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KEARTON, James Arnold
(Service number 6/3059)

Cheese, bread, and jam? — A group photograph featuring Ernest Murphy (2nd from left, back row). Also pictured are James Turnbull 6/3185 from Pleasant Point, James Arnold Kearton 6/3059, and Christopher Cooper 6/2988 from Cave (positions not given) (Courtesy of I Davidson, "Unknown Warriors of the NZEF" )

Aliases
First Rank	Corporal	Last Rank	Private

Birth

Date	13/02/1894	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

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