GRIFFITHS, William Joseph
(Service number 10/354)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 26/05/1889 | 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 | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
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 | ||
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 |
Death
| Date | 30 April 1915 | Age | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | At sea on HMT Mashobra, ex Gallipoli | ||
| Cause | died of wounds | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Lone Pine Memorial, Lone Pine Cemetery, Anzac, Turkey | ||
| 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
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Researched and Written by
Liz Shea, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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