LATIMER, Leslie Vernon
(Service number 6/490)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Warrant Officer Class 2 |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 18 October 1893 | Place of Birth | Timaru |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Matilda Street,Timaru, New Zealand | ||
| Occupation | |||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs Martha Latimer, Matilda Street, Timaru, New Zealand | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | Main Body | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | Canterbury Infantry battalion | ||
| Date | 16 October 1914 | ||
| Transport | Tahiti or Athenic | ||
| Embarked From | Lyttelton, canterbury, New Zealand | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Canterbury Infantry Regiment | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Gallipoli; Egypt, 1914-16 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 14 November 1918 | Age | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Wellington, New Zealand | ||
| Cause | Died of disease | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Karori Cemetery, Wellington, New Zealand | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | On Memorial wall, Timaru Waimataitai School Roll of Honour | ||
Biographical Notes
Leslie Latimer was the son of Martha Latimer, of Timaru; husband of C Latimer, of Matilda St; Timaru, New Zealand.
Joy Averis recounts of Latimer:
"He attended the Timaru Technical School. He was a very good football player and was a prominent member of the Zingari Football Club. He represented the South Canterbury Union in sosme of the matches of the 1913 season and was chosen as half-back for the 1914 team but owingto the outbreak of war and his departure for the Addindgton Camp did not take part in the earlier matches but went down on social leave to assist South Canterbury defeat Otago. He was employed by the Timaru Post Office and was a very popular member of the Timaru postal staff. He was one of the earliest enlistments from South Canterbury. Her went through the Gallipoli Campaign and served in France and England. He returned home on leave in March 1918 where he married his sweetheart Catherine (Kitty) Dunn of Temuka on 20 March 1918 at St Mary's Church Timaru. In September 1918 his mother Martha Latimer applied to the Military Appeal Board for her son to be give 6 months leave without pay. He was granted only one month. Who knows but if he had been given that extension of six months he may not have passed away in Trentham Camp from influenza on 14 November 1918."
The Timaru Herald reported his death on 30 August 1915: “LATIMER-In loving memory of 6-480, R.Q.M.S Leslie Vernon Latimer, who died of influenza, at Trentham Military Cottage Hospital,14th November, 1918. Inserted by his loving sisters-in-law, Gertie, Mary, Agnes and Annie. LATIMER-In sad and loving memory of 6-490, R.Q.M.S Leslie Vernon Latimer, who died at Trentham Cottage Hospital,14th November, 1918. Inserted by his loving wife Kitty.”
Sources
Cenotaph database (October 2014); Timaru Herald 30 August 1915 (http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/); SCRoll web submission from J Averis, 29 March 2015
External Links
Related Documents
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Researched and Written by
Ann Munro, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
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Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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