Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

Alexander Mitchell Bates was born on 16 May 1884 at Waitaki South, the fourth son of Joseph and Janet (née Campbell) Bates. Joseph and Janet married in 1868 at Dalziel, Lanarkshire, Scotland and arrived in New Zealand in about 1879 with five children, the youngest born on the voyage out. Their second child had died in Scotland in 1872. They settled in the vicinity of Glenavy, Joseph a farmer. The family was at Waitaki North when eldest daughter Jessie married in May 1896. Alexander attended Redcliffs School and Tawai (then known as Waitaki Village School) in Waimate County. Of the thirteen surviving siblings, all but his eldest brother attended Redcliffs and /or Tawai schools before the family moved to Windsor near Oamaru in about 1902 after Joseph had acquired an allotment at Elderslie Settlement. Mr Joseph Bates died suddenly at his Windsor residence on 15 February 1906. He had been a prominent member of the Presbyterian Church at both Glenavy and Windsor. The youngest son, Frederick John Reid Bates, died at his parents’ Windsor residence on 19 November 1913, aged 17 years and was buried at Oamaru.

Alexander was a farm labourer at Windsor when he enlisted at Oamaru on 17 October 1916. Single and Presbyterian, he named his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs Janet Campbell Bates, Windsor, Otago. Private A. M. Bates embarked with the Otago Infantry Regiment of the 23rd Reinforcements, departing for Devonport, England per the “Ruapehu” on 14 March 1917. He embarked for the return to New Zealand per the “Briton” on 24 December 1918 at Plymouth. He was discharged on 26 February 1919 and awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

After the war, Alexander lived quietly at Windsor, where he died on 15 June 1938, aged 54 years, and was privately interred at Oamaru Cemetery. His brothers and sisters thanked all kind friends for letters and floral tributes in their sad bereavement. His sister Elizabeth had died in 1923 and his eldest brother John in 1934. His mother Janet died on 10 June 1934. Two brothers of Alexander also served in World War One – James Campbell Bates and Thomas Reid Bates. Another brother, Joseph Bates, was a shearer at Windsor when he was called up in 1917. James Hope, a son of Jessie Bates and Walter Hope, and nephew of Alexander, served in World War Two. A. Bates’ name is inscribed on the Tawai District Memorial as Served Overseas. The Tawai Soldiers War Memorial and Roll of Honour were unveiled on 23 August 1923. Tawai had a war record to be proud of. The proceedings opened with the singing of the National Anthem. After the unveiling of the memorial, “To the glory of God, and in memory of the men from Tawai District who made the great sacrifice.”, the prayer of dedication was said.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [05 January 2024]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [05 January 2024]; School Admission records (Waimate & South Canterbury branches NZSG) [05 January 2024]; Oamaru Cemetery headstone transcription [05 January 2024]; Oamaru Mail, 16 February 1906, Timaru Herald, 24 August 1923, Otago Daily Times, 17 & 25 June 1938 (Papers Past) [09 February 2020; 05 January 2024]

External Links

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph record
• Military personnel file

Related Documents

No documents available. 

Researched and Written by

Teresa Scott, SC Genealogy Society

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.