HUGHES, Arnot Irwin
(Service number 2/3016)
| First Rank | Driver | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 17 July 1894 | Place of Birth | Timaru |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 15 December 1915 | Age | 21 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Durham Street, Christchurch | ||
| Occupation | Draper | ||
| Previous Military Experience | Belonged to A Company Infantry | ||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Miss Beulah HUGHES (sister), 71 Woodlands Road, Timaru | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 11th Reinforcements, New Zealand Field Artillery, No. 5 Field Battery | ||
| Date | 1 April 1916 | ||
| Transport | Tahiti or Maunganui | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | NZ Field Artillery | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Egyptian Expeditionary Force; 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 | 29 March 1964 | Age | 69 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Christchurch | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Linwood Crematorium | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Arnot Irwin Hughes was born on 17 July 1894 at Timaru, the eldest son of William John and Margaret Jane (née Irwin) Hughes, who had married in 1892. Within a few months in 1899, young Arnot and his older sister and younger brother lost their parents and baby brother – William John Hughes died on 15 March; little William Harold Hughes on 7 August, aged 13 months; and Margaret Jane Hughes on 7 October. Arnot started at Timaru South School 2½ weeks after his fifth birthday, his guardian being his mother who was to die two months later. He left school at the end of 1907 for office work.
Arnot Hughes, who already belonged to A Company Infantry, enlisted on 15 December 1915 at Trentham. He was residing in Christchurch, a draper for Beath and Company. Single and Methodist, he named his sister as next-of-kin – Miss Beulah Hughes, 71 Woodland Road, Timaru. Beulah was at the same address as her aunt, Mrs Ella Miller, who was later named as next-of-kin for her brother Frank. Driver A. I. Hughes embarked with the New Zealand Field Artillery of the 11th Reinforcements, departing from Wellington on 1 April 1916 and disembarking at Suez, Egypt on 20 May. Embarking at Southampton on 28 August 1918, he transferred to the Hospital Ship “Maheno” at Marseilles. The ship was due in the Dominion in October. Hughes was discharged on 27 October 1919, no longer physically fit for War Service on account of wounds received in Action (gunshot wounds to right hand).
Arnot Irwin Hughes married Florence Charlotte Dumergue in 1936. He died at Christchurch on 29 March 1964, aged 69 years, and was cremated at Linwood. He was survived by his wife, three daughters and one son. “A foundation member of the New Brighton Amateur Athletic Club in 1928, Mr Arnot Irwin Hughes, died in Christchurch on Sunday. Mr Hughes was also prominent in Rugby, bowls, and surf life-saving. Mr Hughes began his sporting career with the Christchurch Rugby Club in 1911 and was club captain from 1927 to 1930. During the Second World War he was the foundation president of the Burnham Bowling Club, and for many years was a committee member of the New Brighton Surf Club. He had also been a judge and team manager for the Canterbury Athletic Centre.” [Press, 4 April 1964.] Arnot’s brother, Frank Irwin Hughes, also served in World War One.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [19 March 2025]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [04 June 2023]; School Admission record (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [20 March 2025]; Timaru Herald, 15 October 1918, Press, 30 & 31 March 1964, 4 April 1964 (Papers Past) [19 & 23 March 2025]
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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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