Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

John Boothby, known as Jack, was born on 10 June 1889 at Romsey, Victoria, Australia. He was the second son of Daniel Edward and Emma (née McKenzie) Boothby, of Ramsey, and twin of Edward (known as Daniel Edward). John was a labourer at home at Romsey, with his parents and twin brother in 1912 and 1913. By 1914 he was a labourer at Kerrytown, South Canterbury, New Zealand. He was surely the J. Boothby who got a fourth placing in the Field Roots section at the Fairlie Show held on 5 April 1915.

Private J. Boothby was one of the men accepted in Timaru for service at the Front in mid-May 1915, having been medically examined on 13 May at Sutherlands. He was 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighed 147 pounds, and had a chest measurement of 34-37 inches, a fair complexion, brown eyes and brown hair. His sight, hearing, colour vision and teeth were all good, his limbs and chest well formed, his heart and lungs normal. He was free from diseases, was vaccinated, and was in good bodily & mental health. In late May 1915, men were “offering more freely” at Timaru. John Boothby, Sutherlands, was one of those who had passed the medical test and had signed on to leave Timaru for Trentham by special train on 29 May. He was one of the men given a rousing farewell when they went north to the concentration camp at Trentham in late May 1915. After afternoon tea in the Drill Shed and an address by the Mayor, amidst much cheering from the crowds, they were played to the railway Station by the Regimental Band and joined recruits from the south (Invercargill, Dunedin and Oamaru) on a very long special troop train. It was, therefore, at Trentham that he enlisted, on 29 May 1915.

Farming at Sutherlands (for J. Walker, The Cave), single and of Church of England affiliation, John Boothby named his father as next-of-kin – G. G. Boothby, Romsey, Victoria, Australia. Although a relative newcomer to New Zealand, John Boothby had endeared himself to his South Canterbury neighbours. After a concert at Sutherlands School, a presentation was made to Mr John Boothby, who was leaving for Trentham to join the reinforcements. Mr Wall presented him, on behalf of the Sutherlands’ people, with a shaving outfit, a wristlet watch, fountain pen, and pocket wallet. Mr Boothby suitably responded. Supper was then served and the entertainment concluded with a dance. On 26 May 1915, a few friends gathered at the residence of Mr and Mrs J. Walker, junr., Sutherlands, to bid farewell to Mr John Boothby, who has left for Trentham to join the Reinforcements. A very enjoyable evening was spent with cards, songs and story, and after supper Mr H. O’Donnell was called on to make a presentation of a pair of military brushes in case, on behalf of a few friends, to Mr Boothby. Mr Boothby is the first to join the forces from Sutherlands, and his action is much appreciated. The gathering broke up with cheers for our nurses at the front, and for our soldiers, and the singing of “Auld Lang Syne.”

Some time was to pass, however, before John Boothby could get away to the Front. Posted as Private to C Company, 2 Battalion, Trentham Regiment, on 1 June 1915, he was transferred to F Company, 10th Reinforcements on 19 January 1916. He had to undergo a serious operation in September 1915 before he could get away. Rifleman J. Boothby embarked at Wellington on 4 March 1916, headed for Suez, Egypt, where he disembarked on 10 April. Having embarked for France on 13 April at Port Said, he marched into camp and was attached to the New Zealand Infantry Base Depot at Etaples on 28 April 1916. He was transferred from the 2nd Battalion, New Zealand Rifle Brigade and posted to A Company, 1st NZ Rifle Brigade in the Field on 17 May 1916. Boothby was admitted to XV Corps Collecting Station and transferred to CRS (Rest Station) when he was wounded in action (gunshot) in the left leg on 29 September 1916 in France. Mrs J. Walker, of Cave, received word to this effect at the beginning of November. Discharged to duty on 3 October, he rejoined his Battalion the next day.

On 7 June 1917, Boothby was appointed Lance Corporal and on 12 October 1917 Temporary Corporal. A month later he was promoted to Corporal, then appointed Temporary Sergeant on 12 December 1917. Appointed Sergeant on 24 December 1917, he was detached to Corps School on 14 January 1918, rejoining his Battalion from Corps School on 21 February 1918. Casualty List No. 833, issued on 19 April 1918, reported Sergeant John Boothby, 24/1343 (Rifle Brigade) wounded on 5 April and admitted, in succession, to No. 2 New Zealand Field Ambulance and No. 56 Casualty Clearing Station. Wounded (gunshot) in the back, right buttock, left hand and right ankle, he was admitted to No. 53 General Hospital in France on 6 April. He embarked for the UK on 22 April and was admitted to No. 2 New Zealand General Hospital at Walton-on-Thames, UK, having suffered serious gunshot wounds to his right thigh, left hand, right foot and back. On 13 June 1918, he was classified unfit by Medical Board. As a result of the serious gunshot wound to his right ankle, he had a fractured fibula and injury to the ankle joint. His wounds were, indeed, severe – right ankle, left buttock, left hand, back with commuted fracture of right fibula. On 6 April, an item (lead?) was removed from the wound on the left wide; on 15 April, the abscess in his right foot was opened; on 24 April he had an operation on his buttock and back wounds which was sutured and had healed by 18 May; his ankle wound was healing; there was damage to the lower articular end of the tibia. The wound to his right ankle had not healed by 18 July and he was on crutches.

