Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

William James Henry (Bill) was the older son of George Folkes Henry and Caroline Sibthorpe (formerly Staples née Hawley) Henry. He was born at Timaru on 25 August 1887 and baptized at St Mary’s Anglican Church, Timaru, on 1 January 1888, his father one of the sponsors. George and Caroline married on 26 April 1886 (Easter Monday) at St Luke’s Christchurch. In 1887 George was an insurance agent at Timaru. Bill Henry was educated at Christchurch East School, leaving shortly before his fifteenth birthday for work. Between 1908 and 1911 the Henry family moved to Auckland, and there living at home was William James Henry a printer. In January 1914, a parcel of land at Whangamarino occupied by Edward Sibthorpe Henry and William James Henry was to be brought under the provisions of the Land Transfer Act, 1908.

At the time of enlistment – 18 August 1914 at Wellington, Bill Henry was a compositor with the Government Printing Office in Wellington. Single and of Church of England affiliation, he named his father as next-of-kin – George Folkes/G. F. Henry, 23 Symonds Street, Auckland. He had served with the Queen’s Cadets at Christchurch and with the St John’s Ambulance Brigade Civil Ambulance (Dressing Certificate, First Aid and Nursing) for 3¼ years. His Will was deposited with P/T. He stood at 5 feet 6 inches, weighed 9 stone 7 pounds, and had a chest measurement of 31-36 inches, a dark complexion, blue eyes and light brown hair. His sight, hearing, colour vision and teeth were all good, his limbs and chest well formed, his heart and lungs normal. Free from diseases, vaccinated, and in good bodily and mental health, he was passed fit. At the outbreak of war, Bill Henry had actually been studying medicine when he decided to join up and was posted to the Field Ambulance, New Zealand Medical Corps.

Private W. J. Henry embarked with the New Zealand Medical Corps of the Main Body, departing on 16 October 1914 and disembarking in Egypt on 5 December. Bill Henry was a good letter writer and observant. Writing in early 1915 from Zeitun Camp, Cairo to his father, he gives an exceedingly interesting and detailed account of some of the wonders of Egypt — the world-famous Pyramids, the mystery of the Sphinx; the spectacle of the coal gangs at work (brown, ill-nourished half-naked, sweating unfortunates, tyrannised by brutal overseers); the fine bronze of De Lesseps, the engineer of the Suez Canal; the Gezira Gardens; the Egyptian Museum; the Arabic Museum; the Khedival Library (containing a collection of very beautiful old Korans dating back to 725 A.D.); the citadel (the Mosque of Mehemet Ali in its centre). He comments, too, on his work - I am on hospital duty in the ‘receiving hospital,’ where we take most general cases for a few days. “We are all proud of the way New Zealand has worked for the Belgian Fund and are grateful for the assistance being given to the Sick and Wounded Fund.”

On 12 April 1915 he embarked per the Red Cross Transport “Gosla” for the Dardanelles. On 25 April he landed on the beach of Anzac Cove with the first group of stretcher bearers as a member on No. 1 Field Ambulance. Writing from the Dardanelles under date 28 May 1915, Private W. J. Henry, of the Medical Corps, says: — “There has not been any heavy engagement lately, though, of course, casualties come in at any time, as the fighting continues uninterruptedly. We had an armistice a few days ago, for the enemy had been tremendously punished during an attempted charge. One of our officers says he counted 1700 dead in the area of an acre before our trenches, and that was not all. When our chaps went over the ground to bury our own killed, they found one or two incidents worth telling. Two men were found dead, and one was clinging on to the back of the other - they were chums. Perhaps both were wounded, and the one was trying to crawl with the other on his back, when the machine-guns got them. A New Zealander was found with a Turk transfixed by his bayonet, while four New Zealanders — I was told this by a padre who saw it — they were surrounded by 23 dead Turks. . . . . . The wounded are able to be seen to at once and operated upon on the beach within half-an-hour of injury.”

