Profile

HANIFIN, Cornelius
(Service number 68528)

Twins Patrick and Cornelius Hanifin, circa 1916 — (Courtesy of N Hand, South Canterbury Museum L2015/004.01)

Aliases	Enlisted as Con (Cenotaph, Archway)
First Rank	Private	Last Rank	Rifleman

Birth

Date	14/03/1896	Place of Birth	New Zealand

Enlistment Information

Date	13 September 1917	Age	20 yrs 6 mths
Address at Enlistment	City Boarding House, Timaru
Occupation	Labourer
Previous Military Experience	2nd South Canterbury Territorials (still serving)
Marital Status	Single
Next of Kin	Mrs Bridget HANIFIN (mother), Hepworth, Temuka
Religion	Roman Catholic
Medical Information	Height 5 feet 3 inches. Weight 121 lbs. Complexion medium. Eyes blue. Hair fair. Eyes both 6/6. Hearing and colour vision normal. Limbs and chest well formed. Full movement of joints. Heart and lungs normal. No illnesses. Free from hernia, Varicocele, varicose veins, haemorrhoids, inveterate or contagious skin disease. Vaccinated. Good bodily and mental health. No slight defects. No fits. Assessed 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	34th Reinforcements Otago Infantry Regiment, D Company
Date	8 February 1918
Transport	Ulimaroa
Embarked From	Wellington	Destination	Liverpool, England

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With	Rifle Brigade

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	21 October 1919	Reason	Consequence of being no longer physically fit for war service on account of wounds received in action.

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Wounded in action. September 1918 admitted to hospital in France suffering from gunshot wounds in the right leg and left shoulder. Initially reported as a not severe case.

Post-war Occupations

Labourer

Death

Date	20 July 1971	Age	73 yrs
Place of Death
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery	Ruru Lawn Cemetery, Christchurch
Memorial Reference
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

Cornelius (Con) HANIFIN was a son of Michael (Mick) and Bridget (nee CARR) HANIFIN. His brothers Jeremiah and Owen also served in WWI. Two younger brothers, Michael Joseph HANIFIN and John Joseph HANIFIN, served in WWII. Con was twice Absent Without Leave - in November 1917 at Featherston, when he forfeited 4 days pay, and again in December 1917, at Trentham, when he forfeited a further 10 days pay. Con returned to New Zealand per "Tainui", embarking on 23 September and arriving on 21 October 1919. He was one of 45 returned soldiers who were presented with gold medals at a most memorable gathering organised by the Waitohi Flat Presentation and Memorial Committee and held in the Waitohi schoolroom in November 1919. a enjoyable concert was provided before the returned soldiers, assembled in the front seats, were thanked and welcomed home. All involved were thanked for their kindness and mementoes of the war and the ladies of Waitohi were thanked for the much-valued parcels sent to the front.

Sources

Cenotaph Database [24 January 2014]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ ref. AABK 18805 W5539 0050042) [25 July 2014]; Ruru Lawn Cemetery memorial inscription (Canterbury Branch NZSG Cemetery Records) [25 July 2014], Ruru Lawn Cemetery burial records (Christchurch City Council Cemetery Records online) [25 July 2014]; NZ BDM Indexes (DIA historical records) [24 July 2014]; Press, 18 September 1918, Timaru Herald, 12 September 1918 [x 2], 10 November 1919 (Papers Past) [24 & 25 July 2014]

External Links

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Currently Assigned to

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