Profile

CHISHOLM, John Sinclair
(Service number 41206)

The Chisholm family — Jack (as a child) standing in front of his father, William. Also pictured are his mother Isabella and two of his siblings. (Courtesy of A Chisholm )

Chisholm family at Sutherlands — Jack is pictured second from left. (Courtesy of A Chisholm )

Aliases	Jack
First Rank	Lieutenant	Last Rank

Birth

Date	13/01/1877	Place of Birth	Timaru

Enlistment Information

Date		Age
Address at Enlistment
Occupation	Draper
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status
Next of Kin	Mrs Francessa Chisholm (wife), 66 Hewitt's Road, Saint Albans, Christchurch
Religion
Medical Information

Military Service

Served with	NZ Armed Forces	Served in
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation	New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Unit, Squadron, or Ship	26th Reinforcements, Canterbury Infantry Regiment, C Company
Date	9 June 1917
Transport	Willochra
Embarked From	Wellington, New Zealand	Destination

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With

Military Awards

Campaigns
Service Medals
Military Awards	Military Medal

Award Circumstances and Date

For ‘distinguished service in France and Flanders, but especially at Solesmes where on October 23, 1918 his gallantry had saved many men and horses.’

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	24 May 1956	Age
Place of Death	Christchurch
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery
Memorial Reference
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

Second son of William & Isabella Chisholm nee Sinclair of Chisholm’s Road, Sutherlands, Pleasant Point, South Canterbury. Brother of Archibald Chisholm (Archie), Donald Chisholm, Hugh Chisholm, James Chisholm, William Chisholm (Bill) & Alexander Chisholm (Alick/Sandy) [twins], Margaret Catherine Chisholm (Maggie/Peggy) & Gillies Chisholm [twins], Aeneas Sinclair Chisholm (Nean), and Mary Isabella Chisholm.

Jack married Francessa Spittall Lyle in Pleasant Point, New Zealand in December 1899 and had seven children: Jean Francessa Chisholm (Jeannie), John Sinclair Chisholm Jnr, Thomas Lyle Chisholm (Tommy), Alister William Chisholm, Dougal Gavin Chisholm (Gavin), Bruce Kennedy Chisholm, and Agnes Mavis Chisholm (Nancy). In the early 1900’s Jack opened a grocery store in the Railway Hotel, Pleasant Point which was destroyed in a fire January 1911. After this and before World War One the family lived in Christchurch where he was a draper for T Armstrong & Co (Manchester Department). After the war he worked at J Ballantyne & Co Ltd until retirement where he brought a farm at Springston, just out of Christchurch. Jack was on the executive of the Christchurch Retired Services Association (RSA) and also played an active role in the Scottish Societies in Christchurch.

In 1898 Jack had joined the Canterbury Volunteers and he was promoted to corporal in 1900. By 1901 he was a sergeant with the Geraldine Mounted Rifles. Eventually he became a Lieutenant with the South Canterbury Mounted Rifles. In November 1916 he joined the NZEF in the 2nd Battalion of the Canterbury Infantry Regiment and embarked for Europe on the ‘Willichra’ on 9 June 1917 as part of the 26th Reinforcements Canterbury Infantry Regiment, C Company. After a period at Sling Camp, Wiltshire, England Jack left for France and the British Front on 1 November 1917 where he was appointed Transport Officer for the Battalion. After peace was declared he embarked for home & on the 3 June 1919 John Sinclair Chisholm was awarded the Military Cross for ‘distinguished service in France and Flanders, but especially at Solesmes where on October 23, 1918 his gallantry had saved many men and horses.’ He was appointed Captain in the New Zealand Territorial Force in 1921.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Cenotaph Database, 10 June 2015; SCroll submission by A Chisholm, 16 April 2015

External Links

Military personnel file

Researched and Written by

Tony Rippin (South Canterbury Museum)

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.

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