HAMMOND, Arthur James
(Service number 6/4053)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Sergeant |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 01/01/1895 | Place of Birth |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | |||
| Occupation | Labourer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Married | ||
| Next of Kin | R. Hammond(father), Geraldine New Zealand | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 10th Reinforcements Canterbury Infantry Battalion,C Company | ||
| Date | 4 March 1916 | ||
| Transport | Willochra or Tofua | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington, NZ | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Canterbury Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
Award Circumstances and Date
DCM London Gazette 24 January 1919,p1255,Rec No 2409.For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty.On August 30th 1917 during attack on Rancourt this N.C.O was in charge of a 3"Stokes Mortar.By his able leadership he kept his gun team and comrades well up with the Infantry and on several occassions dealt effectively with hostile machine guns.During the first assault on the Village ,with great dash he bought his gun into action in the open and in spite of heavy machine gun fire placed down such an effective barrage in a strongly hidden portion of Trench that our Infantry were enabled to rush the position.He showed great initiative throughout the operations and supported the Infantry with such effect that they were able to take their objectives with very light casualties.
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 | 13 December 1917 | Age | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Ypres Belgium | ||
| Cause | Killed in action | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Polygon Wood Cemetery,Zonnebeke,West-Vlaanderen Belgium | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | On Memorial wall, Timaru; Geraldine War Memorial (listed as A J Hammond DCM); Woodbury War Memorial | ||
Biographical Notes
Arthur Hammond was born on 1 January 1895 to Robert and Sarah Hammond (nee Carmichael) The Timaru Herlad reported on 14 January 1918:
"SOLDIERS' SOCIALS: AT TE MOANA. On Friday, January 4th, the people of the surrounding districts gathered at Te Moana School to welcome home Trooper Gilbert Stevenson, who had just returned from the front, and to make a farewell presentation to Gunner G. D. Burrows, who was home from camp on final leave. The schoolroom was taxed to its utmost with the number of well-wishers, and the night was most enjoyably spent in song and dance, under the capable direction of Mr R. Woods. Messrs Quaid and Heyder supplied excellent music and several extras were very tastefully played by Misses Heyder, Merrin and Young. Songs were rendered by Misses Merrin, Gale, Young and Heyder, and Messrs Heyeor and Gale. Supper, which was provided by the ladies of the district, was handled round at 11.30 p.m. Mr G. T. Gale then took the chair, and after stating the object of the gathering, said that his next duty was of a very sad nature. Sergeant Arthur Hammond, D.C.M., a young man bred and the district, and who had received all his education in that building, had fallen, and made the supreme sacrifice fighting for his country, that we all might still hold the freedom and liberty that we now enjoy. One particularly prominent trait in his character as a boy at school was his protecting care of smaller children from anything in the nature of unkindness from the older ones. He had always proved himself a very devoted son and brother, and the district had sustained a sad loss. Mr E. Murphy then addressed the gathering and endorsed what the chairman had said. As a near neighbour of the deceased lad he had seen him grow up from childhood to a soldier, and had always admired his manliness and kindness to others. In conclusion Mr Murphy moved a vote of sympathy with Sergeant Hammond's sorrowing family, the gathering standing in silence as a mark of respect."
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph database; SCRoll submission by T Brosnahan, 19 May 2022
External Links
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Researched and Written by
Ann Munro (SC branch NZSG)
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Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.