bone.

Post-war Occupations

Death

Date	20 October 1974	Age	83 years
Place of Death	Christchurch
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery	Ashburton Cemetery
Memorial Reference	Area 256, Plot 6
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

Ernest Wilfred Belcher was the son of Thomas William and Mary Jane (née Young) Belcher.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [23 July 2016]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives New Zealand ref. AABK 18805 W5520 0013376) [24 July 2016], NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives New Zealand ref. AABK 18805 W5562 0127561) [24 July 2016]; Evening Post, 25 April 1917 (Papers Past) [23 July 2016]

External Links

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