MCKEE, Owen Joseph Francis
(Service number 24076)
| First Rank | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 22/11/1882 | Place of Birth | Waimate |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 24 July 1918 | Age | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Waihaorunga, | ||
| Occupation | Farm labourer/Prisoner | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Owen McKee (father) Waihaorunga | ||
Military Service
| Served with | New Zealand Armed Forces (?) | Served in |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | |||
| Date | |||
| Transport | |||
| Embarked From | Destination | ||
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
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 | 24 Apri 1968 | Age | 80 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Christchurch | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | St Patrick's (Waimate) Memorial list (June 2015) | ||
Biographical Notes
One of nine children of Owen Francis and Margaret McKee. Owen (junior) had four brothers who were also called to serve: Joseph Benedict Francis (b.1896), Bernard (b.1894), Cornelius, and Gregory (b.1895) - ll survived the war.
Owen's name was balloted for service in June 1917, but refused to take a medical test. He was court martialled on 8 June 1917 in Christchurch. Once again he refused a medical due to his belief that the ballot was unlawful, and was sentenced to 11 months prison. He was released from Lyttelton Gaol on 16 February 1918 and was sent for another medical on 24 July 1918. This time he agreed to take the medical, but was classed C2. A letter from the examining officer stated that he was unfit for service and, even if classed fit, was probably not worth the trouble sending to camp as he was a "Socialist" and probably would not obey orders. He was sent back to work his farm. Frequent references to Owen appear in the newspapers as a union organiser and a prolific letter writer to newspapers, especially the Truth.In September 1926 he was arrested for the murder of Duval Earle England. He died in Christchurch in 1968 and is buried with his parents.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph database (May 2015); Archives New Zealand; New Zealand BDM Historical Records online; Billion Graves at http://billiongraves.com/; Paperspast; ancestry.co.au
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Liz Shea, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.