JOHNSON, John Wright
(Service number 6/485)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 03/06/1882 | Place of Birth | Bradford Yorkshire England |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 12 August 1914 | Age | 31 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Care of Old Bank Hotel, Timaru, New Zealand | ||
| Occupation | Hotel Porter | ||
| Previous Military Experience | 1st Life Guards Egyptian Mounted Police; 1912-1913 NZ Permanent Forces | ||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Richard Johnson, 8 Spring Place, Horton, Bradford, York, England | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | Main Body | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | Canterbury Infantry Battalion | ||
| Date | 16 October 1914 | ||
| Transport | Tahiti or Athenic | ||
| Embarked From | Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Canterbury 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 | 8 May 1915 | Age | 32 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Gallipoli, Turkey | ||
| Cause | Killed in action | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Twelve Trees Copse (NZ) Memorial | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | On Memorial wall, Timaru | ||
Biographical Notes
John was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, England on 3 June 1882, the son of Richard & Emily Johnson of 38 Middleton Road, Ilkley, Yorks, England. Prior to his arrival in New Zealand he had served with the 1st Life Guards Egyptian Mounted Police. In April 1912 at Timaru he joined the New Zealand Permanent Forces a as a Sergeant Instructor and served from 1 May 1912 until 6 June 1913.
Before enlisting for war service John was employed as a Hotel Porter for Mr Charles Sutherland at the Grosvenor, then the Old Bank Hotel. He was described as being of fair complexion, chest 36 inches, weight 168 lbs, height 6 foot, eyes blue, hair light and having upper false teeth, the lower ones good. He served in New Zealand from 12 August to 15 October 1914 and embarked from Lyttelton for Suez Egypt 16 October 1914 on either the Tahiti or Athenic, arriving 3 December 1914.
John was killed in action 8 May 1915 at Gallipoli Turkey aged 32 and is commemorated on the Twelve Tree Copse (NZ) Memorial Panel 16.2.13. His father was forwarded his plaque, scroll and war medals at wars end.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph database (August 2013); Archives NZ
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Dave Batchelor (South Canterbury Museum); Ted Hansen (SC branch NZSG)
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.