PYE, William Webber
(Service number 4/267)
| First Rank | Sapper | Last Rank | Corporal |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 14/04/1893 | Place of Birth | Geraldine |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 11 August 1914 | Age | 21 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | 137 Hanson St, Auckland | ||
| Occupation | Clerk, Railways goods office | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | William Wilcox Pye (father), Raincliff, Pleasant Point | ||
Military Service
| Served with | New Zealand Armed Forces (?) | Served in | Samoan Relief Force/Signalling Corps |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | Samoan Advance Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | |||
| Date | 12 August 1914 | ||
| Transport | Moeraki or Monowai | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | Samoa |
| Other Units Served With | Signalling Corps | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Otago Regiment | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Samoan, Western Front | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | 1914-15 Star, 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 | 13 April 1957 | Age | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | |||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Waikumete Cemetery | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
William Webber Pye was born in Geraldine on 14 April 1893, one of five children born to Elizabeth (nee Harvey) and William Wilcox Pye of Raincliff. William Pye (service no. 4/267) enlisted twice for the First World War. The first time was on 11 August 1914 when he was working as a clerk in the Railways goods office in Auckland. He was 21 years old, Presbyterian, 5ft 9in, 147lbs, of fair complexion, with blue eyes, and black hair. He named his father as next of kin. He returned to New Zealand in April 1915 and was discharged. Pye enlisted again in October 1916, at that time working as a Railways clerk at Ohakune. He was promoted to corporal in December of that year and lance corporal in June 1917 when he arrived in the UK, but then went to France in December with the Otago Regiment and reverted to the ranks at his own request. Pye was in the UK in September 1918 suffering from dysentery then he returned to France and rejoined his unit in the field on 14 October. He was wounded by shrapnel on 5 November 1918, receiving a penetrating wound to the abdomen and chest. He was transferred to England and then treated at a hospital in Birmingham, and later transferred to the convalescent hospital in Hornchurch in London. He embarked for NZ on the Corinthic at Tilbury Docks, London on 12 March 1919 and was discharged on 21 May. After the war he married Emily Walden at Pokeno on 25 October 1921 and returned to his work as a Railways clerk, serving in various areas around the country. He died in Auckland on 13 April 1957 and is buried at Waikumete Cemetery.
Sources
NZ Defence Force Personnel Records, Archives NZ; NZ BMD Online at https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Home/; Assorted articles courtesy of Papers Past at https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/; Assorted records at Ancestry.com; Auckland City Council cemetery records
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