Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

Edward Timothy Lane (Timothy, Ted) was the second youngest son of John and Julia (née Callaghan) Lane, from County Cork, Ireland wo emigrated in 1875. He was born on 8 October 1891 at Timaru (his birth registered simply as Timothy) and baptized on 25 October 1891 at the Sacred Heart Church, Timaru. Ted was not quite three years old when his father died in August 1894. His mother died in February 1908. He was educated at the Marist School, Timaru. Mr Ted Lane contributed “extras” at a most successful social held at the Gleniti School in mid-July 1910. He married Hilda Burness (subsequently Mrs Westaway) on 8 December 1915 at the Timaru Registry Office, his youngest brother Dennis a witness. Their son Arthur John Thomas Lane was born in the following year – on 9 April 1916 at Timaru.

Edward (Ted) Lane’s was the sole registration at Timaru on 21 August 1916. He was medically examined on 25 August at Timaru. At this time he was employed as a printer/linotype operator for the Timaru Post, an occupation where he had followed his eldest brother, Eugene. He was 5 feet 5½ inches tall, weighed 125 pounds, and had a chest measurement of 32½-35 inches. His complexion was dark, his eyes brown, and his hair black. His sight, hearing and colour vision were all good, his limbs and chest well formed, and his heart and lungs normal. Free from illnesses, diseases and fits, he was in good bodily and mental health and was vaccinated. Ted had been previously rejected for the military forces as 33 per cent medically unfit. Roman Catholic and giving his address as Russell Square, Timaru, he named his wife as next-of-kin – Mrs Hilda Lane, C/o Mrs W. Burness, Kingsdown, Timaru.

South Canterbury’s quota for the 21st Reinforcements left Timaru for camp on 20 September 1916, E. T. Lane with the Infantry. The men were entertained at luncheon by the Ladies’ Committee of the South Canterbury Patriotic War Relief Society in the Stafford Tea Rooms. After assembling at the Drill Shed and being address by the Mayor and the Rev. Father Herbert, they paraded to the station, accompanied by the 2nd (South Canterbury) Regimental Band, the Honorary Territorials and the High School Cadets. Prior to enlistment on 20 September 1916 at Trentham, Ted was living at Gleniti. He was admitted to Featherston Hospital with influenza on 30 October 1916 whilst in camp. A pleasant farewell social was held in honour of Edward in the Gleniti schoolhouse in late December 1916 when he was home on final leave. At supper, which followed singing and dancing, he was presented with a radium dial wristlet watch and a safety razor by the residents of Gleniti. Edward thanked the people for their kind remarks and presents. He was praised for having been associated with all local social functions for the past ten years.

Rifleman E. T. Lane embarked with the New Zealand Rifle Brigade of the 21st Reinforcements, leaving from Wellington for Plymouth, England, per the “Waitemata” on 19 January 1917. Disembarking at Devonport on 28 March 1917, he marched in to Sling and was posted to the 16th Waikato Battalion from the 21st Reinforcements. He left for France on 28 May 1917 and was transferred to the New Zealand Rifle Brigade in February 1918. In August 1918 he had about 2½ weeks of leave in the UK, re-joining his Unit on 23 August. There were no reports of wounds or illness during his 15 months at the Front.

The next mention of Edward Timothy (Ted) Lane was in Casualty List No. 943. Rifleman Lane had been killed in action on 26 August 1918 at Bapaume, France, aged 26 years. He was buried at Favreuil British Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais, France. He left a widow, who received the news in early September, and young son, four brothers and two sisters. “Deeply regretted” and “He did his duty” read the Roll of Honour notice for the dearly beloved husband of Hilda Lane, Timaru, and second youngest son of the late John and Julia Lane, of Timaru. The Second Battle of Bapaume which took place from 21 August 1918 to 3 September 1918, involved British and New Zealand troops. On 26 August the New Zealanders continued their efforts to encircle Bapaume, a small town in France. The New Zealand Rifle Brigade took over the attack in the north. Although they suffered the attention of German artillery, they continued to test the German defences. The bombardment of Bapaume continued into 28 August and by 29 August the town was in the hands of the New Zealanders. But it was a very costly engagement, Rifleman E. T. Lane one of 800 personnel killed in action.

His loving sisters and brothers remembered their dear brother Edward Timothy (Ted) Lane in 1919 –

“In the old home dear you are fondly remembered,

Sweet happy memories cling round your name;

True hearts that held you in fondest affection,

Always shall love you in death just the same.”

Their 1920 notice remembered their two brothers – Rifleman E. T. (Ted) Lane, killed in action in France, 26 August 1918, and Rifleman Humphrey Lane, killed in the Battle of the Somme, 24 September 1916.

