Profile

SYMES, Vincent Gabriel
(Service number 80024)

The Symes family children 1913 — Pictured are (from left to right) Gertrude Frances (1896-1977), Isabel Constance Esther (1907-1974), Henry Albert (junior) (known as Ab, 1892-1961), Grace Montgomery (junior, 1894-1917), and Vincent Gabriel Meldrum (1898-ca.1969). Another sibling, Francis Spence (1900-1902) had died by the time this image was taken.
(Courtesy of J Bray )

Vincent Symes (centre) with Peter Fraser PM in Dingwall Scotland — Taken during VIc's service in the UK during the Second World War. (Courtesy of J Bray )

Aliases	Born Vincent Gabriel Meldrum SYMES.
First Rank	Private	Last Rank

Birth

Date	18/09/1898	Place of Birth	Alexandra

Enlistment Information

Date		Age
Address at Enlistment	Ashwick Flat, Fairlie
Occupation	Clerk
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status	Single
Next of Kin	Mrs G. M. Symes, Ashwick Flat, Fairlie
Religion	Presbyterian
Medical Information

Military Service

Served with	NZ Armed Forces	Served in	Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation	New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Unit, Squadron, or Ship	42nd Reinforcements, B Company
Date	1 August 1918
Transport	Tofua
Embarked From		Destination

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With

Military Awards

Campaigns
Service Medals
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		Reason

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Post-war Occupations

Death

Date	*1969	Age
Place of Death	England
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery
Memorial Reference
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

Vincent Gabriel Symes was the second son of Henry and Grace Montgomery (née Wright) Symes. Vincent was educated at the Broad Bay School, Dunedin, then spent some time at Hamilton South School, before returning to Dunedin, to High Street School, and two months later to Mornington School, Dunedin. His brother, Henry Albert Symes, also served in World War I.Vincent Symes was publicly entertained by the Ashwick Flat Patriotic Entertainment Committee and received a wristlet watch before going to war. he was accorded a welcome home by the same committeed. Vincent married Elizabeth Mollison Troup (Molly) in 1928 and was divorced in 1938. It is thought he may have maried again in England after his service in World War II.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [28 October 2019]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [28 October 2019]; Timaru Herald, 14 May 1919 (Papers Past) [15 May 2014]

External Links

Researched and Written by

Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.

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