Profile

WADE, John
(Service number 61006)

Temuka War Memorial, pictured in 2007 — (South Canterbury Museum 2013/155.25 #01)

Temuka War Memorial dedication inscription, pictured in 2007 — (South Canterbury Museum 2013/155.25 #05)

Temuka War Memorial plaque, names M-Y, pictured in 2007 — (South Canterbury Museum )

Waitohi War Memorial, pictured in 2007 — (South Canterbury Museum )

World War One plaque, Waitohi War Memorial, pictured in 2007 — (South Canterbury Museum )

Memorial Cross, St John's Church, Temuka, pictured in 2010 — (South Canterbury Museum 2013/155.24 #01)

Aliases
First Rank	Private	Last Rank	Private

Birth

Date	12/06/1884	Place of Birth	NZ (Oamaru)

Enlistment Information

Date	23 May 1917	Age	32 yrs 19 mths
Address at Enlistment	Upper Waitohi
Occupation	Farmer
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status	Single
Next of Kin	Mr J. E. WADE (father), Winchester Rd, Temuka
Religion	Presbyterian
Medical Information	Height 5 feet 6 inches. Weight 130 lbs. Chest measurement 32-36 inches. Complexion dark. Eyes blue. Hair brown. Eyes both 6/6. Hearing and colour vision normal. Limbs and chest well formed. Full movement of joints. Heart and lungs normal. No illnesses. Free from hernia, varicocele, varicose veins, haemorrhoids, inveterate or contagious skin disease. Vaccinated (left arm). Good bodily and mental health. No slight defects. No fits. Depressed scar on left jaw. Assessed 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	30th Reinforcements F Company
Date	13 October 1917
Transport	Corinthic
Embarked From	Wellington	Destination	Liverpool, England

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With	New Zealand Infantry

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

July 1917 & 20 April 1918 reported 'still dangerously ill'. 29 January 1918 he was admitted to Military Hospital with rubella, and promptly discharged to the Quarantine Camp. Just over two weeks later he was again admitted to the Military Hospital snd placed on the seriously ill list. 29 May 1918, 10 June 1918 still seriously ill, in London. 21 June 1918 dangerously ill; now diagnosed rubella, lungs. 22 July 1018, 19 August still fangerously ill.

Post-war Occupations

Death

Date	23 August 1918	Age	34 yrs
Place of Death	Codford Military Hospital, England
Cause	Died of disease - TB Lung.
Notices	Timaru Herald, 2 September 1918
Memorial or Cemetery	Codford (St Mary's) New Churchyard (Military Cemetery), Wiltshire, England
Memorial Reference	117
New Zealand Memorials	On Memorial wall, Timaru; Temuka War Memorial; Waitohi District War Memorial, South Canterbury; St Peter's Church, Temuka

Biographical Notes

This John WADE wss the second son of Irish-born parents John Edward.and Catherine WADE, of Winchester Road, Temuka. John possibly played in the Celtic A Juniors football team in the Seven-a-Side Tournament on 24 May 1907. [NOT LIKELY] Before enlisting, John was farming in the Upper Waitohi district. John disembarked at Liverpool on 8 December 1917, marched into Sling on 9 Decemebr, and then was first admitted to hospital on 29 January 1918. Thus he saw very little, if any, action and appears to have spent over a year in hospital, dangerously ill, before he died of disease (tuberculosis) at Codford Military Hospital, England. What a lonely and miserable time he must have had. He was one of ten men in the Waitohi district who had lost their lives and whose names were to be inscribed on the war memorial. His medals, plaque and scroll were duly sent to his father. In the short will which he drew up after enlisting, John appointed the Public Trustee his executor and he left all his estate to his three sisters (Jane Gerrity, of Temuka; Marie Gibson, of Timaru; Lena Wade, of Temuka). His brother-in-law, Ernest Stanley GIBSON also served in WWI.

Sources

Cenotaph Database [21 July 2013]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ Ref. AABK18805 W5557 0117605) [27 July 2014]; ; CWGC [26 August 2013]; Timaru Herald, 24 May 1907, 2 September 1918, 10 November 1919 (Papers Past) [23 October 2013; 28 November 2013; 09 April 2014; 19 April 2014; 06 May 2014]

External Links

Researched and Written by

Currently Assigned to

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.

Tell us more

Do you have information that could be added to this story? Or related images that you are happy to share? Submit them here!