Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

Ernest Westgarth was the youngest son of Charles (English-born) and Jessie Alice (née Denholm) Westgarth. He was born on 13 November 1890 at Coldingham, Berwickshire, Scotland. Charles and Jessie who married in 1884 at Duns, Berwickshire, had five children, the elder daughter dying young. Ernest was at home with his family in Coldingham, Berwickshire, Scotland in 1891 and again in 1901. By 1901 his Scottish-born mother is widowed and working the farm. Jessie married John Wightman, probably a neighbour, in 1901 in Edinburgh. Ernest Westgarth and his older brother Thomas James Westgarth, both farmers, departed from London for New Zealand on 7 August 1908 per the “Turakina”. By 1911 both were farming at Kingsdown near Timaru. There too, were their unmarried sister Sarah Westgarth and the mother Jessie Alice Wightman. George Westgarth, the eldest son of Charles and Jessie, remained in Scotland. The family continued to farm at Kingsdown.

Edmund Westgarth enlisted on 10 November 1916 at Timaru. He had served with the territorial 2nd Regiment Reserve. A self-employed farmer, single and Presbyterian, he named his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs Jessie Alice Wightman, Kingsdown, Timaru. He gave his address as Box 67, Fairlie. Ernest and Thomas did move to the Fairlie district, and that was where he had been medically examined on 28 October 1916. He stood at 5 feet 9 inches, weighed 135 pounds, and had a chest measurement of 33-36 inches. His complexion was fresh, his eyes blue 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. He was free from diseases and defects, was vaccinated, and was in good bodily and mental health. A farewell social was tendered to Privates E. Westgarth and W. Warnock, in the Kingsdown School on 4 January 1917, when many friends and well-wishers gathered to honour them. Soldiers in uniform were cordially invited. Private Westgarth had just entered the military camp. The National Anthem was sung, and musical items were given. Mr Craigie, M.P., complimented the Kingsdown district on the large proportion of young men who had volunteered for the front. “It was now quite likely, he said, that the war would be over next July or August, and we would be all glad to welcome the boys back again.” He presented wristlet watches to both men, who duly acknowledged the gifts. An enjoyable evening was then spent in dancing.

Private E. Westgarth embarked with the Canterbury Infantry Regiment of the 23rd Reinforcements, leaving from Wellington on 2 April 1917 per the “Corinthic”. Disembarking at Devonport on 10 June, he marched into Sling. He left for France on 6 July 1917, marched into camp at Etaples a few days later, then joined the 2nd Canterbury Infantry Battalion in the Field on 25 July 1917.

Wounded in Action on 16 August 1917, he was admitted to No. 3 New Zealand Field Ambulance the next day. He was discharged on 21 August and rejoined his Unit on 25 August. Discharged to the Reinforcement Camp on 19 September 1917 after being admitted, sick, to No. 2 New Zealand Field Ambulance on 13 September, he rejoined his unit on 21 September. The report that he was missing on 12 October 1917 was not cabled. He had, in fact, been admitted to No. 1 New Zealand Field Ambulance then to the 3rd Australian Casualty Clearing Station on that date. Having suffered a gunshot wound to his right wrist, he was admitted to No. 54 General Hospital in France on 13 October. E. Westgarth (of Kingsdown) was reported as wounded in the Casualty List published in the Timaru Herald of 27 October 1917. Mr and Mrs J. A. Wightman, Kingsdown received word in late October that their son had been wounded. This was the second time he had been wounded. Embarking for England per Hospital Ship “St Andrews” on 18 October, he was admitted to the Military Hospital at Tooting the next day. The advice received by Mrs Wightman in November was that it was a severe wound. Ernest was transferred to the New Zealand Convalescent Hospital at Hornchurch on 8 December 1917. It was 25 January 1918 when he was discharged from Hornchurch and attached to Strength at Codford. Ernest Westgarth was granted agricultural leave from 6 March 1918 to assist Mr G. Westgarth, Restonhill, Reston (notified per a letter from Codford). This may well have been his brother George, Reston being the family’s childhood home in Berwickshire. Back at Codford, on 16 April 1918, he was attached to the New Zealand Machine Gun Corps and marched into Grantham. On 3 June 1918, Westgarth again left for France, marching into camp at Camiers the next day and joining his Battalion a few days later. He forfeited 3 days’ pay on 2 August in the Field for failing to salute an officer. At the end of the month, he was transferred to the New Zealand Machine Gun Battalion and posted to B Company.

