NEILL, Denzil William James
(Service number 50835)
| First Rank | Gunner | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 22 May 1898 | Place of Birth | Dannevirke |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Waihao Downs, Waimate | ||
| Occupation | Farmer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs M. NEILL (mother), Waihao Downs | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 32nd Reinforcements, New Zealand Field Artillery | ||
| Date | 21 November 1917 | ||
| Transport | Maunganui | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | Liverpool, Merseyside, 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 | 2 February 1981 | Age | 82 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | |||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Denzil William John Neill was born on 22 May 1898 at Dannevirke, the oldest son of Ellesmere and Marion (née Manson) Neill. The family was at Waihao Downs, Waimate, when Denzil enlisted. He was farming with his father. Denzil was one of the eleven men on the express when it arrived at Timaru from Waimate, to proceed with the South Canterbury quota of the 30th Reinforcements. They had been entertained at luncheon at Waimate. “A large crowd gathered at the railway station to bid the men farewell. The men are apparently not very keen on send-offs as only about half of them turned up at the station, the others joining the train at Studholme.” The Mayor farewelled the men, and expressed the confidence of all that they would do their duty nobly, and trusted they would return safe to those dear to them. A selection was played by the band as the train left the station to the accompaniment of hearty cheers.
Denzil Neill named his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs M. Neill, Waihao Downs. Gunner D. W. J. Neill, just 19 years old, actually embarked at Wellington for Liverpool, England, with the New Zealand Field Artillery of the 32nd Reinforcements, leaving by the “Maunganui” on 21 November 1917.
D. W. J. Neill, 50835, of Waimate, returned to New Zealand by a draft which was on the ex-German Liner Adolf Woermann and was expected at Wellington on 28 September 1919. He rejoined his family at Douglas Settlement, Waihao Downs. Some time before 1936 he had gone to England, where he married Dorothy King in 1938 in London. He was a commercial traveller for a building merchant in 1939, he and Dorothy residing at Harrow, Middlesex.
Denzil William John Neill died on 2 February 1981 at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, aged 82 years.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [06 October 2021]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [06 October 2021]; Waimate Daily Advertiser, 25, 26 & 28 May 1917, Timaru Herald, 29 May 1917, NZ Times, 8 September 1919 (Papers Past) [04, 07 & 10 October 2021]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [06 October 2021]; England Probate Index (ancestry.com.au) [06 October 2021]; UK 1939 Register (ancestry.com.au) [6 October 2021]
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG
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Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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