At a meeting of the Wellington Division of St John Ambulance Brigade in June 1915, the secretary read a letter received from Mr. W. J. Henry, a member who is serving with the Ambulance Section of the Main Expeditionary Force, in which he stated that all the men in charge of squads in his section were all St. John Ambulance Brigade men, with the exception of one, which speaks well for the training they received. The conditions under which the campaign against the Turks was being conducted were discussed by Private W. J. Henry, D.C., New Zealand Medical Corps in a letter written from the Gallipoli Peninsula on 11 June 1915: — “As you read my description of the canal fight you will have realised the sense of security given by a 30ft wall. We saw no real warfare where we were; it was all at a little distance from us, though there were samples of it at other places. But here, at the Dardanelles, we have the real thing, and it has caused me to reconstruct some of my ideas. First of all, I will tell you the calibre of our enemy: he seems entirely different from what I had thought him. I had pictured him as a puny fighter — ill-trained, badly-equipped in munitions of war, treacherous, and without resource. He appears now a hard, straight hitter, numerous and persistent, well-equipped with machine-guns, fairly honourable and resourceful. . . . . .” He goes on to write of the delusion tactics of the foe and the delusional scenarios faced by the medics, and also of the stoicism of the wounded. “Several fellows have told me that my name was mentioned in despatches for one or two things done here; but of this I, so far, know nothing, as not one of the officers has said a word.”

Yes, on 29 June 1915 at Anzac, W. J. Henry was granted Special Thanks for gallantry and devotion to duty (Extract from N.Z. & A. Divisional Orders). General Routine Orders by General Sir I. Hamilton on 15 July 1915 advised that Henry had actually been awarded the D.C.M. (Distinguished Conduct Medal) for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty on 29 June 1915 at Anzac. In late July a letter was received by Mr G. F. Henry, of Auckland, from the Minister for Defence, advising him of the receipt of a cablegram from Sir Alex. Godley, stating that the King has conferred the Distinguished Conduct Medal upon Private W. J. Henry. Private Henry was the elder son of Mr G. F. Henry and was a member of the Field Ambulance. “He was born in Timaru and educated in Christchurch, where he learned the printing trade. Private Henry came to Auckland about eight years ago, and it was here that he qualified in ambulance duties. Recently he returned to Wellington, where he was employed as a jobbing compositor in the Government Printing Office. He joined the Main Expeditionary Force in Wellington. Private Henry is twenty-eight years of age.”

The citation for the award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal read: For conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty on the 25th April 1915 at Gaba Tepe (Dardanelles). During and subsequent to the landing, Private Henry attended on the wounded under a very heavy fire, allowing no danger to interfere with his duties. He invariably showed the greatest courage and presence of mind.

The following resolution was passed with acclamation by the Typographical Union (Wellington) on 31 July 1915: — “That this union congratulates Mr. W. J. Henry on his being awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal for his services in the Red Cross Brigade of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, as mentioned in despatches, and that a copy of the resolution be forwarded to him.” Mr. Henry was a member of the union. A tribute to the work of Private W. J. Henry, Field Ambulance, of Auckland, who had recently been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, was contained in a letter received in Auckland on 10 August 1915 from another Red Cross worker. The letter was written from the headquarters of the New Zealand force on 24 June and contained the following remarks: — “Private W. J. Henry has been doing splendid work, and all the boys swear by him. During the first few days’ fighting he risked his life time after time attending to the wounded. One infantryman told me that if ever a man deserved a V.C. Henry did. He is very modest, and does not say much, but I know he has been mentioned in despatches.”

