Profile

BIRD, James Samuel
(Service number 3/564)

St Augustine Church War Memorial, pictured in 2011
Plaque, St Augustine Church War Memorial, pictured in 2011
Waimate War Memorial, pictured in 2011
Waimate War Memorial (left panel), pictured in 2011
Aliases
First Rank Private Last Rank Private

Birth

Date Unknown Place of Birth

Enlistment Information

Date Age
Address at Enlistment
Occupation
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status Single
Next of Kin J. Bird (father), Waimate
Religion
Medical Information

Military Service

Served with NZ Armed Forces Served in Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation No.1 Stationary Hospital
Unit, Squadron, or Ship NZ Medical Corps
Date 21 May 1915
Transport Marama
Embarked From Wellington Destination Sydney, Australia
Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With NZ Medical Corps

Military Awards

Campaigns
Service Medals
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 23 October 1915 Age
Place of Death Lost at sea, HT Marquette, Aegean Sea
Cause Drowned
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery Mikra Memorial, Greece
Memorial Reference
New Zealand Memorials On Memorial wall, Timaru; St Augustine Church War memorial; Waimate First World War Memorial

Biographical Notes

James Bird was the son of Mr and Mrs Joseph Bird of Painstown, Waimate. Marama then transfer to Moldavia for Suez. Marama then transfer to Moldavia for Suez (Evening post 23 May 1915). One of 29 crew and 182 troops lost on the torpedoed Marquette 23 Oct 1915. The Marquette was a British merchant ship of 7057 tons. It sank when a torpedo launched from a submarine hit it 36 miles south of Salonica Bay. Ten of this who died were NZ nurses who had been working at No.1 NZ Stationary Hospital in Port Said in Oct 1915 when they were ordered to prepare to go to Lemnos. The hospital was to be set up there to care for casualties being brought back from the Dardanelles. The Transport Ship Marquette took on board officers and men of the NZ Medical Corps, 36 NZ Army Nursing Staff, 610 officers and men of 29th Divisional Ammunition Column, 541 mules and some ammunition n mid October sailed for Salonika. The French torpedo destroyer Tirailleur joined the convoy on 22 Oct which gave credence to the idea that there was a real danger of b wing attic led by German submarines in the Mediterranean. The torpedo destroyer left the convoy on 22 Oct and at 9.156am on 23 Oct the Marquette was hit by a torpedo on the starboard side and began to list. Within about 15min she had sunk.

Sources

Cenotaph Sep 2013

External Links

Related Documents

No documents available.

Researched and Written by

Carol Bell, SC branch NZSG & Timaru Herald

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.

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