McMEEKING, David Thomas McLaggan
(Service number 10875)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 31 January 1896 | Place of Birth | Alexandra, Otago |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Morven P.O., Canterbury | ||
| Occupation | Baker | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | |||
| Next of Kin | R. McMEEKING (father), Whare Flat, Dunedin | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 1st New Zealand Cyclist Company | ||
| Date | 6 May 1916 | ||
| Transport | Mokoia or Navua | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Suez, Egypt | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Cyclists Corps | ||
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 | 30 August 1976 | Age | 80 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | dunedin Public Hospital | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Andersons Bay Cemetery, Dunedin | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
David Thomas McLaggan McMeeking was the son of Robert Steven Mc Meeking (or McMeiken) and his first wife, Mary née Downie. His mother died in 1900 at Alexandra. David was educated at Forbury School, Dunedin, and Silverstream (Whare Flat) School, Otago. South Canterbury’s quota of the 12th Reinforcements, which included D. T. McKeeking, Morven, left Timaru for Trentham by the second express north on 12 January 1916. The troops were farewelled in the Drill Shed at 3 pm, the public being admitted but not allowed to mix with the men. After his Worship the Mayor, the Rev. Dean Tubman, and Mr J. Craigie, M.P., addressed the troops, they processed to the station, headed by the 2nd (South Canterbury) Regimental Band, and acknowledged by a guard of honour formed by the cadets. Private D. T. McMeeking was awarded the Military Medal on 1 November 1918. While fighting with the Machine-gun Section he was surrounded by Germans, who called on him to surrender, but he refused, and continued firing his gun until there was no further danger of capture. [New Zealand Times, 22 April 1919] His older brother Gilbert, was awarded the Croix de Guerre. He married Mary McMillan in 1924.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [24 September 2019]; Andersons Bay Cemetery headstone image & burial record (Dunedin City Council) [25 September 2019]; Timaru Herald, 11 January 1916, Stratford Evening Post, 22 January 1919, New Zealand Times, 22 April 1919 (Papers Past) [09 August 2014; 26 September 2019]
External Links
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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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