The list of 11 officers and men of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force to whom the Distinguished Conduct Medal had been awarded was received by the Minister for Defence about the end of July 1915. Particulars of the acts of gallantry performed by Private W. J. Henry, Field Ambulance read – “On April 25, at Gaba Tepe, Private Henry attended the wounded under the heaviest fire, allowing no danger to interfere with his duties.” In a letter referring to the work which earned him the distinction, Lance-Corporal Henry said that before landing he was given charge of a section of ‘bearers.’ “In the first few days, he continued, when events crowded one another, I managed, with the backing of my ‘bearers,’ to do one or two things which brought me, with others, under the notice of the officers. There was no running into danger about it, for no one was out of danger.”

On 7 July 1915, Henry was promoted to Lance Corporal with the New Zealand Medical Corps, and on 1 August to Corporal. Suffering from enteritis, he was admitted to hospital at Anzac on 11 September 1915, then to the 25th Casualty Clearing Station at Imbros the next day [12 Sep 1915]. Immediately after rejoining his Unit at Mudros on 29 September, he was admitted to hospital with indigestion. Discharged on 5 October he rejoined his Unit (NZ Field Ambulance) at Mudros.

Writing from Lemnos, where he was resting on 26 October 1915, Corporal W. J. Henry, D.C.M., of Auckland, gave a very interesting description of that part of the Dardanelles that had just been evacuated by the New Zealanders and Australians. He says: — “At Cape Helles the whole of the front above the water-line is faced by cliffs 100 ft to 300 ft high, broken by occasional gullies, the back being flat or rolling land dotted with farms, vineyards, and almond and olive groves, although the greater area has been under crop—wheat or oats. . . . . There is an abundance of water, wells being in all directions. Sloping land extends right up to the base of Achi Baba, but there are no fences anywhere, the fields being merely divided by a ditch. . . . . Altogether different is the country behind Anzac on the foothills of Sari Bahr - Hill 971, so named from its height — and there the flanking spurs run down to the beach. . . . . . Tortuous, steep, rugged, the sides covered with a straggling scrubby growth, it makes ideal country to defend, but fearful stuff to attack. . . . . Just north of Anzac is a belt of flat land 100 yds to 300 yds broad, from beach to hills. This was for a long time no good to us, as it could be swept by the enemy’s guns, of which the principal ones were nicknamed ‘Beachy Bill,’ ‘Tuckertime Liz’ and ‘Anafarta Annie.’ Still further north at Suvla Bay, there is a flat gully, perhaps a mile broad, running from a big stretch of flat right up under the village of Anafarta towards Sari Bahr, and it was up this gully that the advance of August 4 was pushed. . . . . . On these islands where we are now resting, and where the population is Greek, the scenes are most tranquil. . . . . . The vine and olive are cultivated, and grain is grown for home consumption. . . . . .”

On 23 November 1915, Henry proceeded to Imbros on duty. In late December 1915 he disembarked at Alexandria from Anzac. Appointed Acting Sergeant on 17 December 1915, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant on 6 March 1916. After a few days leave in January 1916 he had rejoined his Unit at Moascar. To hospital on 25 March 1916, he rejoined his Unit (No. 1 Field Ambulance) on 29 March. Henry embarked at Alexandria for France on 10 April 1916. Having gone to hospital on 9 May, he rejoined his Unit (No. 1 Field Ambulance) at Morbecque the next day and was detached to duty on 13 May 1916, rejoining his Unit at Doulieu a few days later.

Detached to Divisional Gas School in France for a course of instruction on 12 December 1916, Sergeant W. J. Henry rejoined No. 1 NZ Field Ambulance on 14 December 1916. On 19 April 1917 he was appointed Temporary Sergeant with the Cadet Unit and was promoted to Staff Sergeant the next day. After detachment to England on leave on 31 August 1917, he rejoined No. 1 Field Ambulance on 12 September. Temporarily detached to a Casualty Clearing Station for duty a week later, he rejoined his Unit (No. 1 NZ Field Ambulance) on 29 September.

