SWANEY, Inglis McGregor
(Service number 7/468)
| First Rank | Trooper | Last Rank | Trooper |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 2 September 1891 | Place of Birth | Temuka |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 18 August 1914 | Age | 22 years 11 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Maronan Road, Ashburton | ||
| Occupation | Farmer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | NZ Territorial Forces, B Squadron, 8th Mounted Rifle | ||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Harriet SWANEY (mother), Kowai Bush, via Springfield, Canterbury; later 182 North Street, Timaru | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | Main Body | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | Canterbury Mounted Rifles | ||
| Date | 16 October 1914 | ||
| Transport | Tahiti or Athenic | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | ||
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Canterbury Mounted Rifles | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Balkan (Gallipoli); Egyptian; Egyptian Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | 1914-1915 Star; 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 | 23 December 1949 | Age | 58 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Christchurch | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Cremated; ashes Canterbury Memorial Gardens, Bromley | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Inglis McGregor Swaney who was known as McGregor, was born on 2 September 1891 at Arowhenua, Temuka, the sixth son of James Hume and Harriet (née Crow) Swaney. James (from Scotland) and Harriet (from England) who married in 1880 in New Zealand, had seven sons and two daughters, two sons and one daughter dying in infancy. Along with his siblings, McGregor was educated at South Canterbury Schools – Temuka (Gregory), Orton (Gregg), Sutherlands and Pleasant Point, leaving there for the North Island in 1907. James Hume Swaney died in 1913 at Christchurch and Harriet in 1938, survived by her second husband, a daughter and four sons.
McGregor Swaney enlisted on the outbreak of war – on 18 August 1914 at Christchurch. He belonged to the New Zealand Territorial Forces, B Squadron, 8th Mounted Rifles. Farming in the Ashburton district, single and Presbyterian, he named his mother as next-of-kin – Harriet Swaney, Kowai Bush, via Springfield, Canterbury. Before McGregor was to return home, Mrs Swaney had moved to 182 North Street, Timaru. Trooper M. Swaney embarked with the Canterbury Mounted Rifles, Main Body, leaving on 16 October 1916. In September 1915 he suffered a gunshot wound to his left knee which developped into synovitis. On 28 December 1917 at Suez, Trooper Swaney embarked for New Zealand per the “Tofua”, arriving on 7 February 1918. He was discharged on 7 March 1918, no longer physically fit for War Service, after three years 131 days service overseas in the Balkans (Gallipoli) and Egypt. He was awarded the 1914-1915 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. On his return, he headed for Craigmore Downs, Cave.
McGregor married Doris Ann March in 1919. They had one daughter. McGregor and Dorie lived for some years at Craigmore Downs. Inglis McGregor Swaney died at Christchurch on 23 December 1949, aged 58 years. He was privately cremated. There is a plaque in the Canterbury Memorial Gardens at Bromley, which remembers McGregor and Dorie who died on 10 December 1978. His younger brother Middleton Ryburn Swaney also served in World War One and an older brother Thomas Henry Swaney enlisted for service. Their eldest brother Peter Swaney had served in the South African War. Two nephews served in World War Two – James Keith Palliser and Hugh Collard Swaney. John Swaney who died in 1917 while with the Training Unit was a cousin, his father being a brother of James Hume Swaney and his mother a sister of Harriet Crow.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [06 September 2025]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [06 September 2025); Timaru Herald, 9 February 1918, Press, 24 December 1949 (Papers Past) [29 December 2015; 07 September 2025]; School Admission records (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [06 September 2025]; Canterbury Memorial Gardens plaque image (Find A Grave) [07 September 2025]
External Links
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC Geneaology 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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