WORKMAN, Ernest Williamson
(Service number 72048)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Rifleman |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 13 May 1880 | Place of Birth | Kirkoswald, Cumberland, England |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 23 July 1917 | Age | 37 years 2 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Pleasant Point, South Canterbury | ||
| Occupation | Saddler | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | John WORKMAN (father), Stafford 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 | 37th Reinforcements, A Company | ||
| Date | 9 May 1918 | ||
| Transport | Maunganui | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Liverpool, Merseyside, England | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Rifle Brigade | ||
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 | 26 July 1950 | Age | 70 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Christchurch | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Ruru Lawn Cemetery, Christchurch | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Ernest Williamson Workman, born on 13 May 1880 at Kirkoswald, Cumberland, England, was the younger son of John and Jane (née Bell) Workman. In 1981, 10 months old Ernest was at home at Kirkoswald, Cumberland, with his parents and older brother, William Henry Workman. The family came to New Zealand 1884-85, William transferring to Timaru Main School from Burton School, Westmorland, England in April 1885. Later in the year Ernest started at Timaru South School and transferred to St Andrews School (South Canterbury) in 1891 when the family moved to that district. After finishing school, Ernest followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming a saddler, while William was a flour miller.Their mother died in 1921 and John married Elizabeth McLaran the following year. John died in 1948 and Elizabeth in 1955.
A saddler, single and Presbyterian, Ernest Workman was residing at Pleasant Point when he enlisted on 23 July 1917, aged 37 years 3 months. By that time, the family had been in New Zealand for 33 years. He nominated his father – John Workman, Stafford Street, Timaru – as his next-of-kin.
Private Ernest Workman embarked with the 37th Reinforcements on 9 May 1918 per the “Maunganui”, destined for Liverpool, England. He resumed his saddlery work after the war and moved to Christchurch in the 1920s. William Henry Workman married Emily Wylie on 4 March 1915 at Station House, Palmerston South. In December 1917 the Military Appeal Board put him into Class B as he had a child. William and Emily had also moved to Christchurch, Emily dying in 1934 and William in 1954. Ernest Williamson Workman died, unmarried, on 26 July 1950 at Christchurch, aged 70 years.
The Methodist Church of Timaru placed a handsome window in the Bank Street Church as a memorial for the war victims of the congregations. Apart from the names of the fallen appearing on the window, the names of all who served were inscribed in a book which was to be preserved in the Church. Included in the names was that of Ernest Workman.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [24 March 2020]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [25 March 2020]; School Admission record [27 March 2020]; 1881 England census return (ancestry.com.au) [28 March 2020]; Ruru Cemetery, Christchurch headstone transcription & burial record (burial record – Christchurch City Council) [28 March 2020]; Timaru Cemetery headstone image (Timaru District Council) [28 March 2020]; New Zealand Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [28 March 2020]; Timaru Herald, 19 March 1915, 14 December 1917, 5 July 1922 (Papers Past) [24 & 28 March 2020]
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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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