Profile

BUCKLEY, Thomas
(Service number 6/2081)

Aliases
First Rank	Private	Last Rank	Private

Birth

Date	20/09/1876	Place of Birth	Christchurch

Enlistment Information

Date	13 February 1915	Age	38 years 4 months
Address at Enlistment	Hook, Waimate (Box 17, Waimate)
Occupation	Farmer
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status	Single
Next of Kin	B. A. BUCKLEY (brother), Box 17, Waimate, Canterbury
Religion	Church of England
Medical Information	Height 6 feet 3 inches. Weight 13 stone 9 lbs. Chest measurement 36-39 inches. Complexion fresh colour. Eyes blue, Hair medium brown. Sight normal - both eyes 6/6. Hearing and colour vision both normal. Limbs well formed. Full and perfect movement of joints. Chest well formed. Heart and lungs normal. Teeth satisfactory. Free from hernia, varicocele, haemorrhoids, inveterate or contagious skin disease. Not vaccinated. Good bodily and mental health. ...... of left index finger. Small ...... tight leg. "A perfectly healthy man. The small ..... ... with long distance walk or heavy farm work. At this length of time since the loss of his left index finger, he does not miss it & can grip almost as well with his left hand as with his right."

Military Service

Served with	NZ Armed Forces	Served in	Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation	5th Reinforcements
Unit, Squadron, or Ship	Canterbury Infantry Battalion
Date	13 June 1915
Transport	Maunganui or Tahiti or Aparima
Embarked From	Wellington	Destination	Suez, Egypt

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With	Canterbury Infantry

Military Awards

Campaigns
Service Medals	1914-15 Star; 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	11 September 1916	Reason

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Post-war Occupations

Journalist

Death

Date	3 January 1958	Age	81 years
Place of Death	Christchurch
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery	Ruru Lawn Cemetery, Christchurch
Memorial Reference	Block 8, Plot 97
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

Thomas BUCKLEY was born in 1876, the son of Benjamin Alfred and Lizzie Josephine (née WALSH) BUCKLEY, and was a brother of Benjamin Alfred BUCKLEY who was killed in action in 1917 and of Anne BUCKLEY who served as a nurse throughtout the war. A welcome home for Thomas and seven others was held in a barn at Hook in mid April. The barn was prettily decorated with flags and greenery. The night was beautifully fine and motors and traps came from as Waimate and Otaio. Each one was presented with a nicely inscribed gold medal and cheered heartily. Thomas replied on behalf of his siter and returned comrades. After dancing until the early hours of the morning, singing and refreshments, "Auld Lang Syne" brought the proceedings to a close.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [29 June 2014]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ Ref. AABK 18805 W5530 0019966) [29 June 2014]; NZ BDM historical records indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [07 August 2014]; Ruru Lawn Cemetery, Christchurch, headstone transcription (South Canterbury Branch NZSG Cemetery records microfiche) [30 June 2015]; ruru Lawn Cemetery burial record (Christchurch City Council) [07 August 2014]; Probate record (Archives NZ/FamilySearch) [28 June 2016]; SCRoll web submission by B Buckley, 20 February 2021

External Links

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