EVANS, Bertie Nathan
(Service number 34653)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 12 December 1896 | Place of Birth | Timaru |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 23 August 1916 | Age | 19 years 8 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Ellesmere, Christchurch | ||
| Occupation | Teamster | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs M. EVANS (mother), Islington, Canterbury | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 20th Reinforcements, Canterbury Infantry Battalion, C Company | ||
| Date | 7 December 1916 | ||
| Transport | Port Lyttelton | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Plymouth, Devon, England | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Canterbury Regiment | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Western European | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | British War Medal; Victory Medal | ||
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 | 23 December 1954 | Age | 58 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Christchurch | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Ruru Lawn Cemetery, Christchurch | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Bertie Nathan Evans was born on 12 December at Timaru, the twin son of Morgan and Mary Jane (née Wooltorton) Evans. Along with his twin and an older brother, Claude Davis Evans, he was educated at Waimataitai School and Timaru South School. Although Bertie and Oswald were to return to Waimataitai at the beginning of 1909, it didn’t happen. It was not until after the outbreak of war that the family moved to Islington.
Bertie enlisted on 23 May 1916 at Featherston as Bert Nathan Evans, which name he used thereafter. A teamster at Ellesmere, Christchurch, single and Presbyterian, he named his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs M. Evans, Islington, Canterbury. Private B. N. Evans embarked with the Canterbury Infantry Battalion of the 20th Reinforcements, leaving for Plymouth, England on 7 December 1916 per the “Port Lyttelton. His twin brother did likewise. Bert Evans returned to New Zealand per the “Tofua” which was to arrive at Port Chalmers about 2 June 1919. He was discharged on 26 June 1919, on the termination of his period of engagement and awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
Bert remained in the Christchurch area except for a brief spell as a cowman at Mount Peel in 1922. Bert Nathan Morgan died suddenly at his parents’ Christchurch residence on 23 December 1954, aged 58 years. He was buried in the services section of Ruru Lawn Cemetery, a services plaque marking his grave.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [20 July 2023]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [20 July 2023]; School Admission records (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [20 July 2023]; Sun, 17 May 1919, Press, 24 December 1954 (Papers Past) [20 July 2023]; Ruru Lawn Cemetery burial record (Christchurch City Council) [20 July 2023]; Ruru Cemetery headstone transcription [20 July 2023]
External Links
Related Documents
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC Genealogy Society
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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