WIGLEY, Arthur James
(Service number 4/1229)
| First Rank | Lieutenant | Last Rank | Captain |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 23/05/1889 | Place of Birth | Timaru |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Otira | ||
| Occupation | Civil engineer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs A. C. WIGLEY (mother), Park Lane, Timaru; Mrs Violet G. WIGLEY (wife), Rath Keenan, Bullival, County Meath, Ireland | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Engineers, Tunnelling Company | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | Headquarters, No 3 Relief | ||
| Date | 18 December 1915 | ||
| Transport | Ruapehu | ||
| Embarked From | Auckland | Destination | Plymouth, Devon, England |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
Award Circumstances and Date
London Gazette, 16 August 1917
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 | 11 July 1923 | Age | 34 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Haifa, Palestine | ||
| Cause | Shot by robbers | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Haifa, Palestine | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Arthur James Wigley was the youngest son of Thomas Henry and Annie Caroline (née Lysaght) Wigley. Arthur was educated at Kakahu Bush School before going on to Waitaki Boy's High School and Christ's College. His father died in 1895. Following his education Arthur joined the Public Works Department as a surveyor.
Arthur enlisted in the Tunnelling Corps, obtained his commission and embarked in December 1915. In October 1917 Mrs Wigley received word that her son had been award the Military Cross. "Lieutenant Arthur James Wigley, Eng.—For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when in command of a mining party close to the enemy. At a most critical moment, when the discovery of our mines seemed certain, owing to their being exposed by shell fire, he personally superintended the apparently impossible task of reconstructing and disguising our work, thus veiling our plans from the enemy when secrecy was of supreme importance." [Timaru Herald, 30 October 1917] On 8th October he was discharged in England and took up a commission in the Indian Army. At the time of the armistice his company was transferred to Palestine. After his discharge he remained in the district as a railways engineer. In 1923 came the fatal blow. Captain Arthur James Wigley, M.C., was shot by robers, while on duty, on 13 July 1923 at Haifa, Palestine.
Arthur had married in England in about 1920 and had two sons (despite his obituary only noting one). He was survived by his widow (Violet) and young sons Arthur and James (Jim), whom were all later buried in Timaru Cemetery.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [25 May 2018]; Timaru Herald, 27 August 1917, 30 October 1917, 26 November 1917, Temuka Leader, 17 July 1923, Press, 19 July 1923, (Papers Past) [21 & 29 May 2018]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) 28 May 2018]; Timaru Cemetery headstone image (Timaru District Council); SCRoll web submission by J Brown, 24 December 2023
External Links
Related Documents
- WIGLEY Arthur James - newspaper clippings (pdf, 116.6 KB updated 25-Oct-2018)
- Images & clippings regarding Arthur Wigley - courtesy of B&S Wigley (pdf, 1.2 MB updated 04-Mar-2019)
Researched and Written by
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.