Profile

AVERIS, Frank George
(Service number 8/1928)

Frank George Averis — (Courtesy of C Smith )

Frank Averis, posed on a bike prior to the war — (Courtesy of C Smith )

Frank G Averis (centre rear) — Posed with a group of unidentified men - possibly others from the 4th Reinforcements or Otago Infantry Battalion prior to their embarkation? (Courtesy of C Smith )

Mt Cook Motor Co Garage, Fairlie — Frank worked for the Mt Cook Motor Company and is thought to be pictured in this image. (Courtesy of C Smith )

Army issue postcard from Frank Averis, 26 September 1915 (Courtesy of C Smith )

Frank Averis - bullet-holed coin — This coin was in Frank Averis' pocket on the day he was killed. (Courtesy of D Hall )

Averis headstone, Timaru Cemetery — Frank Averis is commemorated on his parents headstone in the Timaru Cemetery. (Courtesy of C Smith )

Kingsdown Hall War Memorial plaque, 2007 — (South Canterbury Museum 2013/155.08)

Memorial plaque, Charles Hall — Issued to the next of kin of over 18,000 men and women killed during World War One, these were often commonly known as a 'Dead Man's Penny'. (Courtesy of D Hall )

Frank Averis - Memorial plaque letter — A letter from the King that arrived with a Memorial Plaque (commonly known as a 'Dead Man's penny') given to the next-of-kin of those who fell in World War One. (South Canterbury Museum )

Victory Medal, Frank Averis — Inset: Edge stamping of the medal. (Courtesy of D Hall )

1914-15 Star, Frank Averis — (Courtesy of D Hall )

1967 Gallipoli Medallion, awarded to Frank Averis — Medallion obverse (left) and recto right). (Courtesy of C Smith, South Canterbury Museum L2015/022.03)

Aliases
First Rank	Private	Last Rank	Private

Birth

Date	30/04/1893	Place of Birth	Kingsdown, Timaru

Enlistment Information

Date	11 February 1915	Age	21years 10mths
Address at Enlistment	Queenstown
Occupation	Motor mechanic
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status	Single
Next of Kin	D. Averis (father), Kingsdown, near Timaru
Religion	Presbyterian
Medical Information	5ft 11", light brown eyes, weight: 165lbs, dark hair

Military Service

Served with	NZ Armed Forces	Served in	Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation	4th Reinforcements
Unit, Squadron, or Ship	Otago Infantry Battalion
Date	17 April 1915
Transport	Willochra or Knight Templar or Waitomo
Embarked From	Wellington, New Zealand	Destination	Suez, Egypt

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With	Otago Infantry Battalion

Military Awards

Campaigns	Chunuk Bair
Service Medals	1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal, Gallipoli medal
Military Awards

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

Discharge

Date		Reason

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Post-war Occupations

Death

Date	9 August 1915	Age	22 years
Place of Death	Chunuk Bair,Turkey
Cause	Killed in action
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery	Chunuk Bair (NZ) Memorial, Chunuk Bair Cemetery, Gallipoli, Turkey
Memorial Reference	Panel 15
New Zealand Memorials	On Memorial wall, Timaru; Kingsdown Hall War Memorial plaque

Biographical Notes

Frank George Averis was the youngest son of Daniel and Emma Averis of Kingsdown near Timaru. He was born on 30 April 1893 at Kingsdown. Frank started at the local school on 2 May 1898 and left in August 1903.

Frank’s niece Evelyn Bowater nee Howard (b1898) remembers the following: Frank was dark and had very black curly hair and in later years was nicknamed “Curly”. When we were kids he was the leader in most of our games of fun and mischief. He was a busy sort of lad and kept a number of pets. Another hobby was bird collecting. The eggs were blown and the birds’ heads were preserved in Golden Syrup tins. When the tins were full Grandfather (Daniel Averis) would take Frank, Cecil and their collectors to the Timaru County yards where they would be counted. They were paid 2/- per 100 for eggs and 2/6 per 100 for heads’.

When Frank left school he went to Timaru to learn the motor trade. Frank was a very keen cyclist and when he worked in Timaru he used to bike from home (Kingsdown) to work and back each day. This was good training for his road racing later on.

After Frank had finished his apprenticeship, he went to Waimate and worked at Saddlers Garage. He then went on to work in Fairlie and Queenstown, where he worked for the Mt Cook Motor Company.

It is while in Queenstown that Frank enlisted for military service on 11 February 1915. He is described as being 5ft 11” 165lb and age 21years 10months. His religion is given as Presbyterian.The medical officer Alec Stewart describes Frank: “This is a very exceptional well developed young man with no blemish I can discover. He is of real good character and in my opinion is in every way fitter to carry out any military duties anywhere”. Frank never had a final leave, so the family farewell had to be made at the Timaru Railway Station when the troop train made its stop.

On the 12th February 1915 Frank marched into Trentham Camp and joined the Otago Infantry Battalion. His rank was Private. He left New Zealand with the 4th Reinforcements on 17 April 1915 and arrived in Suez on 25 May 1915. After a time there the troops went on to the Dardanelles, arriving on 8 June 1915. Frank joined his unit and reported to 10 Company.

On 9 August 1915 Frank was reported missing believed to have been killed.

Frank George Averis 8/1928 was awarded the 1914/15 Star, Victory Medal and British War Medal. These were forwarded to his mother after the war. The NZ Government in later years issued a Gallipoli medal and this is in the possession of his great niece Carole Smith in 1994.

Sources

Cenotaph (Sep 2013); Carole Smith, Averis Family History, (1991)

External Links

Military personnel file

Researched and Written by

Carol Bell, SC branch NZSG; Carole Smith, SC branch NZSG

Currently Assigned to

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.