On 15 January 1918 Henry went to Paris on leave, rejoining his Unit on 26 January. He himself was admitted to a Casualty Clearing Station, sick, on 13 February 1918 and to Ambulance Transport 33 before being transferred to No. 26 General Hospital at Etaples the next day – pyrexia (fever) of unknown origin, then to 46 Stationary Hospital on 20 February. Transferred to the Sick Convoy, he embarked for England per Ambulance Transport on 13 April 1918 and was admitted to No. 2 New Zealand General Hospital at Walton – typhoid fever – not severe. Discharged to the New Zealand Discharge Depot at Torquay on 23 April 1918, he was again admitted to No. 2 NZ General Hospital from there on 8 May 1918 – typhoid – not severe. On 13 May 1918 transferred to the New Zealand Convalescent Hospital at Hornchurch. He was admitted to the Enteric Depot at Shirley on 10 June 1918, then to the NZ Convalescent Hospital at Hornchurch on 15 July. On 1 August 1918 he was detailed “on Command” with the NZ Medical Corps and discharged on duty at the NZ Convalescent Hospital at Hornchurch. As of 15 August 1918, he was to be Quarter Master Sergeant at N.Z.E.F. Headquarters to complete establishment. Marching out to Assistant Director of Medical Services at London on 19 September 1918, he marched into the NZ Reserve Brigade at Sling from Headquarters, London the next day. He marched into Codford from Sling on 10 April 1919.

Among those returning by the troopship Ruahine, due at Wellington this evening, is Quartermaster-Sergeant W. J. Henry, D.C.M., N.Z.M.C., who received his decoration “for conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty on the 25th April, 1915, at Gaba Tepe, Dardanelles. During and subsequent to landing Private Henry attended on the wounded under a very heavy fire, allowing no danger to interfere with his duties. He invariably showed the greatest courage and presence of mind.” After his name had been mentioned in dispatches he still worked conscientiously among the wounded, as the following incident will show: Many wounded men had been received who would have had to spend the night without covering, as nearly all the overcoats had gone with patients. He volunteered to take a squad to a depot he had seen for blankets. It was a dark night, though the sky was clear, and they had to avoid several lines of trenches and barbed wire. Steering by the stars he found the depot, got the blankets, and returned to the station without mishap. Sergeant Henry was invalided to England about twelve months ago with typhoid, but his brother (Corporal E. S. Henry) died of wounds received in France shortly before the armistice was signed. [Auckland Star. 7 July 1919.] That he found his scout training very useful was apparent from a letter received some time ago by Mr. Horace Stubbing, scoutmaster, of Northcote. Sergeant Henry escaped wounds, but contracted typhoid at the beginning of 1918. [New Zealand Herald. 1 July 1919.] William James Henry returned home per the “Ruahine”, embarking at Plymouth on 19 May 1919 and arriving on 9 July 1919. On disembarkation, he was granted leave for twenty-eight days. He was discharged on 5 August 1919, on the termination of his period of engagement, and was awarded the 1914-1915 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal, having served for close to five years and in all theatres of war.

On his return he headed for the family farm at Mercer. He himself then turned to farming. He intended resuming his medical studies but was advised to take up farming for the fresh air. William James Henry married Natalie Beatrice Adams in 1922. They had two sons Gordon Robert Henry and David Edward Henry) and one daughter (Pamela Mirabel Henry). Bill farmed at “Springthorpe”, Mercer for some years, then at Te Kauwhatu before moving to Rangiriri in the late 1940s. In 1923, Natalie Beatrice Henry, wife of William James Henry, of Springthorpe, Mercer, claimed damages for alleged slander. Fortunately, a settlement was reached before the case was heard in court. Mr W. J. Henry, of Mercer, was credited as the inventor of an ingenious device – the “Moosette” Feeder, which enabled dairy farmers to feed Moose Nuts to their stock quickly, easily and efficiently. Many hundreds of users of the “Moosette” Feeder acknowledge the fact that it saves time and trouble in feeding the cows in the bails. This feeder serves a double bail in a run through shed, while it has the added advantage of discovering the good feeder as well as the good milker. [Waikato Times. 1 June 1928.] On 19 July 1929 at the Pukekohe Court, a young neighbour was charged with assault of William James Henry, a farmer residing at Mercer, and with a breach of the Arms Act by pointing a gun at Henry. For several years there had been a lack of friendship between the neighbours.

