Profile

McGILLEN, William Peter
(Service number 36472)

Aliases
First Rank	Rifleman	Last Rank	Warrant Officer Class Two

Birth

Date	21/06/1893	Place of Birth	Temuka

Enlistment Information

Date	20 September 1916	Age	23 years 3 months
Address at Enlistment	Alexandra Street, Temuka
Occupation	Labourer
Previous Military Experience	B Company 2nd South Canterbury Regiment - serving
Marital Status	Single
Next of Kin	Mrs B. McGILLEN, Alexandra Street, Temuka
Religion	Roman Catholic
Medical Information	Height 5 feet 6 inches. Weight 150 lbs. Chest measurement 34-37½ inches. Complexion fair. Eyes blue. Hair fair. Sight - both eyes 6/6. Hearing good. Colour vision normal. Limbs well formed. full & perfect movement of all joints. Chest well formed. Heart & lungs normal. Teeth bad. No illnesses. Free from hernia, varicocele, varicose veins, haemorrhoids, inveterate or contagious skin disease. Vaccinated. Good bodily & mental health. No slight defects. No fits. Scar on fron of right leg dued to injury 4 years ago.

Military Service

Served with	NZ Armed Forces	Served in	Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation	New Zealand Rifle Brigade
Unit, Squadron, or Ship	Reinforcements, G Company
Date	19 January 1917
Transport	Waitemata
Embarked From		Destination	Plymouth, Devon, England

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With	New Zealand Army Service Corps

Military Awards

Campaigns	Western European
Service Medals	British War Medal; Victory Medal
Military Awards	Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM)

Award Circumstances and Date

London Gazette, 3 June 1919. On 26th October 1918 in fron of Le Quesnoy. He took his Lewis gun and five men to a forward position, from which he broke up several attempts by the enemy to counter attack. He stuck to his advanced position and, though isolated, held on till he was relieved thirty-six hours later. On 4th November he personally rushed ahouse and killed five enemy with a bomb and captured fourteen more.

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

Discharge

Date	25 August 1919	Reason	On termination of period of engagement.

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Post-war Occupations

Death

Date	11 February 1982	Age	88 years
Place of Death	Timaru
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery	Timaru Herald, 13 February 1982
Memorial Reference	General Section, Row 244, Plot 991
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

William Peter McGillen was the second son of Patrick and Bridget (née Scully) McGillen. His bothers, John Joseph and Michael, also served in World War one.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [06 March 2017]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ ref. AABK 18805 W5544 0073290) [12 March 2017]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [06 March 2017]; Temuka Cemetery headstone image (Timaru District Council) [06 March 2017]; Roman Catholic Baptisms Timaru (Christchurch Diocese CD held by South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [12 March 2017]; Timaru Herald, 13 February 1982 (Timaru District Council) [22 March 2017]

External Links

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