Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

Nimmon Beresford Ritchie was born on 1 September 1900 at Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland, the third son of Robert Renwick and Alice Ann Beresford (née Meechan) Ritchie. In 1901, 6-month-old Nimmon was at home with his parents and older siblings at Greenock. Robert and Alice and eleven children arrived at Lyttelton, New Zealand, on 2 November 1908. Another son, James Fleming Ritchie was born after their arrival but died at 2 years of age. He was buried at Ashburton. The family lived first at Allenton on the outskirts of Ashburton, then moved to Timaru in early 1913, when Nimon was admitted to Waimataitai School from the Ashburton Borough School. Nimmon Ritchie received a Standard I prize at the Ashburton Side School in 1910 and was presented with a second-class certificate. The eldest daughter had married at Ashburton in 1909 and died a month later. Ninon was into swimming at Timaru – the Swifts Club’s Boys’ 50 Yards Handicap held at the fishermen’s wharf on 18 February 1914; representing Waimataitai School, third place in a 40 yards (under 13) heat at the annual schools’ competition in March 1914; and second place in the Consolation Races (over 12 years) at Waimataitai School’s swimming sports the following week. Sadly, Robert Ritchie died at Timaru on 30 October 1914. He was buried with his little son and daughter at Ashburton. Mrs Alice Ritchie continued to live at Timaru until after the war, some of the family with her.

Come 5 April 1918 and N. H. Ritchie was in the South Canterbury quota of the Fortieth Reinforcements who left for camp. The Band of the 2nd (S.C.) Regiment played the recruits to the station. Yes, Ninon Beresford Ritchie had enlisted on 15 December 1917 at Timaru as Hugh Nimon Ritchie, Hugh being one of the given names of a slightly older brother. Was that to disguise his age? Ninon gave a birthdate of 12 December 1897, when he was only 17 years old. He was serving with the cadets and Territorials. A wood machinist and single, he named his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs Alice Ritchie, 67 Selwyn Street, Timaru. Private H. N. Ritchie embarked with the Specialist Company of the 43rd Reinforcements per the “Ruahine” on 17 August 1918. He returned by the “Bhamo” (Draft 234) which was due to arrive at Auckland about 24 April 1919. He reached Timaru on 28 April.

On his return Ninon took up football, playing initially for Zingari Juniors and moving into the seniors in 1921. He also became involved in club administration. He was a member of Zingari’s winning senior team at the Seven-A-Side tournament in June 1923, and again in September. In July 1923, he was selected in the reserves (forwards) for the representative team to meet the Maoris, and he was selected in the team for further representative games in the weeks following. “A slight mishap occurred during the return of the South Canterbury representative footballers from Oamaru on Saturday. A car, conveying five passengers including Mr N. Ritchie, a member of the team, was crossing a bridge near Waimate when it encountered a trap. The car was overturned and the occupants thrown out on to the bridge. Mr Ritchie landed with such force that he was rendered unconscious. He was taken to the Waimate hospital; but his injuries fortunately proved to he slight, and he was able to leave the institution yesterday.” [Timaru Herald, 23 July 1923.] “On Saturday evening the Zingari Football Club’s senior fifteen, the trainers and officials, were entertained at a complimentary dinner by Mr C. C. Thompson, of the Dominion Hotel, who is a vice-president of the club. There were about forty guests at the gathering, which was, in effect, a celebration of the club’s success in the Skinner Cup competition. A medal donated by Mr Thompson for the player most improved durng the year, was presented by the donor to Mr N. Ritchie.” [Timaru Herald, 7 August 1923.] Ninon had also entered the Speechley Handicap, a mile handicap, which was swum in the harbour in March 1921. Tug-of-war and football continued throughout 1924, football (rugby) in 1925; rugby refereeing as well as play in 1926, and a couple of broken toes; and the art of off-side play added to the mix in 1927, along with more tug-of-war. “Zingari have lost the services of N. Ritchie, who has worn the red, yellow and black jersey for many years. Last week Ritchie was a spectator at Fraser Park, being unable to play on account of injured ribs, but it is probable that to-day he will be assisting Temuka.” [Timaru Herald, 12 May 1928/] In 1931 he turned out for Celtic. “Undoubtedly much of the credit for Celtic’s splendid forward exhibition is due to Nimmo Ritchie, ex-Zingari and Temuka player, who set a hot pace from the kick-off in the match with Old Boys, and maintained this till the final whistle. Always on the hall, and getting weight into the loose scrums. Ritchie was truly the pace-maker of his van, but. unfortunately, bis play was marred on occasions by little flashes of hasty temper.” [Temuka Leader, 19 May 1931.]