“For duty and their country,

They went both true and brave,

Upon a battlefield to fall

And fill true soldiers’ graves.” R.I.P.

Rifleman Ted Lane - killed somewhere in France, August 26, 1918, R.I.P. - was remembered by his sisters and brothers in an In Memoriam in the Timaru Herald of 26 August 1921.

“For Britain, home and freedom,

And to right a dreadful wrong,

He chose the path of duty

And joined the khaki throng,

His smiling face and cheery clasp,

Are pleasant to recall.

He had a kindly word for each,

And died beloved by all.”

And in 1922 and 1923, both Ted and Humphrey were remembered.

His medals – British War Medal and Victory Medal - were sent to his widow, as were his plaque and scroll. He left no Will. Hilda remarried in 1927 and had a daughter (Ellen Margaret Hilda Westerway) who is buried with her in Temuka Cemetery; she also had a son Basil James Lane (known as Jim) who was born in 1925 and died in 1980. Hilda died in 1982 and was buried at Temuka with her second husband (George Frederick Westaway).

Edward Timothy Lane is remembered on the Gleniti War Memorial, erected between the two main doors of the Gleniti School and unveiled on 19 December 1919. The unveiling ceremony commenced with the singing of the National Anthem and closed with all singing “God Save the King”. The Ven. Archdeacon Jacob, who had come out from Timaru with Rev. Father Bartley, spoke of the great object lesson of duty which had been taught to future generations by those who had made such great sacrifices in the war. The schoolchildren, whenever they looked at the tablet, would remember and be proud of those who had fought to keep their country free from the horrors of invasion. The Rev. Father Bartley spoke of the great sacrifices of those who had fought for their country. The greatest heroes were those who had made the supreme sacrifice and who were now sleeping in the distant fields of Gallipoli, Egypt and France. His brother Denis is remembered as also served. Both names were recalled in July 1939 at the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Gleniti School.

He is also honoured on the Kingsdown Memorial Tablet on which are inscribed the names of eight young men who left the district and gave their lives in the Great War. It was unveiled by Chaplain Captain J. A. Jacob in the Anglican Church on 28 October 1922. The service began with the hymn, “Brief Life is Here Our Portion,” and closed with a verse of the National Anthem. The tablet lists the eight names between the following inscriptions: —

“To the glory of God and in grateful memory of the following Kingsdown soldiers who gave their lives in the Great War, 1914-18” and “Their name liveth for evermore.” In unveiling the tablet Chaplain-Captain Jacob paid a glowing tribute to the brave men from the Kingsdown district whose memory they had met to honour. “They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old; age shall not wither them, nor the years decay. At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them.” “To those who mourn we offer our sincere sympathy and affection,��� said the Archdeacon, in conclusion. Just prior to Anzac Day commemorations in 1928, E. T. Lane was included among the names of some of South Canterbury’s soldiers who fell in the Great War of 1914-1918, although the R.S.A. recognised that the list was incomplete.

Ted was a brother of Humphrey William Lane who was killed in action in 1916, and of Eugene Lane and Dennis Francis Lane, who both served in World War One. Another brother, Patrick Lane, was called up in 1918. As well, two brothers of his wife Hilda also served in World War One. Their son Arthur John Thomas Lane, who was just none months old when he last saw his father, went on to serve in World War Two.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [13 August 2013]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ Ref. AABK 18805 W5541 0066080) [10 October 2014]; ; CWGC [13 August 2013]; Family records; Timaru Herald, 1 September 1894, 19 July 1910, 22 August 1916, 20 September 1916, 21 November 1916, 21 & 30 December 1916, 6 September 1918 [x 2], 10 September 1918, 26 August 1919, 27 December 1919, 26 August 1920, 26 August 1921, 28 August 1922, 30 October 1922, 25 August 1923, 24 April 1928, 29 July 1939, Evening Post, 6 September 1918, Temuka Leader, 31 October 1922 (Papers Past) [August 2013, 15 September 2013; 04 & 18 November 2013; 24 June 2014; 05 October 2014; 07 February 2018; 28 May 2023]; NZ BDM historical records (Department of Internal Affairs) [2013; 06 October 2014]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [2013; 07 October 2014]; Timaru Herald, 26 August 1921, 19 February 1982 (Timaru District Library) [13 January 2017; 10 October 2014]; Second Battle of Bapaume (Wikipedia) [28 May 2023]

External Links

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph record
• Military personnel file

Related Documents

• LANE Edward Timothy - newspaper clippings (pdf, 136.6 KB updated 11-Jul-2023)

Researched and Written by

Currently Assigned to

TS