Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

Frederick Thomas Hurt was born on 9 September 1889 at Timaru and baptised on 6 October at St Mary’s Anglican Church, Timaru, the son of Fred and Hemina Johanna (Minnie née Kohn) Hurt. Hermine Johanna Kohn was born in 1861 at Timaru and married Fred Hust [sic] at St Mary’s Timaru in 1880. An elder daughter, Rhoda Frederica Hurt, was born to Fred and Hermina at Timaru, where Fred was a hotelkeeper. Two more children were born in Australia – George Louis in 1892 in Victoria and Olive Irene in 1895 in Tasmania. Fred was a hotel keeper when Rhoda, of Lithgow, NSW, married in 1903 at St Matthias Church, Sydney, Gerald Kohn being a witness. Gerald Kohn had also gone from Timaru to New South Wales, and probably back to New Zealand. Frederick Hurt was educated at Lithgow Public School in New South Wales. He was at home with his parents at Summer Hill, New South Wales, in 1913. He was recorded at Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Queensland, on the 1916 electoral roll, but he was already on his way to the front, and to his death. He was 25 years 11 months old when he enlisted with the Australia Imperial Forces at Warwick Farm, New South Wales, on 7 September 1915. A draughtsman residing at “Lakena”, Sloane Street, Summer Hill, Sydney, single and of Church of England affiliation, he nominated his father as next-of-kin – Fred Hurt, 19 Sloane Street, Summer Hill, Sydney. He swore that “I will well and truly serve our Sovereign Lord the King in the Australian Imperial Force from May 31st 15 until the end of the War, and a further period of four months thereafter unless sooner lawfully discharged, dismissed, or removed therefrom; and that I will resist His Majesty’s enemies and cause His Majesty’s peace to be kept and maintained; and that I will in all matters appertaining to my service, faithfully discharge my duty according to law.” Sapper Hurt embarked per the “Berrima” on 17 December 1915, with the 1st Field Company Engineers of the 13th Reinforcement. On 26 October 1917 at Ypres, Belgium, Sapper Frederick Thomas Hurt died of wounds, aged 28 years. He had been wounded in action on that day and admitted to the 63rd Field Ambulance. He was buried in the Menin Road South Military Cemetery, Ypres, Belgium. His name is inscribed on the Lithgow War Memorial. His brother, George Louis Hurt, served in World War I, enlisting on 10 July 1915.

Sources

Paul McNicholl's list of additional names for the Tiimaru Memorial Wall (August 2013); Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [30 March 2020]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [30 March 2020]; Australian Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [14 April 2020]; Lithgow WWI Commemorative Plaque Project Inc (http://archive.lithgow.nsw.gov.au ) [14 April 2020]; St Mary’s Timaru Baptism records (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [16 April 2020]; CWGC [26 April 2020]

External Links

Related Documents

No documents available. 

Researched and Written by

Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.