Profile

KARTON, George Francis
(Service number 24/1405)

Aliases
First Rank Rifleman Last Rank Driver

Birth

Date 15/04/1895 Place of Birth Timaru

Enlistment Information

Date 24 August 1915 Age 20
Address at Enlistment 48 Ferguson St, Palmerston North, Wellington
Occupation Hairdresser
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status single
Next of Kin Mrs F Karton (mother) Buchanan St, Timaru
Religion Church of England
Medical Information Height 5ft 4in, Brown Eyes, Dark brown hair

Military Service

Served with NZ Armed Forces Served in Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation 2nd Reinforcements
Unit, Squadron, or Ship 2nd NZRB, F Company
Date 13 November 1915
Transport Willochra or Tofua
Embarked From Wellington Destination Suez, Egypt
Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With

Military Awards

Campaigns Egypt, Western front
Service Medals British War Medal, Victory Medal, 1914-15 Star
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 8 June 1919 Reason Termination of period of engagement

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

8 August 1917 - Slight gunshot wound left forearm in the field. Rejoined unit 16 August.

Post-war Occupations

Butcher, Gas fitter

Death

Date 21 May 1971 Age 75
Place of Death Timaru
Cause
Notices Dept of Internal Affairs
Memorial or Cemetery Timaru cemetery-Services
Memorial Reference Row 155 Plot 45
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

George Francis Karton was born at Timaru on 15 April 1895 to Francis and Madeline Karton of Buchanan’s Paddock.

On his enlistment George was a hairdresser, his last employer being FJ Torrie of Timaru (even though his last address is given as 48 Ferguson St, Palmerston North). He was described as 5ft 4in tall with brown eyes and dark brown hair, Anglican, and single. He was enrolled as a rifleman in the 2nd Reinforcements to 2nd Battalion, NZ Rifle Brigade, embarking at Wellington on 13 November 1915, bound for Egypt. He served in Egypt and the Western Front. Karton received a slight gunshot wound to his left forearm in August 1917 but rejoined his unit a week later. Later, the Timaru Herald of 11 November 1918 (Armistice Day) reported that Mrs F Karton of Buchanan Street had received word that her son, Private Thomas Karton, was wounded and admitted to hospital on 29 October. The paper also noted that Mrs Karton had "...three other sons at present in the firing line on the Western Front." George Karton was eventually discharged from duty on 8 June 1919, having served 3 years and 289 days. He was awarded the British War Medal, Victory Medal and the 1914/15 Star.

After the war George married Lucy Lavina Bracefield in 1921, and by 1928 was described as a butcher, living at 70 Church St, Timaru. When he died in May 1971, aged 75, he was living at 83 Otipua Rd. He is buried in Timaru Cemetery.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph database [August 2021]; NZBDM; Timaru District Council cemetery records at https://www.timaru.govt.nz/services/community-and-culture/cemeteries/cemetery-search; Papers Past at https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/; Assorted records at Ancestry.com [August 2021];

External Links

Related Documents

No documents available. 

Researched and Written by

Sahiban Kanwal; Carol Bell, SC branch NZSG

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.

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