Profile

KIRBY, James
(Service number 26/1093)

Aliases	Jim
First Rank	Rifleman	Last Rank	Rifleman

Birth

Date	23/12/1889	Place of Birth	Timaru

Enlistment Information

Date	16 October 1915	Age	25 yrs 6 mths
Address at Enlistment	58 High St, Timaru
Occupation	Labourer (Freezing Works)
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status
Next of Kin	M. KIRBY (brother), 58 High Street, Timaru. Later Mr John KIRBY (father), 58 High St, Timaru
Religion	Roman Catholic
Medical Information	Height 5 feet 5 inches. Weight 126 lbs. Chest 33-35 inches. Complexion fair. Eyes grey. Hair brown. Both eyes 6/6. Hearing and colour vision good. Limbs and chest well formed. Full movement of joints. Heart and lungs normal. Teeth - temporarily unfit; were attended to. Free from hernia, Varicocele, varicose veins, haemorrhoids, inveterate or contagious skin disease. Good bodily and mental health.

Military Service

Served with	NZ Armed Forces	Served in	Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation	New Zealand Rifle Brigade
Unit, Squadron, or Ship	4th Battalion, D Company
Date	5 February 1916
Transport	Ulimaroa or Mokoia
Embarked From	Wellington	Destination	Suez, Egypt

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With

Military Awards

Campaigns	Alamein
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	21 May 1919	Reason	Termination of period of engagement

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

17 September 1916 admitted to hospital - wounded. On 7 June 1917 he was again wounded, in action; and yet again on 5 October 1918 and subsequently admitted to hospital in Boulogne.

Post-war Occupations

Labourer

Death

Date	11 October 1932	Age	41 yrs
Place of Death	Christchurch
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery	Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch
Memorial Reference	Block 1C RSA, Plot 3
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

Son of John & Catherine KIRBY, Timaru. Brother of Michael who was killed in action 13 January 1918 & of Timothy who also served. In January 1917 Jim rejoined his regiment after being wounded, only to be wounded again a few months later. He served for 3 years 78 days overseas, plus 145 days within New Zealand. He returned to New Zealnd on 24 April 1919 per 'Corinthic'. Jim incurred a few penaties during his time overseas - 10 April 1917 seven days for drunkenness on Active Service in the Field; 13 January 1919 at Hornchurch he forfeited one days pay for being Absent Without Leave; 14 January 1919 2 days pay for failing to comply with an order and failing to answer to faulters roll call. Both Jim and Tim were serving in France when their brother Michael was killed in action in January 1918.

Sources

Cenotaph Database [30 July 2013]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ Ref. AABK 18805 W5541 0064879) [27 August 2013]; CCC burial records, Bromley Cemetery [30 October 2013]; Cemetery headstone transcription (South Canterbury Branch NZSG New Zealand Cemetery Records microfiche collection) [27 April 2014]; Timaru Herald, 13 October 1916, 27 January 1917, 27 June 1917 (Papers Past) [01 November 2013; 25 April 2014]

External Links

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