Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

John, the only son of Herbert George James (born Tasmania 1847, died Timaru 1901) and Harriet Louise (born Riverton 1868, died Timaru 1948, nee Tall) Hull, was born at Palmerston North on 5 December 1897. Prior to enlisting at the age of 19 at Timaru on 14 April 1917, John was working as a farm labourer for Mr FJ Clucus at Tinwald, and had had some previous military training with the 2nd South Canterbury Regiment. He gave, as his next of kin, his mother, Mrs SJ Greene, of Craigie Avenue, Timaru. After John’s father died in 1901, his mother had remarried in 1902, Samuel Joshua Greene. He was described as being single, Anglican, 5 foot 10 inches tall, weighing 147 pounds (67 kgs), of fair complexion, grey eyes and brown hair. After training with the NZ Rifle Brigade, he was promoted to Lance Corporal on 12 July, and left Wellington with the 27th Reinforcements, G Company, on 16 July 1917, aboard the SS Athenic (HMNZT 88) bound for Liverpool, England. Taken ill during the trip, he was admitted to the ship’s hospital from 19-24 July, and disembarked at Liverpool, England on 16 September. Here he marched into Tidworth Camp and immediately dropped back to the ranks as a private. On 23 October 1917 John left for France and marched into Etaples on 26 October. Shortly after, on 30 October, he was admitted ill to No 24 General Hospital and on 4 November, was placed on the seriously ill list with pneumonia. Evacuation back to England followed on the hospital ship Ville de Liege on 29 November and he admitted to Hopspital at Walton-on-Thames. After removal from the seriously ill list, he was admitted on 4 December, to 3 South General Hospital at Oxford, then transferred to the NZ General Hospital at Brockenhurst on 19 December before taken on strength of the Convalescent Hospital at Hornchurch on 4 February 1918. On 29 March he was transferred to the Convalescent Hospital at Codford. Here the wounded and invalided soldiers were “hardened “for further active service training. The men were divided into three classes - A, B, and C. On entering camp a soldier was graded as B3 and given light work like potato picking or a little digging. Progress to B2 meant route marches from 4–6 miles a day with a bit of bayonet fighting and physical exercise. B1 meant stiffer training and longer route marches. After progress to Class A, he could do 14 miles a day and was then sent back to his reserve unit as fit. As a result on 23 July John was attached to the Reserve Depot at Brocton and proceeded back overseas on 24 October 1918. Back at the front, John joined, on 6 November, 1/3 Reserve Battalion, Delta Company, NZ Rifle Brigade. At this time the NZ Rifle Brigade was part of the Army of occupation in the Cologne bridgehead. On 11 March 1919 he was detached back to England where marched into Codford Camp. On 15 June he had a spell in Codford Hospital with personal problems until his discharge to the Convalescent Section on 15 August, then back to Sling Camp on 20 August. On 13 September 1919 he boarded SS Papapoa for his return to NZ, arriving at Wellington on 27 October. Discharge from the army followed on 6 December 1919. After having served a total of 2 years and 237 days, John was awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal. In 1922 at Timaru, he married Miss Agnes Maitland Wallace (1899-1978), daughter of James and Mary (nee Kime) Wallace of Timaru, and they had four children. Up until 1935 home was 16 Chalmers Street, Timaru, where he was living while working as a driver, and from then on they lived at 4 Richmond Street, and had become employed as a butcher. John died at Timaru on 10 January 1956, aged 58 years, and is buried in the Services Section of the Timaru Cemetery.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [June 2017]; New Zealand ANZACs in the Great War 1914-1918 (University of New South Wales) at http://nzef.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=123441; Assorted records at Ancestry.com [June 2017]; Timaru District Counnil cemetery records at http://www.timaru.govt.nz/services/community-and-culture/cemeteries/

External Links

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph record
• Military personnel file

Related Documents

No documents available. 

Researched and Written by

Ted Hansen, SC branch NZSG

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.