At the Kingsdown School picnic in late December 1917, the Mayor read a list of names of those who had been educated at other schools but enlisted from Kingsdown, among them Ernest Westgarth, in France, twice wounded but recovering. On 28 March 1918, Private Ernest Westgarth stated that he had previously made a Will which was deposited with Thomas J. Westgarth of Fairlie, South Canterbury. He was admitted to No. 3 New Zealand Field Ambulance on 6 December 1918, then to No. 55 Casualty Clearing Station on 7 December, suffering with impetigo. Admissions to No. 53 Casualty Clearing Station and No. 5 General Hospital followed immediately after. Admitted to No. 2 Convalescent Depot on 22 December and discharged to the Base at Etaples on 28 December, he was attached to Strength a few days later and, marching out to the Machine Gun Corps, he rejoined his battalion on 8 January 1919. Detached to the UK on 25 February 1919, he marched into Sling from Larkhill on 3 March and was granted leave without from 9 April to 22 April 1919 (inclusive). Having marched into Sling on 27 April 1919, he was granted leave without pay from 6 May to 2 June 1919 (inclusive). Going to his native Berwickshire, he married Amelia (Amy) Isabella Wightman on 22 May 1919 at Mount Pleasant, Edrom.

E. Westgarth returned to New Zealand by the “Somerset” which was due at Lyttelton about 12 August 1919. The Somerset had left Liverpool on 2 July. The men were entertained by the Navy, Y.M.C.A., and the American people in general, during a brief stop-over at Norfolk, Virginia. Although it was at Norfolk Harbour that the troops witnessed a fatal aeroplane collision, very close to their ship. The 2nd Otago Infantry Band was on board the Somerset and provided entertainment during the trip. The Somerset also brought a big English mail, 6000 bags, for the dominion. He was discharged on 17 September 1919, on the termination of his term of engagement, and was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. A social to welcome home from active service Private E. Westgarth and two other Kingsdown locals was planned for Friday, 26 September 1919, in the Kingsdown School. But, on the day, the social was postponed until further notice. It was rescheduled for Thursday, 2 October – Gents 2s.6d, Ladies a basket. On the occasion, however, Private Westgarth was not there. He had moved to Fairlie and settled back into farming with his brother. Perhaps Amy had returned to Scotland; perhaps she had remained there when Ernest came home. Their first-born, Thomas James Westgarth, was born on 13 March 1920 at Mount Pleasant Farm, Duns, Berwickshire – the home of Ernest’s eldest brother George and his wife.

Ernest Westgarth intended settling at Fairlie. There Ernest and Amy farmed until the early 1930s when they moved to Kingsdown. Another son – John Westgarth - was born on 1 November 1921 at Fairlie. Their two boys, Thomas James and John, started at Allandale School, where Ernest was elected to the school committee. While in the Fairlie district, Mrs Westgarth ran the produce stall at St Columba Presbyterian Church’s rose and summer flower show. The children transferred to Timaru South in June 1931. Thomas James Westgarth and Sarah Westgarth, Ernest’s brother and sister, were also at Kingsdown. In 1938, Mr G. Westgarth (47 years, farmer), Mrs A. Westgarth (48 years, home duties) and Mr T. J. Westgarth (48 years, farmer) made a trip home to the UK. They returned on 21 October (1938) from their trip to Great Britain and the Continent, accompanied by Miss M. Westgarth of Hull.

From a young age, Thomas James Westgarth, junior, enjoyed success with grain and seeds at the local shows. Thomas James Westgarth, a farm hand at Kingsdown, was drawn in the Military Ballot in Octoer 1940. His appeal in early November was adjourned sine die, as he was classed as temporarily medically unfit. In March 1941, it was the turn of John Westgarth, Kingsdown, to be called up. Thomas J. was drawn again in August 1941, this time for overseas service. At the appeal in January 1942, he was granted three weeks from about 3 February for harvest for John Westgarth. At the appeal hearing in February 1942, one week’s extension of leave was granted for John Westgarth.

The early 1940s must have been stressful years for these two young men who lost their father in 1941, their mother in 1942 and their grandmother in 1943.

