MASSEY, Robert
(Service number 24/1113)
| First Rank | Rifleman | Last Rank | Rifleman |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 22/11/1875 | Place of Birth | Aberdeen, Scotland |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 29 May 1915 | Age | 39 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Levels, South Canterbury | ||
| Occupation | Mechanical engineer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs J. MASSEY (mother), Union Street Aberdeen, Scotland | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Rifle Brigade, 2nd Battalion | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | Headquarters Staff (attached) | ||
| Date | 9 October 1915 | ||
| Transport | Tahiti | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | New Zealand 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 | 5 May 1962 | Age | 86 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Taumarunui | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Taumarunui Cemetery | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Robert Massey was born on 22 November 1875 at Aberdeen, Scotland (as recorded on his personnel file). His age at death suggests a birth date of 1872 or 1873. He was in New Zealand from at least 1908 when he was an engine driver at Pleasant Point. In late May 1915, men were “offering more freely” at Timaru. R. Massey, Levels, was one of those who had passed the medical test and had signed on to leave Timaru for Trentham by special train on 29 May. He was one of the men given a rousing farewell when they went north to the concentration camp at Trentham in late May 1915. After afternoon tea in the Drill Shed and an address by the Mayor, amidst much cheering from the crowds, they were played to the railway Station by the Regimental Band and joined recruits from the south (Invercargill, Dunedin and Oamaru) on a very long special troop train. He enlisted on 29 May 1915. Single and Presbyterian, he named his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs J. Massey, Union Street, Aberdeen, Scotland. Rifleman R. Massey embarked with the New Zealand Rifle Brigade attached to Headquarters Staff per the “Tahiti”. He departed from Wellington for Suez on 9 October 1915. An October 1917 hospital report listed his as a severe case. He returned to New Zealand per Draft No. 148 (733 names), arriving in March 1918. In 1919 he was an engine driver at Burnett’s Face in the Buller district, and afterwards in the North Island. Robert Massey died on 5 May 1962 at Taumarunui, aged 89 years, and was buried in the RSA section of Taumarunui Cemetery. By his Will, dated 7 March 1961, he bequeathed all to two named friends. His estate amounted to £400, made up of £350 in his Account Australia and New Zealand Bank, Taumarunui, £13 Cash, £25 Furniture and effects, and £10 Accrued age benefit.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [16 May 2022]; Nz Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [20 May 2022]; Taumarunui Cemetery burial record (Ruapehu District Council) [19 May 2022]; Timaru Herald, 26 & 31 May 1915, Evening Post, 17 October 1917, 13 March 1918, Dominion, 14 March 1918, NZ Times, 24 March 1918 (Papers Past) [14, 20 & 22 May 2022]
External Links
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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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