Profile

BRUCE, Harry John
(Service number 12/301)

Esk Valley War Memorial - World War One plaque
Aliases
First Rank Sergeant Last Rank Sergeant

Birth

Date 25/03/1891 Place of Birth Prebbleton

Enlistment Information

Date 11 August 1914 Age 23
Address at Enlistment Morrinsville
Occupation Bank Clerk, Morrinsville
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status Single
Next of Kin A.G Bruce, Kakahu, Geraldine
Religion Church of England
Medical Information

Military Service

Served with NZ Armed Forces Served in Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation Main Body
Unit, Squadron, or Ship Auckland Infantry Battalion
Date 16 October 1914
Transport Star of India or Waimana
Embarked From Auckland Destination Suez, Egypt
Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With Auckland Infantry Battalion, 6th (Hauraki) Company

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 27 April 1915 Age 24
Place of Death At sea, ex Galllipoli
Cause Died of wounds
Notices Timaru Herald, Volume CIII, Issue 15707, 17 July 1915, Page 8
Memorial or Cemetery Lone Pine Memorial, Lone Pine Cemetery, Anzac, Turkey
Memorial Reference
New Zealand Memorials On Memorial wall, Timaru; Esk Valley War Memorial; Geraldine War Memorial

Biographical Notes

Harry Bruce was the son of Arthur and Helen Bruce of Kakahu, Geraldine. The New Zealand Herald, on 15 July 1915, reported Bruce’s fate:

“KILLED IN ACTION. SERGEANT H. BRUCE. Sergeant Harvey John Bruce, Auckland Infantry Battalion, died of wounds, was the second son of Mr. A. S. Bruce, of Geraldine. He was born at Prebbleton, 24 years ago. He subsequently resided at Fernsido and Rangiora. where he was educated at the Rangiora High School. He was a lieutenant in the school cadets. Leaving school, he joined the local branch of the New Zealand Farmers' Co-operative Association. On August 11, 1911, he joined the staff of the Bank of New Zealand and, in January. 1913 was transferred to Morrinsville. Whilst there he joined the 6th Hauraki, Regiment, rising to the rank of sergeant and passing his examination for a lieutenant's commission before leaving for the front. Upon the outbreak of war he joined the 6th Hauraki Company, of the Auckland Infantry Battalion. He was wounded within an hour of the landing at the Dardanelles. Sergeant Bruce was a crack rifle shot and, when a member of the Rangiora High School Cadets, won the South Island medal for shooting. The governors of the Rangiora High School passed a motion of sympathy with the deceased's parents, who have another son at the front.”

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Databse; Paperspast http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/ ; Births, Deaths & Marriages online www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz

External Links

Related Documents

No documents available.

Researched and Written by

Carol Bell; Liz Shea, SC branch NZSG

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.

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