CRAIGIE, Alexander Orr
(Service number 534435)
| First Rank | Last Rank | Private |
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Birth
| Date | *1879 | Place of Birth | Timaru |
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Enlistment Information
| Date | 4 March 1915 | Age | |
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Military Service
| Served with | UK Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
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Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | Royal Army Medical Corps | ||
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| Date | |||
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Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
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| Service Medals | British War Medal; Victory Medal | ||
Award Circumstances and Date
No information
Prisoner of War Information
| Date of Capture | |
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| Where Captured and by Whom | |
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| Days Interned | |
| Liberation Date |
Death
| Date | 10 September 1962 | Age | 83 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | War Veterans' Home, Levin | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Tiro Riro Road Cemetery, Levin | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Alexander Orr Craigie was the only surviving son of James Craigie, M. P. and mayor of Timaru, and his wife, Catherine née Orr. Alexander had gone to the UK in early 1914 to study medicine at the Edinburgh University. He spent five months in late 1914, helping at the Australian Voluntary Hospital in France. He enlisted with the Imperial Forces and was back at the Front in March 1915, having transferred from the Australian Hospital to the 3rd Battalion London Scottish. Late in 1919 his Majesty the King approved the issue of a clasp to officers, warrant officers, non-commissioned officers, and men who had been awarded the “1914 Star” and who actually served under the fire of the enemy in France and Belgium between 5 August 1914 and midnight 22-23 November 1914. The clasp, fashioned in bronze, was inscribed “5 August-22 November 1914”. Quite a number of New Zealanders were entitled to wear the clasp, including Mr A. O. Craigie (Timaru), who served at the outbreak of the war with the London Scottish. [Otago Daily Times, 22 December 1919]. Alexander Orr Craigie was also entitled to the UK Silver War Badge. Alexander married Ada Gladys Thompson in 1927 after his return to New Zealand.Ada died 14 years before Alexander.
Sources
Sun, 8 June 1914, Star, 9 March 1915, Timaru Herald, 22 April 1915, Otago Daily Times, 22 December 1919 (Papers Past) [15 & 21 January 2020]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [20 January 2020]; Tiro Tiro Road Cemetery burial & headstone records [20 & 22 January 2020]
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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