Profile

NESBITT, Robert John
(Service number 35845)

St Mary's Church, Timaru, memorial plaque, circa 2010
Aliases
First Rank Trooper Last Rank Trooper

Birth

Date 23/12/1884 Place of Birth Dunedin, N.Z.

Enlistment Information

Date 10 March 1916 Age 32
Address at Enlistment Mangapapa, Kia Iwi, Wanganui
Occupation Station manager
Previous Military Experience Canterbury Mounted Rifles (3 years)
Marital Status Single
Next of Kin Mrs J. Hall (sister), Wairoa, Hawkes Bay
Religion Church of England
Medical Information 5ft 5in, 154lbs, darkish complexion, blue eyes, light brown hair

Military Service

Served with New Zealand Armed Forces Served in Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Unit, Squadron, or Ship 22nd Reinforcements Mounted Rifle Brigade
Date 15 February 1917
Transport Moeraki then transferred to Boora at Melbourne for Suez
Embarked From Wellington, New Zealand Destination Suez, Egypt
Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With Wellington Mounted Rifles

Military Awards

Campaigns Egyptian
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 20 October 1918 Age 33
Place of Death Palestine
Cause Died of disease (malaria)
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery Ramleh War Cemetery, Palestine
Memorial Reference Z 9
New Zealand Memorials On Memorial wall, Timaru; Waimataitai School War Memorial

Biographical Notes

Robert John Nesbitt was born in Dunedin on 23 December 1884, the son of Robert John and Pauline Nesbitt. He attended Waimataitai School, as the family was living at Maori Hill in Timaru. Nesbitt enlisted on 10 March 1916 aged 32, at that time working as a station manager at Mangapapa, Kia Iwi, Wanganui. He was described as 5ft 5in, 154lbs, of darkish complexion, with blue eyes, and light brown hair, single, and Anglican. He stated that he had served three years in the Canterbury Mounted Rifles and gave his next of kin as his sister, Mrs J. Hall, Wairoa,of Hawkes Bay. He became a private in 22nd Reinforcements, Mounted Rifle Brigade and embarked at Wellington on 15 February 1917 on the Moeraki transferring to the Boora at Melbourne for Suez and Egypt. Nesbitt served in Egypt and Palestine but died of malaria at Ludd on 20 October 1918 aged 33. He was buried at Ramleh War Cemetery, Palestine.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph [June 2021]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records [June 2021]

External Links

Related Documents

No documents available.

Researched and Written by

Maree Bowen, SC branch NZSG; Carol Bell, SC branch NZSG

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Logo. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.