RATTRAY, Alexander McHardy
(Service number 13396 & 5965(SA))
| First Rank | Lance Corporal | Last Rank | Corporal |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 20/04/1880 | Place of Birth | Waimate |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 15 December 1915 | Age | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Sefton St, Timaru | ||
| Occupation | Farmer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | 3 1/2 years Studholme Mounted Rifles; 8th New Zealand Contingent to South Africa, 1901-1902 | ||
| Marital Status | |||
| Next of Kin | Mrs I. Rattray (mother), Sefton Street, Timaru | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 13th Reinforcements, J Company | ||
| Date | 27 May 1916 | ||
| Transport | HMNZT 55 Tofua | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington, New Zealand | Destination | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | 2nd Battalion Wellington Infantry Regiment | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Queens South African War Medal with Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal, and South Africa 1902 clasps; Western European 1917 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | 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 | 25 April 1963 | Age | 82 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Cornwall Hospital | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | |||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Rattray was an experienced soldier when World War I began after he had served in the 8th NZ Contingent in the South African War in 1902. He had also spent three and a half years in the Studholme Mounted Rifles. Prior to enlisting he was living in Sefton Street, Timaru, and working as a farmer. At 35 years he was a relatively old recruit when he volunteered in December 1915. After training in New Zealand for five months Rattray boarded a troopship headed for the Western Front. Although Rattray came from South Canterbury he was posted to the Wellington Regiment which often happened in order to fill gaps in units. He joined the Regiment just before the heavy fighting during the battle of the Somme. Rattray must have impressed as a soldier because following the Somme he was promoted to Lance Corporal and then in January 1917 he was promoted to Corporal. However, he did a have a bad run of illness which saw him admitted into hospital several times. Then towards the end of the year he showed signs of shell shock. Rattray was admitted to hospital with shell shock (or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as it is now known) in September 1917. The terrible stresses of the Western Front had caused him to suffer a number of psychological conditions, such as difficulty walking, a tremor and depression. Rattray went through a number of hospitals until finally arriving at the 1st New Zealand General Hospital in January 1918. He was declared unfit for further service, returned to New Zealand in May 1918 and was sent to recover at a hospital in Auckland.
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Researched and Written by
Tony Rippin (South Canterbury Museum)
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Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.