WHEELER, Henry James
(Service number 65081)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 21 January 1882 | Place of Birth | Waimate |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 30 July 1917 | Age | 35 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | C/o E. J. Clark, Palmerston | ||
| Occupation | Painter | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Charles WHEELER (father), Waimate | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 33rd Reinforcements, Wellington Infantry Regiment, B Company | ||
| Date | 31 December 1917 | ||
| Transport | Athenic | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | Glasgow, Scotland |
| 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 October 1938 | Age | 55 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Waimate | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Waimate Old Cemetery | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Henry James Wheeler was born on 21 January 1882 at Waimate (although he stated 1879 on attesting), the fourth son of Charles and Sarah Ann (née Wilkins) Wheeler. Mr and Mrs Charles Wheeler, of Waimate, had come to New Zealand as a married couple on the Peeress. Charles Wheeler, who died in 1932, had assisted with the first planting of trees in the early days of Knottingly Park.
Having been called up, Henry enlisted on 30 July 1917 at Palmerston North where he was a painter for E. H. Clark. He named his father as next-of-kin – Charles Wheeler, Waimate. Private H. J. Wheeler embarked at Wellington for Glasgow, Scotland, on 31 December 1917, leaving with the Wellington Infantry Regiment of the 33rd Reinfocements by the “Athenic”.
H. J. Wheeler returned to New Zealand (Waimate) by the “Somerset” which was due at Lyttelton about 12 August 1919. He died on 24 October 1938 at Waimate, aged 5 years, and was buried in the Waimate Cemetery.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [18 March 2022]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [18 March 2022]; Waimate Cemetery burial record [21 March 2022]; Timaru Herald, 8 August 1919, 25 October 1938 (Papers Past) [16 & 21 March 2022]
External Links
Related Documents
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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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