EVANS, Oswald Morgan
(Service number 30922)
| 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 | Islington, Canterbury | ||
| Occupation | Woolclasser | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs Mary 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 | NZ Entrenching Battalion | ||
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 | 16 February 1966 | Age | 69 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Christchurch | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Harewood Crematorium | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Oswald Morgan Evans, known as Ossie, 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 Oswald and Bertie 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.
Oswald enlisted on 23 May 1916 at Featherston. A wool-classer for the Christchurch Meat Company at Islington, Christchurch, single and Presbyterian, he named his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs Mary Evans, Islington, Canterbury. Private O. M. 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. Oswald Evans returned to New Zealand per the “Ulimaroa”, embarking at Plymouth on 7 November 1918. He was discharged on 17 January 1919, no longer physically fit for war service on account of illness contracted on Active Service and awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
Ossie remained in the Christchurch area, continuing as a wool-classer. He married Grace Barnes in 1920. Oswald Morgan Evans (Ossie) died at Christcurch on 16 February 1966, aged 69 years. He was cremated at the Harewood Crematorium. He was survived by his wife who died in 1992, two sons (Dave and Claude) and two daughters (Gwen and Grace).
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]; Press, 17 February 1966 (Papers Past) [20 July 2023]
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
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.
Tell us more
Do you have information that could be added to this story? Or related images that you are happy to share? Submit them here!