Profile

KIRBY, Michael
(Service number 55509)

Sacred Heart Basilica memorial plaque, photographed about 2010
Aliases
First Rank Private Last Rank Private

Birth

Date 08/08/1892 Place of Birth New Zealand

Enlistment Information

Date 2 May 1917 Age 24 yrs 8 mths
Address at Enlistment 58 High St, Timaru
Occupation Labourer (N. Z. Refrigeration Coy, Smithfield)
Previous Military Experience 2nd S. C. Regt.
Marital Status Single
Next of Kin J. KIRBY (father), 58 High Street, Timaru
Religion Roman Catholic
Medical Information Eyes both 6/6. Hearing in left ear notmal. Deafness in right ear? Colour vision normal. Limbs and chest both well formed. Full movement in joints. Heart and lungs normal. No illnesses. Free from hernia, varicocele, varicose veins, haemorrhoids, inveterate or contagious skin disease. Good bodily and mental health. No slight defects. Stated that he had had a fit but no medical eveidence. Stated had a bad knee but no evidence of it. Noted as Class A.

Military Service

Served with NZ Armed Forces Served in Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Unit, Squadron, or Ship 28th Reinforcements Canterbury Infantry Regiment, C Company
Date 26 July 1917
Transport Ulimaroa 
Embarked From Wellington Destination Plymouth, England
Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With Canterbury Infantry Regiment

Military Awards

Campaigns
Service Medals British War Medal; Victory Medal
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 13 January 1918 Age 25
Place of Death In the Field, Belgium or France
Cause Killed in action, in the Field, Belgium
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery Buttes (Labutte) New British Cemetery (N. Z.) Memorial, Polygon Wood, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Memorial Reference
New Zealand Memorials On Memorial wall, Timaru; Basilica of the Sacred Heart

Biographical Notes

Tenth and youngest son of Irish parents, John & Catherine (nee REARDON) KIRBY, of 58 High St, Timaru. Brother of James & Timothy who also served in WWI. Michael's name was drawn in the ballot to fill vacancies in the 30th Reinforcements in April 1917 (as did that of his brother Dennis). His father received word of his death while Jim and Tim were serving in France. His medals, plaque and scroll were all sent to his father. Michael appears to have been relatively unscathed in his time at the Front until the fatal blow on 13 January 1918. Brothers Daniel, Dennis and John were all listed on the Reserve Rolls. Furthermore, in July 1917 Dennis was missing and required to present himself (along with others) for medical examination or face trial and punishment  for desertion or absenting himself without leave. In May 1919 it was probably Dennis whose name appeared in a list of military defaulters.  

Sources

Cenotaph Database [25 April 2013]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ Ref. AABK 18805 W5541 0064886) [04 August 2013]; CWGC [30 July 2013]; Timaru Herald, 9 July 1917, 30 January 1918 (Papers Past) [01 November 2013; 25 April 2014]

External Links

Related Documents

No documents available.

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Currently Assigned to

TS

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