Profile

HATHAWAY, Oliver Milson
(Service number 23/1663)

Aliases
First Rank Rifleman Last Rank

Birth

Date 29 February 1882 Place of Birth Timaru

Enlistment Information

Date Age
Address at Enlistment 99 Carlton Street, Christchurch
Occupation Tram conductor
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status
Next of Kin Mrs E. J. HATHAWAY (mother), 11 Princes Street, Timaru
Religion Church of England
Medical Information

Military Service

Served with New Zealand Armed Forces Served in Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation New Zealand Rifle Brigade
Unit, Squadron, or Ship Reinforcements G Company
Date 19 January 1917
Transport Waitemata
Embarked From Wellington Destination Plymouth,England
Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With

Military Awards

Campaigns Western European
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 No longer physically fit for war service on account of wounds received in action.

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Post-war Occupations

Death

Date 25 April 1983 Age 91 years
Place of Death
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch
Memorial Reference Block 3, Plot 155
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

Oliver Milson HATHAWAY was the son of Felix HATHAWAY and his wife, Jane Young née SCOTT. At the time of enlistment, Oliver was a tram conductor for the Christchurch Tramways. Oliver's experiences during the war was punctuated with trauma and illness, as the local newspaper the Timaru Herald reported:

"Oliver M. Hathaway, son of Mrs. F. Hathaway, Princess Street, Timaru, who was wounded at the Messines offensive and sent to Brockenhurst hospital, has, according to a cable received, been removed to Hornchurch Convalescent Hospital." (23 July 1917).

"Mrs.E. Hathaway, Princess Street Timaru, has received word that her son, Private O. M. Hathaway, is in the Walton-on-Thames- hospital suffering from a gunshot wound in one arm." (7 January 1919)

Despite these experiences Oliver returned to New Zealand and lived to the age of 91.

Oliver's brother Felix David HATHAWAY also served in WWI.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [01 December 2013]; Memorial Park Cemetery burial records (Christchurch City Council) [26 July 2014]; Timaru Herald, 2 June 1915, 30 June 1917, 12 & 23 July 1917, 7 & 23 January 1919 (Papers Past) [26 July 2014]; School Admission Records (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [2014]; Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch, burial record (Christchurch City Council) [26 July 2014]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of internal Affairs) [13 September 2015]; SCRoll web submission by AJ Mabey, 30 October 2021

External Links

Related Documents

No documents available. 

Researched and Written by

Currently Assigned to

TS

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