The Alliance Tug-of- War team won the Lightweight Championship of the South Island at Christchurch in September 1922. After the honouring of the Loyal Toast at a Smoke Concert following, there followed the toast of "The Alliance Team”. Reference was made “to the works of captain of the Tug-o’-War team whose advice was a big factor in winning a contest. . . . The Alliance team were adjudged winners by a quarter of an inch.” Additional reference was made “to the good work of Mr N, Ritchie, who was skipper of the team and to whom it was greatly due that the team had won.” In February 1923 at Oamaru, Nimmo [sic] Ritchie captained the Timaru Alliance team in a tug-of-war contest against Enfield, Timaru winning by 1¼ inches. Timaru Alliance then accepted a challenge from Enfield and was willing to compete on the same lines.

Nimon married Elsie Alma Scarf on 19 February 1921. They were still living at Timaru in 1928. Their children – Ngaire May born in 1920 and David Robert born in 1922 – attended Timaru Main School, Timaru South and Timaru West, through to the 1930s. Ninon and Elsie seem to have gone their separate ways by 1935, whence Ninon lived in Wellington with his unmarried sisters and a younger brother.

In the Timaru Magistrate’s Court on 15 June 1927, Nimmo Ritchie and a mate entered a plea of guilty to a charge of being found in the Commercial Hotel whe the premises were directed to be closed. Each was fined £2 and costs. “The Magistrate remarked that he could not fine more than £2, which was the maximum. It was a pity that the maximum was so small.” In November 1928, he was on the other side of the courtroom, having been a witness to disturbance (fight) in Church Street in September.

At the beginning of October 1930 at the Timaru Magistrate’s Court, the Presbyterian Social Service Association proceeded against Nimon Beresford Ritchie for “failig to provide his two children with adequate maintenance. He sent a letter stating that he was unemployed. He was ordered to pay 10 shillings for each child until they reached sixteen years of age, the first payment to be on 9 October. In December he was back in court for disobeying the maintenance order. As of 27 November, he was £8 in arrears. He was sentenced to two months’ imprisonment, the warrant to be suspended if he paid the current order and 5 shillings a week off the arrears, and was fined 20 shillings. By 20 April 1933 the arrears amounted to £126.10 shillings. He was again charged with disobedience of a maintenance order. This time he was sentenced to two months’ imprisonment with hard labour. The Magistrate remarked that he “could apply for release when he paid something.”

Living in Wellington by 1934, Nimon was again before the court. “For stealing seven bales of wool valued at £50 from the New Zealand Farmers’ Co-operative Distributing Company, Nimon Beresford Ritchie, 34, a machinist, was sentenced to three months’ gaol. He hid in a store before the staff left, loaded the bales on a lorry which he had ordered to come, and told the carrier to deliver them to a certain firm. Next clay he called on the firm, said the wool was his, and obtained a cheque for £30, but was unable to cash the cheque before he was arrested.” [Poverty Bay Herald, 9 July 1934.]

When David Robert Ritchie was drawn in the World War II ballot in May 1941, his address was that of his father, 25 Vivian Street, Wellington. In the June 1941 ballot for Territorial Service, his address was Burwood, Christchurch. It was probably at Burwood that he did his airforce training. He flew with a photograph reconnaissance unit attached to the 2nd Tactics Air Force in Belgium, where the unit supplied information to the Army about German concentrations. Mrs Alice Ritchie died in 1932 in Wellington where she had gone to live, probably to be close to family. She was cremated and her ashes were interred in the family plot at Ashburton.

Ninon Beresfored Ritchie died on 11 May 1963 at Wellington, aged 62, and was cremated at Karori Crematorium. Elsie had died in 1956 and was buried at Orowaiti Cemetery, Westport. His oldest brother, William Robert Ritchie, also served in World War I and the brother whose name he adopted, Hugh Beresford Ritchie, enlisted simply as Hugh Ritchie on 25 July 1918, just after his twentieth birthday.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [21 October 2021]; Ashburton Guardian, 22 December 1910, Timaru Herald, 18 February 1914, 7 March 1914, 4 April 1918, 11 & 28 April 1919, 5 May 1920, 9 & 17 June 1920, 10 March 1921, 17 June 1921, 17 June 1922, 5 September 1922, 24 February 1923, 6 & April 1923, 4 May 1923, 5, 15 & 29 June 1923, 2, 3, 9, 10, 11, 14, 20, 21 & 23 July 1923, 7 August 1923, 3 September 1923, 16 June 1927, 12 May 1928, 8 November 1928, 3 October 1930, 12 December 1930, 14 July 1933, Temuka Leader, 3 March 1914, 19 May 1931, Poverty Bay Herald, 9 July 1934, Press, 14 March 1945 (Papers Past) [20, 21, 22 & 23 October 2021]; 1901 Scotland census return (ancestry.com.au) [21 October 2021]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [21 & 22 October 2021]; School Admission records (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [22 October 2021]

External Links

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph record
• Military personnel file

Related Documents

No documents available. 

Researched and Written by

Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.