HUTCHINSON, Becher Alexander Colin
(Service number 12/100)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 06/10/1889 | Place of Birth | England |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 14 September 1914 | Age | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Te Kuiti, King Country | ||
| Occupation | Farmer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | G.W.C Hutchinson, 53 Brannocks Rd, Ilfracombe, Devon, England | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | Main Body | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | Auckland Infantry Battalion | ||
| Date | 16 October 1914 | ||
| Transport | HMT 12 Waimana | ||
| Embarked From | Auckland NZ | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Auckland Infantry Battalion | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Gallipoli | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal | ||
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 |
Death
| Date | 30 May 1915 | Age | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Gallipoli, Turkey | ||
| Cause | Died of wounds | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Lone Pine Memorial, Lone Pine Cemetery, Anzac, Turkey | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | On Memorial wall, Timaru; Geraldine War Memorial; Woodbury War Memorial | ||
Biographical Notes
Becher, son of George William Caldwell and Louisa Catherine Hutchinson nee Hutchinson was born in England 6 October 1889. He had two sisters, Phyllis Irene born 8 January 1887 and Enid Frances born 16 April 1891. The family may have had some “blue” blood in their veins as they are mentioned in The Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal Being Complete a table of all the descendants now living of Edward III King of England.
Becher’s last NZ address was given as TeKuiti King Country where he was employed by John Rolleston, TeKuita, as a farmer. Becher enlisted into the Auckland Infantry Battalion as a Private on 14 September 1914 and embarked from Auckland 16 October 1914 on HMT 18 Waimana for Suez, Egypt, arriving 4 December 1914. He is described on enlisting as being aged 25, chest 38 inches, weight 140 lbs, height 5 foot 9 ½ inches, eyes blue, hair light brown and complexion fair.
Becher died of wounds in the New Zealand Field Hospital Dardanelle’s on 30 May 1915 and is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial, panel 72. Medals, plaque and scroll were forwarded to his father care of Rev A. Churchill, Berrynarbor Rectory near Ilpacombe, North Devon, England at wars end.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph database (March 2014); Latter Day Saints Family Search; SCRoll web submission by P Hickford, 27 September 2016 (confirming transport as HMT 18 Waimana, courtesy of information from the National Anzac Centre in Albany, Western Australia)
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Carol Bell, SC branch NZSG & Timaru Herald; Ted Hansen (SC branch NZSG)
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.