Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

Arthur George Dendy was born on 23 October 1883 at Bishop Sutton, Somerset, England and baptised there on 22 November 1883. He was the second son of Richard and Henrietta Eliza (née Arter) Dendy. Richard and Henrietta had married in 1880 and had three sons and three daughters. Richard died on 8 April 1900 at Bishop Sutton. Henrietta died in 1934. In 1891, Arthur was at home with his parents and siblings. In 1901 both Arthur and his older brother, Richard George Dendy, were boarders at Hornchurch, while their younger brother, Charles Stephen Dendy, was a naval cadet.

Arthur E. Dendy, Timaru, was one of five men to go north to enter the special camp for non-commissioned officers for the Sixteenth Reinforcements in early March 1916. They probably left Timaru with South Canterbury’s quota for the Fourteenth Reinforcements on 8 March. At the time of enlistment – 9 March 1916 at Trentham – Arthur was an engineer at Timaru. He had been medically examined at Timaru on 18 January 1916. He had given six years’ Volunteer Service in England from about 1901 to 1906. He had, also, served with the 1st Battalion, Essex Regiment, until he left for New Zealand. He was trained as a mechanical draughtsman and prior to coming to New Zealand he was employed in Los Angeles. Arthur Dendy was in New Zealand from October 1910, joining his brother Richard George Denby who had emigrated in 1908, to 24 February 1920. He had married New Zealand born Laura Winifred Kissell (Kissel) on 9 December 1913 at Holy Trinity Church, Christchurch. He named his wife as next-of-kin – Mrs L. W. Dendy, Northfield, Cranbrook Park, Ilford, Essex, England. He also named Mrs J. R. Burns, 118 Esplanade, Sumner, Christchurch, who was his sister-in-law, Amy Ethel Burns née Kissel. Sergeant A. E. Dendy, 16th Reinforcements, was appointed second lieutenant on probation in August 1916 and allocated to E Company 16th.

Second Lieutenant A. E. Dendy embarked with the Canterbury Infantry Battalion of the 21st Reinforcements, departing for Plymouth, England per the “Ulimaroa” on 21 January 1917. He was one of the officers in charge of C Company. Lieutenant Arthur E. Dendy returned to New Zealand in mid-June 1918 per Draft No. 165, having embarked at Liverpool per the “Ulimaroa” on 1 May 1918. On his return, he was seconded for duty, having been absent from his unit, off duty, for four months. He was discharged on 20 August 1918 and posted to the Unattached List as Second Lieutenant, then to the General List (2nd South Canterbury Regiment). His intended address was in Los Angeles. In September and October 1918, however, Mr and Mrs Dendy were in Timaru. Lieutenant Dendy was present in King George’s Place, Timaru, when speeches were given on 1 October to mark Bulgaria’s surrender. He was afterwards a member of the Military Survey Board. Arthur was not in good health when he was examined at Timaru in January 1919, suffering from general debility following influenza.

Lieutenant A. E. Dendy, Adjutant, was with the Staff wo paraded at the Timaru Drill Shed on 25 April 1919, for the purpose of commemorating “Anzac Day”. In May 1919 he presided at the annual meeting of the Band of the 2nd (South Canterbury) Regiment. Lieutenant A. E. Dendy, Adjutant, paraded again in Timaru on 19 July 1919 to celebrate the signing of Peace. He left for Christchurch on 11 August 1919, having been appointed to Headquarters Staff. Mrs Dendy, cashier and shorthand typist to the “Timaru Herald,” was presented with a handsome fountain pen as a memento of her association with the company, before she left for Christchurch with her husband.

Lieutenant Dendy was back in Timaru on 25 November 1919 when medals won at the war were presented to the successful soldiers or their next-of-kin, the gazette notice of each award being read by Lieutenant A. E. Dendy. When the South Island quota of the draft of the troopship “Rimutaka” arrived in Lyttelton by the ferry steamer “Maori” on 6 January 1920, the Christchurch, South Canterbury, Westland and Nelson details were in the charge of Lieutenant A. E. Dendy, who was in charge of administration duties for the Canterbury Military District. In February, Lieutenant Denby left for America. “Lieutenant A. E. Dendy, accompanied by Mrs Dendy, leaves Christchurch next/ week for the north, to join the Moana on a health trip to California. Dendy expects to make a short stay in Los Angelos and will then make a tour of the States and Canada.” [Timaru Herald. 24 January 1920.]

So, Arthur Dendy who was in his native England in 1891 and 1901, then in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1911 with his brother and in late 1919 with his wife, was in Los Angeles in 1930 with his wife Laura. In 1940 Laura Dendy was alone. She married for a second time in 1959 the USA and divorced for a second time and dying there – Laura Winifred Henry – on 30 June 1969, she was buried in Santa Barbara Cemetery. Arthur Edward Dendy who had registered for service with the US Forces in World War Two and who was divorced by 1940, married Maude Marie Paulson (formerly Mrs Stephens) on 4 April 1954 in Los Angeles. He died on 1 October 1961 at Los Angeles and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Santa Monica, California. Arthur’s older brother, Richard George Dendy (Dick), had also come to New Zealand and served with the New Zealand Forces in World War One. He named his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs Henrietta Eliza Dendy, 17 Cranbrook Park, Ilford, Essex, England; and his brother – 2/Lieut. A. E. Dendy, Defence Office, Timaru. By May 1920, Richard was back in the UK, following his trade with the motor industry. Arthur Edward Dendy’s War memoir is held by the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [10 January 2025]; 1891, 1901 England census returns (ancestry.com.au) [10 January 2025]; Timaru Herald, 7 March 1916, 2 October 1918, 15 April 1919, 21 May 1919, 12 July 1919, 12 & 18 August 1919, 26 November 1919, 24 January 1920, 12 February 1920, Dominion, 15 August 1916, Otago Daily Times, 17 August 1916, Sun, 6 & 17January 1920 (Papers Past) [03 May 2015; June 2020, 10 January 2025]; Woodlawn Cemetery record (Find A Grave) [10 January 2025]

External Links

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph record
• Military personnel file

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