STECHMAN, Frederick Andrew
(Service number 6/3878)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 10/08/1895 | Place of Birth | Timaru |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | 73 Elizabeth Street, Timaru | ||
| Occupation | Tailor | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | |||
| Next of Kin | Mrs F. STECHMAN (mother), 73 Elizabeth Street, Timaru | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 9th Reinforcements, Canterbury Infantry Battalion, C Company | ||
| Date | 8 January 1916 | ||
| Transport | Maunganui | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
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 | 27 November 1960 | Age | 65 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Public Hospital, Timaru | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Timaru Cemetery | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Frederick Andrew Stechman was the son of Francis (Frank) Alexander and Annie Stechman (nee Paxton), A great niece recounts that Frederick's parents both had colourful histories, noting: "Frank Alexandra De Flom was born in France and emigrated to Dunedin from England in 1875. While onboard the ship Corona, he was caught for stealing a passengers jewellery and was later convicted for larceny at sea. He was sentenced to two years labour. Annie (Andriana Paxton) was born in North Leigh, Edinburgh, Scotland and sailed to NZ solo at the age of 17, aboard 'The Wellington'. She worked as a young maid in Scotland and had been treated unkindly by her employers, so basically fled to NZ to start a new life. Annie arrived into Port Chalmers on 26 Feb 1879. Like the majority of the single women aboard, she was listed as being a general servant. . They went on to have 11 children. Their first few kids were given the De Flom surname. Unfortunately Frank's past caught up with him and he thought it best to change his surname in order to give him anonymity and a fresh start. He felt very humiliated by his pasts misfortunes." She continues: "Frank worked for the Timaru Harbour Board from around 1894, doing a variety of jobs such as labouring, crane driving, train driving and in his later years, as night watchman. He was described as a quiet, loving man and was well respected by his colleagues. Frank died between the hours of 10pm on the 17th Sept and 6am on the 18th Sept 1920 while on duty as a night watchman. His death certificate indicates he died of a heart attack, but family believe he was in fact electrocuted. He was found by one of his sons."
Frederick was educated at Timaru Main School.
After the war Frederick married Ellen Gledhill in 1927 at Christchurch. The couple went on to have two children, Eunice and Leslie.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [13 June 2018]; School Admission record (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [June 2018]; Timaru Cemetery headstone image (Timaru District Council) [June 2018]; SCRoll web submission by K Shatford, 20 July 2021
External Links
Related Documents
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
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Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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