KEENAN, William Arthur
(Service number 82088)
| First Rank | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | Unknown | Place of Birth | Waimate, Canterbury, New Zealand |
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Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | |||
| Occupation | |||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | |||
| Next of Kin | |||
Military Service
| Served with | New Zealand Armed Forces (?) | Served in |
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Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | |||
| Date | |||
| Transport | |||
| Embarked From | Destination | ||
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | New Zealand Training Unit | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
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 | 25 September 1920 | Age | 22 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | |||
| Cause | Died after long illness | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Waimate Cemetery, South Canterbury, New Zealand | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | On Memorial wall, Timaru; Mackenzie War Memorial, Fairlie, 2016 additions | ||
Biographical Notes
William was born at Waimate on 14 June 1898, the son of Sam and Catherine Jane (l(ate) of Upper Hook, Makikihi.
"Before enlistment William was a musterer in the Mackenzie County and was very popular with his mates, a fine looking young fellow of 6 feet." At enlistment he was working for Sherwin and Sherwin of Fairlie.
Becoming a member of the 43rd Reinforcements, while at Trentham he had an accident and as a result had a leg amputated. He was in Timaru Hospital for 12 months where further amputations were necessary. While in hospital the Prince of
Wales visited Timaru and William was taken by car to meet him.
The Timaru Herald of 28 September 1920 carried his death notice:
"Keenan, at the Orthopaedic Hospital, Timaru at 3am on Saturday 25 September, Private William Arthur, second son of Mr S. K. Keenan of Makikihi after a long illness, aged 22. Deeply mourned. Military funeral at Waimate on Monday."
William was buried at the Waimate cemetery with full military
honours, beside his mother Kate who had died in 1910. His name is remembered on the Waimate War Memorial, the Roll of Honour at the Waimate School, and on the South Canterbury Memorial Wall.
Sources
Auckland War Memroaiul Museum Cenotaph Database; Military personnel file
External Links
Related Documents
Researched and Written by
Ann Munro, SC branch NZSG; Jennifer Cordes, Mackenzie Genealogical Group
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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