SPEIRS, Robert Burrell
(Service number 22200)
| First Rank | Second Lieutenant | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 15 February 1891 | Place of Birth | Christchurch |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | 42 High Street, Timaru | ||
| Occupation | Minister | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | |||
| Next of Kin | R. M. SPEIRS (father), 38 Fitzgerald Avenue, Christchurch | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Rifle Brigade | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | Reinforcements, J Company | ||
| Date | 26 April 1917 | ||
| Transport | Pakeha | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Plymouth, Devon, England | |
| 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 | 24 September 1961 | Age | 70 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | |||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | |||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Robert Burrell Speirs was the son of Robert Milliard and Edith Gertrude (née Burrell) Speirs. He was educated at Christchurch schools – South Town Belt, Addington, Christchurch Normal and St Albans. He was a minister of religion in Timaru at the time of enlisting. Robert Speirs married Gladys Florence Poplur in 1920. Robert and Gladys divorced in 1932 and Robert married again in 1933, to Josephine Symon.
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 Robert B. Spiers [sic].
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [29 March 2020]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [29 March 2020]; School Admission records [29 March 2020]; Timaru Herald, 5 July 1922 (Papers Past) [24 March 2020]
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
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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