It was recommended that he return to New Zealand for discharge as permanently unfit and that he receive further medical treatment in a hospital. John Boothby embarked at Southampton for the return to New Zealand on 31 July 1918 and transferred to the “Marama” at Marseilles, he left there on 7 August. Returning Draft 175 arrived on 23 September 1918, Sergeant Boothby a cot case. Ten South Canterbury wounded soldiers came by the Express from Christchurch on 24 September. They were met and welcomed by the Mayor, members of the Reception Committee, and a large number of the general public.

From the steps of the station platform the Mayor extended a very cordial welcome home to the men and called for three cheers for them. These were heartily given, after which the soldiers were driven to their respective homes in cars which were in waiting for that purpose. John Boothby was discharged on 6 February 1919, no longer physically fit for War Service (gunshot wound to right ankle). He had served overseas in Egypt and Western Europe for over two years and was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory.

On 21 January 1925 at Chalmers Presbyterian Church, Timaru, John married school teacher Mary McKelvy, the sister of Frederick and John McKelvy who had also served in the War. It was a quiet wedding, the ceremony performed by the Pleasant Point minister. Frederick McKelvy was best man. In 1925 John and Mary were found at “Bon Accord” in Stafford Street, where he was a fruiterer. In mid-October 1926, a sale of confectioner’s stock-in-trade was conducted on account of Mr J. Boothby, at the Bon Accord, opposite the Theatre Royal. He was giving up the business. Everything was for absolute sale – shop fittings, kitchen items, tearoom furniture, crockery, confectionery stock and numerous sundries. By 1928 they had acquired their home in Maltby Avenue where they lived for the rest of their lives. Sadly, John and Mary’s first child was stillborn. John Daniel Edward (Ted) was born on 8 April 1928. A daughter was born at Whare Nana on 8 September 1929 to Mr and Mrs John Boothby, Maltby Avenue; this was surely Irene who died at Timaru the next day, just 16 hours old. Colin Stuart was born on 7 August 1930. Little Teddy Boothby was placed second in the eight to twelve months boys’ section of the baby show held in conjunction with the United friendly Societies outing to Oamaru in January 1929. Colin Boothby was placed first at the baby show held as part of the Smithfield Freezing Works annual picnic excursion to Waimate at the end of January 1931. In 1932 it was at the Pareora Freezing workers’ picnic at Waimate that he was again placed first.

Quite regularly, Mr J. Boothby served on the jury at the Supreme Court. Teddy and Colin Boothby were educated at Timaru West School, not too far from their Maltby Avenue home. Teddy featured in the 1935 school honours list. He was also a member of the Boys’ Brigade. His parents were probably present when he was awarded his ambulance certificate in 1940. The following year he was awarded certificates in swimming, wayfaring, morse, and more. And he enjoyed success with the West End Swimming Club. In 1942 his success was in the Timaru Boys’ High School junior swimming championships. In mid-1942, he was competing in harriers with the Methodist Club. In November 1941, Colin passed his Grade II (violin) music examination. In November 1943, he demonstrated tricks at the Standard IV concert in aid of Timaru West School Funds. One of the Bootby boys featured in a farce at the Timaru Boys’ High School annual concert in October 1944. Perhaps Edward, who played the part of a burglar at the South Canterbury Drama League’s Junior Drama festival of one-act plays in August 1945.

John Boothby died suddenly at his Timaru residence on 4 September 1950, aged 61 years, and was buried in the Services Section of Timaru Cemetery, a Services stone marking his grave. He was survived by his wife and two sons, Colin and Ted. John had signed his Will a few months after marrying. He bequeathed all his real and personal estate to his wife Mary Boothby and appointed her trustee and executrix. Mary Boothby died on 18 May 1970 at Timaru and was buried in Timaru Cemetery after a service at St Paul’s Presbyterian Church. By then her son Ted was at Norwich, England, while Colin was still at Timaru. Colin who spent all his life at Timaru, moved with his wife and son Bruce into the family home at 2 Maltby Avenue after his mother’s death. Edward John Daniel had attended Lincoln College and in 1954 was a stock agent at Fairlie. Edward J. D. Boothby married Jacquelyn Mary Turner in 1958 in England. Jacquelyn Mary Boothby died on 22 June 1990 at Norwich. We next find Edward John Daniel Boothby (Ted) in Australia in 1997. Signing her Will a couple of months after John’s death, Mary Boothby bequeathed her estate in equal shares to her living children and appointed her son John Daniel Edward Boothby as sole executor. In 1971 after Mary’s death, Colin Stewart Boothby of Timaru was appointed attorney of John Daniel Edward Boothby, the executor named, for the purpose of obtaining probate. Colin S. Boothby (or his solicitor) applied for Letters of Administration with Will annexed. Letters of Administration being granted, he was empowered to administer the estate. It appears that administration was never completed before both Colin Stewart Boothby and his wife Judith died in December 1996, their ashes were interred at Timaru in March 1997. Having never returned to reside in New Zealand, John Daniel Edward Boothby, of Mannum, South Australia, applied on 21 January 1997 to appoint a substituted attorney to act for him to execute the trusts of the Will. He appointed, therefore, Euan Bruce Boothby of Dunedin, process worker, as his attorney to obtain probate or administration in the estate of Mary Boothby. Euan Bruce Boothby who had known Mary Boothby, duly swore to do so. Bruce is the only child of Colin Stewart Boothby.