Ernest Westgarth - dearly beloved husband of Amy Westgarth and loving son of Mrs J. Wightman, Seddon Street – died suddenly on 10 December 1941 at his Kingsdown residence, aged 51 years. He was found dead in bed at his residence on a Wednesday morning, having retired apparently in good health the night before. The finding of the Coroner was that he died during the night of 9th and 10th December from cardiac failure of the mitral stenosis and muscular degeneration. His funeral left his residence for the Timaru Cemetery. South Canterbury R.S.A. members were informed of his funeral. Mrs Westgarth and family and T. J. Westgarth (brother), Kingsdown, Mr and Mrs Wightman (stepfather and mother) and Miss Westgarth (sister), Seddon Street, thanked friends for expressions of sympathy in their sad bereavement. Signing his Will on 22 October 1937, Ernest appointed his brother Thomas James Westgarth of Kingsdown as sole executor and trustee. He bequeathed to his wife Amy Isabella Westgarth all his furniture, pictures, china, linen, silver plate, personal effects and all other household, domestic and personal articles (except any motor car). A codicil was signed on 25 July 1941. His estate was valued at £11787.9s.4d. Ernest and Thomas remained very close throughout their lives and probably had a joint interest in some estate. Amy Isabella Westgarth died at Bidwill Hospital, Timaru on 3 January 1942 and was buried with Ernest the next day. Thomas James Westgarth, Ernest’s brother, was listed on the First World War Reserve Rolls. In the list of names drawn in the ballot in April 1917 to fill vacancies in the 30th Reinforcements was Thomas James Westgarth, farmer, Box 67, Fairlie. He appealed in May 1917, saying that he had 585 acres, and 100 acres were going into wheat. His two brothers were at the front. His appeal was adjourned sine die. In February 1918, he asked for a further extension of time to get rid of his farm, on which he was the only one employed. His appeal was adjourned sine die.

Ernest’s wife, Amy Wightman, was a cousin of John Wightman, the second husband of Ernest’s mother. While John was the eldest in his family, she was the second youngest in her family. Her younger sister who married Ernest’s oldest brother George Westgarth at Mount Pleasant Farm in 1921, died in 1922, leaving a son Charles. That son Charles came to New Zealand in about 1967 and married Jean Arbuthnot Joyce, the widow of Ernest’s son Thomas James Westgarth. He died in 2000 and was buried with Thomas and Jean (2002) at Timaru. Thomas James Westgarth died in December 1963, aged 43 years. John (Jock) Westgarth died suddenly in October 1960, aged 38 years; his widow who remarried died in 2022 and was buried with him. When Mr and Mrs Wightman, of Kingsdown, sold their farm in May 1920, they were farewelled by their neighbours and presented with a travelling rug. They intended visiting the old country and, on their return, would probably reside in Timaru. They did live for a time in Timaru before returning to Kingsdown. Jessie Alice Wightman died at the Timaru Public Hospital on 20 November 1943. She had been in New Zealand for 34 years. She was buried at Timaru, her husband John with her in 1954. John Wightman spent his last years at Seddon Street with his stepdaughter Sarah Westgarth and stepson Thomas James Westgarth. He bequeathed all to his stepdaughter Sarah Westgarth and appointed her sole executrix of his estate. This was a close-knit family – Ernest, his brother Thomas James and his sister Sarah; also Ernest’s sons Thomas James and John, and their cousin Charles. Sarah and Thomas James (senior) lived on at Seddon Street, Sarah dying on 26 February 1965 at Timaru Hospital and Thomas James in December 1971, and were buried together alongside their mother. Many great nephews and nieces were beneficiaries of their estates.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [19 July 2014]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ Ref. AABK 18805 W5557 0120954) [11 December 2015]; 1891 & 1901 census returns Scotland (ancestry.com.au) [19 August 2014]; Timaru Cemetery burial record (Timaru District Council) [18 July 2014]; Timaru Cemetery headstone transcription (South Canterbury Branch NZSG records) [13 December 2015]; Timaru Cemetery headstone image (Timaru District Council) [04 June 2024]; Timaru Herald, 3 & 8 January 1917, 18 April 1917, 18 May 1917, 1 September 1917, 27 & 29 October 1917, 12 November 1917, 28 December 1917, 27 February 1918, 8 & 21 August 1919, 20, 23, 26 & 30 September 1919, 5 June 1920, 6 May 1927, 13 December 1928, 24 March 1936, 22 March 1937, 22 October 1938, 3 October 1940, 8 November 1940, 27 March 1941, 7 August 1941, 12, 16 & 17 December 1941, 5, 10 & 27 January 1942, 20 February 1942, Otago Daily Times, 6 August 1919, Press, 24 October 1960 (Papers Past) [19 August 2014; 11 September 2014; 13 December 2015; 22 May 2016; 17 December 2017; 16 March 2022; 23 May 2023; 04 June 2024]; Timaru Herald, 11 & 12 December 1941 (Timaru District Library) [29 December 2015]; Probate record (Archives NZ/FamilySearch) [27 December 2015]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [13/12/2015; 04/06/2024]

External Links

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph record
• Military personnel file

Related Documents

• WESTGARTH Ernest - newspaper clippings (pdf, 119.8 KB updated 25-Oct-2024)

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