William James Henry died on 6 September 1950 at Te Kauwhatu, aged 63 years, and was buried at Rangiriri Public Cemetery, a services stone marking his grave. Natalie died on 26 June 1970, having married a widower in the early 1960s, and was buried alongside William at Rangiriri. By his Will signed in 1946, William appointed his sons as executors and trustees. He left his dairy farm at Te Kauwhatu, furniture, live and dead stock and chattels upon trust, allowing his wife to have the use and enjoyment of same, and he made provision for his children. Bill Henry’s younger brother, Edward Sibthorpe Henry, died of wounds on 9 October 1918 in France. George Folkes Henry died on 3 May 1955 at Auckland and Caroline Sibthorpe Henry died on 24 June 1948. When an appeal was made in August 1915 by the Countess of Liverpool for leather waistcoats for the New Zealand soldiers at the front, G. F. Henry contributed towards the cost of six.

Recently it has come to light that Bill Henry may have been the original ‘Man with the Donkey’ as very early in the campaign, Bill organised two stray donkeys ‘souvenired’ on the beach, into an independent unit for evacuating wounded from the forward positions. Subsequently, other members of the Ambulance Unit used the donkeys for ‘equally gallant work’ but Bill Henry remained the ‘leading figure’ in this work. It has also been said that he named one of the donkey’s “Murphy” (not the Australian, Simpson) and that he, along with ‘Dickie’ Henderson, were the ‘models’ for Sapper Moore-Jones’ famous painting. The name “Murphy” was also given to Henry, as man and beast were often seen as one. (National Army Museum. About 2015).

Bill Henry’s medal group including DCM are on permanent display in the National Army Museum.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [09 March 2016]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ ref. AABK 18805 W5539 0053724) [15 July 2016]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [09 March 2016]; Portrait image (National Army Museum; permission 06/03/2016) [09 September 2016]; Extract from Gallipoli Stories (National Army Museum [09 September 2016]; Observer, 24 January 1914, Auckland Star, 10 March 1915, 8 September 1915, 7 July 1919, Dominion, 24 June 1915, New Zealand Herald, 21 & 31 July 1915, 11 August 1915, 1 & 8 September 1915, 30 December 1915, 25 April 1918, 17 May 1918, 24 June 1919, 1 July 1919, 15 November 1923, Feilding Star, 26 July 1915, Star, 27 July 1915, 3 August 1915, Evening Post, 27 July 1915, 2 August 1915, 10 September 1915, 24 April 1918, Press, 27 July 1915, Otago Daily Times, 27 July 1915, 27 October 1915, Timaru Herald, 4 August 1915, NZ Times, 4 August 1915, North Otago Times, 5 October 1915, Ashburton Guardian, 6 January 1916, Waikato Times, 1 June 1928, Franklin Times, 19 July 1929 (Papers Past) [16 July 2016; 09 &12 August 2024]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [09 August 2024]; Rangiriri Cemetery headstone transcription (South Canterbury Branch NZSG records) [30 November 2016]; Rangiriri Cemetery headstone image (Find A Grave) [09 August 2024]; Rangiriri Cemetery burial record (Waikato District Council) [12 August 2024]; School Admission records [09 August 2024]; Probate record (Family Search) [09 August 2024]; St Mary’s Timaru Baptism record (South Canterbury Branch NZSG records) [10 August 2024]

External Links

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph record
• Military personnel file

Related Documents

• HENRY William James - newspaper clippings (pdf, 158.5 KB updated 24-Sep-2024)
• HENRY William James - photo (pdf, 82.9 KB updated 24-Sep-2024)

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