BLAIR, Robert Stewart
(Service number 29141)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 28/02/1890 | Place of Birth | Raincliff |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 29 June 1916 | Age | 26 years 3 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Waratah, Albury | ||
| Occupation | Farm hand | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Miss Mary BLAIR (sister), care of Mount Magdala Home, Christchurch | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 18th Reinforcements, J Company | ||
| Date | 11 October 1916 | ||
| Transport | Tofua | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Plymouth, Devon, England | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Otago Regiment | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Western European | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | British War Medal; Victory Medal | ||
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 | 21 October 1954 | Age | 65 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Timaru | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Timaru Cemetery | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Robert Stewart Blair, known as Bob, was the second son of George and Margaret (also known as Mary, née Stewart) Blair, and a brother of Robert Stewart Blair and Joseph Blair. The father of the family died when the children were young, and thereafter they were cared for by various people. His mother, who was reported in ill health when his brother William died while working in a paddock in April 1911, had died by 1917. Robert Blair enlisted on 16 May 1916 at the Timaru Defence Office. At the time he was a farm hand at Waratah, Albury. Later his address was given as care of J. Chapman Esq, Totara Valley, Pleasant Point. After his sister Mary died (in October 1916 at Mount Magdala), his next-of-kin became Mrs Emma M. Baird (wife?), but with a note that she wouldn't be ... ? (1925). He and his brother George Turnell McNeil Blair embarked together on 11 October 1916 per the Tofua. The father of the family died when the children were young, and thereafter they were cared for by various people. His mother, who was reported in ill health when his brother William died while working in a paddock in April 1911, had died by 1917.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [19 December 2016]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ ref. AABK 18805 W5520 0015449) [08 January 2017]; Timaru Cemetery headstone image (Timaru District Council) [19 December 2016]; School Admission records (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [11 December 2016]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [27 December 2016]; Probate record (Archives NZ/FamilySearch) [27 December 2016]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [27 December 2016]; Timaru Herald, 21 April 1911, 17 & 30 May 1916, 27 June 1916, 19 August 1916 (Papers Past) [27 December 2016]; Timaru Herald, 22 October 1954 (Timaru District Library) [30 December 2016]
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