Profile

KIRBY, Michael
(Service number 55509)

Sacred Heart Basilica memorial plaque, photographed about 2010 — (South Canterbury Museum )

Aliases
First Rank	Private	Last Rank	Private

Birth

Date	8 August 1892	Place of Birth	New Zealand

Enlistment Information

Date	2 May 1917	Age	24 yrs 8 mths
Address at Enlistment	58 High St, Timaru
Occupation	Labourer (N. Z. Refrigeration Coy, Smithfield)
Previous Military Experience	2nd S. C. Regt.
Marital Status	Single
Next of Kin	J. KIRBY (father), 58 High Street, Timaru
Religion	Roman Catholic
Medical Information	Eyes both 6/6. Hearing in left ear notmal. Deafness in right ear? Colour vision normal. Limbs and chest both well formed. Full movement in joints. Heart and lungs normal. No illnesses. Free from hernia, varicocele, varicose veins, haemorrhoids, inveterate or contagious skin disease. Good bodily and mental health. No slight defects. Stated that he had had a fit but no medical eveidence. Stated had a bad knee but no evidence of it. Noted as Class A.

Military Service

Served with	NZ Armed Forces	Served in	Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation	New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Unit, Squadron, or Ship	28th Reinforcements Canterbury Infantry Regiment, C Company
Date	26 July 1917
Transport	Ulimaroa
Embarked From	Wellington	Destination	Plymouth, England

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With	Canterbury Infantry Regiment

Military Awards

Campaigns
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		Reason

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Post-war Occupations

Death

Date	13 January 1918	Age	25
Place of Death	In the Field, Belgium or France
Cause	Killed in action, in the Field, Belgium
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery	Buttes (Labutte) New British Cemetery (N. Z.) Memorial, Polygon Wood, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Memorial Reference
New Zealand Memorials	On Memorial wall, Timaru; Basilica of the Sacred Heart

Biographical Notes

Tenth and youngest son of Irish parents, John & Catherine (nee REARDON) KIRBY, of 58 High St, Timaru. Brother of James & Timothy who also served in WWI. Michael's name was drawn in the ballot to fill vacancies in the 30th Reinforcements in April 1917 (as did that of his brother Dennis). His father received word of his death while Jim and Tim were serving in France. His medals, plaque and scroll were all sent to his father. Michael appears to have been relatively unscathed in his time at the Front until the fatal blow on 13 January 1918. Brothers Daniel, Dennis and John were all listed on the Reserve Rolls. Furthermore, in July 1917 Dennis was missing and required to present himself (along with others) for medical examination or face trial and punishment for desertion or absenting himself without leave. In May 1919 it was probably Dennis whose name appeared in a list of military defaulters.

Sources

Cenotaph Database [25 April 2013]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ Ref. AABK 18805 W5541 0064886) [04 August 2013]; CWGC [30 July 2013]; Timaru Herald, 9 July 1917, 30 January 1918 (Papers Past) [01 November 2013; 25 April 2014]

External Links

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