WALKER, Henry
(Service number 22680)
| First Rank | Sergeant Major | Last Rank | Warrant Officer (Second Class) |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 10 June 1886 | Place of Birth | Dunedin |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 10 March 1916 | Age | 29 years 9 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | 110 Yarrow Street, Invercargill | ||
| Occupation | Bridge carpenter | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single, then married | ||
| Next of Kin | (1) Mrs A. WALKER (mother), 110 Yarrow Street, Invercargill; (2) Mrs Henry WALKER (wife), care of J Hamlyn, Selwyn Street, Timaru | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 16th Reinforcements, Otago Infantry Battalion, D Company | ||
| Date | 20 August 1916 | ||
| Transport | Navua | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Devonport, Devon, England | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Otago Infantry Regiment | ||
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 | 14 October 1967 | Age | 81 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Christchurch | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Crematorium Linwood | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Henry Walker, known as Harry, was born on 4 June 1886 at Dunedin, the youngest son of William and Agnes (née Kennedy) who had married in 1874 at Belfast, Northern Ireland. Harry started at George Street School, Dunedin, in 1891 before transferring to North-East Valley School at the end of that year. By 1894 he and his brothers George and Thomas were at Riverton District High School, where his father was stationed as constable. Three older brothers of Henry – William Henry, George and Thomas Kennedy – lost their lives in a boating tragedy in October 1903. In 1912, William Walker died.
Harry, who was well known in sports in Southland, especially in rowing and football, moved to Timaru in April 1913. There he became involved with local rowing. He married Edith Blanche Hamlyn on 17 July 1916 at St Mary’s Church, Timaru. When Henry Walker had enlisted on 19 March 1916 at Trentham, he was a bridge carpenter and single and gave his Invercargill home address. He named his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs A. Walker, 110 Yarrow Street, Invercargill. After his marriage his wife was named – Mrs Henry Walker, care of J. Hamlyn, Selwyn Street, Timaru. Sergeant Major H. Walker embarked with the Otago Infantry Battalion of the 16th Reinforcements, leaving for Devonport, England on 20 August 1916 per the “Navua”. Warrant Officer (Second Class) H. Walker, 22680, returned to New Zealand by a small draft which was on the ex-German Liner Adolf Woermann, leaving from Plymouth on 14 August 1919 and disembarking at Wellington on 1 October 1919. He was discharged on 31 October 1919.
Henry and Edith lived together for a few years in Timaru but agreed to separate “in consequence of unhappy differences”. They sold up their home and divided the proceeds. Edith went to live with her mother and Henry moved to Christchurch. A decree nisis was made absolute in 1927. Edith remarried in 1927, while Henry married Esther Mary Terry in 1928. Henry Walker (Harry) died on 14 October 1967 at Christchurch, aged 81 years, and was cremated. He was survived by his wife (Ess) and son Bob.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [04 December 2024]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [06 December 2024]; Evening Star, 12 & 13 October 1903, Southland Times, 12 & 13 October 1903, 3 April 1913, Otago Daily Times, 13 October 1903, NZ Times, 8 September 1919, Star, 1 June 1927, Press, 16 October 1967 (Papers Past) [04 & 05 December 2024]; School records [05 December 2024]
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC Genealogy Society
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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