J. Boothby is remembered on a local memorial which records the names not only of the one who gave his life but also of those who served. The Sutherlands memorial, erected in the grounds of Sutherlands School, was unveiled in early December 1921, in the presence of people from many miles around, all anxious to honour the men who fought for them. The names of the soldiers are inscribed on a marble slab set into the front of a concrete block three feet square – those names including J. Boothby. “The monument had been erected in the school grounds because it was felt that it would there convey to every boy and girl who went through the school a valuable lesson in loyalty to country and self-sacrifice for the general good. The monument would give a perpetual reminder of what the young men of the present day had done for this and succeeding generations, and would show also that their services had been appreciated.” The ceremony opened with the National Anthem, the hymn, “O God, Our Help,” was feelingly sung, and several brief addresses were given. Following the unveiling by Mrs Sams, “the mother of Sutherlands,” the ceremony concluded with “The Last Post”.

John Boothby’s name is recorded also on the Cave and Sutherlands War Memorials. The Cave, Cannington, Motukaika War Memorial was officially unveiled on Sunday afternoon, 29 April 1928, on the summit of Cave Hill. Proceedings opened with the “Dead March” in Saul, played by the Temuka Municipal Band, after which a Scripture reading was given and the Lord’s Prayer was recited, followed by the hymn “O Valiant Hearts”, a prayer and another Scripture reading. The ceremony was held to show “appreciation of those who left the shop, forge, plough, shearing sheds, musterers’ camps, or the harvest field, offering their all so that justice and right may be preserved on the earth.” The memorial was then unveiled by a very old resident of the district, and the school children laid floral tributes at the base. One minute’s silence was reverently kept, this being followed by Kipling’s “Recessional”. “The Last Post” was played by the Temuka Municipal Band, the Benediction pronounced, and the National Anthem concluded a very impressive ceremony. The very fine memorial which is in the form of a huge rough block of Timaru bluestone, honours the men who went out from the district to fight in the Great War and is symbolic of the rugged and heroic nature of those men. The stone bears the following inscription: — “So long as the rocks endure, and grass grows, and water runs, so long will this stone hear witness that through this low pass in the hills, men from the Cave, Cannington, and Motukaika districts rode and walked on their way to the Great European War, 1914-1918. Some of them have not returned, but have left their mortal remains in foreign lands and strange seas, that our British way of living may continue, but their immortal souls have risen from the Grave.” The names of those who gave their lives are inscribed first, followed by the names of those who offered their lives by serving overseas, among them J. Boothby.

Interestingly, John’s brother Arthur William Boothby who was born in 1891 enlisted with the New Zealand Forces in January 1915. He was a miner at the Martha Gold Mine at Waihi. Arthur suffered a gunshot wound to his back in August 1915 at the Dardanelles and was invalided back to New Zealand. By 1919 he was back home at Romsey.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [18 August 2016]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ ref. AABK 18805 W5520 0016327) [19 August 2016]; Timaru Cemetery headstone images (Timaru District Council) [18 August 2016]; Press, 6 April 1915, 5 September 1950, 20 May 1970, Timaru Herald, 15, 26 & 31 May 1915, 8 & 11 June 1915, 21 September 1915, 18 October 1916, 4 November 1916, 25 September 1918, 17 September 1919, 6 December 1921, 25 February 1925, 16 October 1926, 30 April 1928, 28 January 1929, 2 May 1929, 9 September 1929, 7 February 1930, 2 March 1931, 15 February 1932, 19 October 1932, 20 December 1935, 9 July 1938, 8 April 1939, 20 November 1940, 27 February 1941, 12 November 1941, 11 & 16 December 1941, 30 January 1942, 7 March 1942, 8 & 13 June 1942, 13 November 1943, 11 October 1944, 2 & 8 August 1945, Lyttelton Times, 26 October 1916, Sun, 26 October 1916, North Otago Times, 20 April 1918, Evening Post, 7 September 1918, Temuka Leader, 1 May 1928 (Papers Past) [19 August 2016; 09 February 2018; 29 & 30 January 2020; 14 & 22 May 2022; 24 July 2024]; Timaru Herald, 5 September 1950 (Timaru District Library) [18 August 2016]; Presbyterian Marriage record (South Canterbury Museum transcription) [19 August 2016]; Probate record (Archives NZ/FamilySearch) [19 August 2016]; New Zealand & Australia Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [24 July 2024]; Victoria, Australia Birth indexes (per ancestry.com.au) [24 July 2024]

External Links

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph record
• Military personnel file

Related Documents

• BOOTHBY John - newspaper clippings (pdf, 130.3 KB updated 13-Aug-2024)

Researched and Written by

Currently Assigned to

TS