Profile

GASON, Alfred Edward Rex
(Service number 6/1292)

Aliases	Alf. Enlisted as Alfred Edward GAYSON.
First Rank	Private	Last Rank	Private

Birth

Date	28/06/1897	Place of Birth	Milford, Temuka

Enlistment Information

Date	5 October 1910	Age	18 yrs 4 mths
Address at Enlistment	Milford, Temuka
Occupation	Farmer
Previous Military Experience	2nd South Canterbury Regiment
Marital Status	Single
Next of Kin	Henry GAYSON (father), Milford, Temuka
Religion	Roman Catholic
Medical Information	eight 5 feet 9 inches. Weight 135 lbs. Chest measurement 33-36 inches. Complexion fair. Eyes blue. Hair auburn. Eyes both 6/6. Hearing and colour vision good. Limbs and chest well formed. Full movement of joints. Heart and lungs normal. Teeth - upper central incisor bad. Free from hernia, varicose veins, haemorrhoids, inveterate or contagious skin disease. Slight varicocele. Vaccinated. Good bodily and mental health. Only slight defects but not sufficient to cause rejection.

Military Service

Served with	NZ Armed Forces	Served in	Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation	2nd Reinforcements
Unit, Squadron, or Ship	Canterbury Infantry Battalion
Date	14 December 1914
Transport	Verdala or Willochra or Knight of the Garter
Embarked From	Wellington	Destination	Suez, Egypt

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With

Military Awards

Campaigns	Gallipoli
Service Medals	1914-15 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	3 March 1916	Reason	No longer physically fit. Wounds

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

August 1915 at the Dardanelles, Gallipoli wounded in the left leg. Evacuated back to New Zealand, invalided, by the Willochra in October 1915.

Post-war Occupations

Farmer

Death

Date	8 March 1974	Age	76 yrs
Place of Death	Christchurch
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery	Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch
Memorial Reference	Block 3, Plot 211
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

Son of John Henry Bennett GASON & Mary Elizabeth (Rose) nee CAMPBELL, of Temuka. Brother of William Henry GASON killed in action in 1917 in Belgium. Born in 1897. Attended Milford & Temuka Convent Schools. In 1908 Alf was awarded a gold medal in Standard III at St Joseph's School, Temuka. When his brother William was charged January 1914 and subsequently fined, the hearing of the charge against Alfred of failing to attend parade was adjourned. Alf joined the N.Z.E.F. at just 17 years of age, although he stated that he was 18 years and 4 months, and went to Gallipoli. On his medical examination form it is stated that he is under age but has parents' consent. Alfred was bid farewell, along with fellow volunteer James Horgan, at his parents' home at Milford in October 1914. Although he returned home invalided by the Willochra late in 1915, it appears that he was formally welcomed home at a very large gathering at the Milford School in June 1917, again with James Horgan and also G. Aspinall and L. Trumper. They were entertained and then each presented with a medal of honour. He had however, welcomed home in March 1916 at the same function at which his brother Willie was farewelled. On this occasion it was recorded tht Alfred 'had been honourably discharged after being wounded in the service of his King and country'.. He celebrated 18th birthday at Gallipoli. In April 1920 he was successful in a ballot for sections for discharged soldiers (Brookdale, near Hawarden). Married Frances Lilian DOYLE in 1926 and they had a family of three sons and three daughters. Alfred's mother was another woman who was involved in patriotic activities, as exemplified by her donation towards the one hundred leather waistcoats ptomised from Temuka for the men at the Front.

Sources

Cenotaph Database [10 November 2013]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ Ref. AABK 18805 W5539 0043779) [06 June 2014]; CWGC [09 October 2013]; Timaru Herald, 23 December 1908, 21 January 1914, 22 October 1914, 31 August 1915, 02 & 04 September 1915, 21 October 1915, 4 March 1916, 25 June 1917, 09 April 1920 (Papers Past) [19 October 2013, 10 November 2013; 06 & 07 June 2014]; Ancestry.com.au - Family Tree [12 October 2013]; CCC cemeteries database, Memorial Park Cemetery [2013]; Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch - Monumental Inscriptions (South Canterbury Branch NZSG CD06) [10 November 2013].

External Links

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