NOSTER, William Samuel
(Service number 60979)
| First Rank | Corporal | Last Rank | Lance Corporal |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 12/07/1882 | Place of Birth | NZ |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 7 May 1917 | Age | 34 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Mill Rd, Waimate | ||
| Occupation | Motor mechanic, self employed at Waimate | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs E. Noster (mother), Mill Road, Waimate, New Zealand | ||
Military Service
| Served with | New Zealand Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 31st Reinforcements Canterbury Infantry Regiment, C Company | ||
| Date | 16 November 1917 | ||
| Transport | HMNZT 97 Tahiti | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington, New Zealand | Destination | Liverpool, England |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Entrenching Battalion | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Western European | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | 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 | 10 May 1918 | Age | 37 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Belgium | ||
| Cause | Died of wounds | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Voormezeele enclosure No. 3 | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | On Memorial wall, Timaru; Waimate First World War Memorial | ||
Biographical Notes
William Samuel Noster was born 12 July 1882, the eldest son of Elizabeth and Samuel Noster of Mornington, Dunedin. His father was born in England, his mother, nee Vinson, in Dunedin. William was a motor mechanic at the time of enlistment, self employed in Waimate. His father was deceased and William named his mother Elizabeth Noster as next of kin. He stated that he had one person absolutely dependant on him – that was probably his mother. He enlisted as a private on 7 May 1917 aged 34. He was described as single, Presbyterian, 5ft 6in tall, 156lbs, with a dark complexion, blue eyes, and dark brown hair. He was attached to 31st Reinforcements, Canterbury Infantry Regiment, C Company and embarked at Wellington on 16 November 1917, sailing on the Tahiti to Liverpool. Noster left Sling Camp for France on 20 March 1918, joining the Entrenching Battalion and being posted to the field nine days later. Six weeks later, on 10 May, he died of wounds recieved in the field and was buried in Voormezeele Enclosure in Belgium 4km south-west of Ypres. His mother had not lived to hear of her son’s death. She had died two days before him, on 8 May. William was survived by his brother Frank Noster, and sisters Mrs Frank Palmer (Waimate) and Mrs Fred Harley (Featherston). He did not leave a will and his medals were sent to his brother Frank.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [August 2013 and June 2021]; Commonwealth War Graves Commission website (http://www.cwgc.org/); 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.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.