HAROLD, Frank Robert
(Service number 6/469)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 25/07/1893 | Place of Birth | Timaru |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Otipua Road, Timaru; from 24 March 1917 2 Takuta Avenue, Bucklands Beach | ||
| Occupation | Salesman | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | T. R. HAROLD, care of Canterbury Farmers' Co-operative Association (Limited), Beswick Street, Timaru | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | Main Body | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | Canterbury Infantry Battalion | ||
| Date | 16 October 1914 | ||
| Transport | Tahiti or Athenic | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | ||
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
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 | 31 May 1985 | Age | 91 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | |||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Purewa Crematorium, Auckland | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Frank Robert Harold was the son of William and Sarah (née Steele) Harold, and a brother of Kenneth William Harold who also served in World War I. Frank was educated at Waimataitai School.
Responding to the first call for men, Frank was one of many keen and determined applicants at the Drill Shed on 11 August 1914. He was not one of those rejected, mostly for defects to the teeth and one or two on account of height; he passed the medical exanimation and was sworn in. The successful applicants were liable to be called up at any moment, and it was quite probable that they would leave Timaru in a matter of days for the central camp at Christchurch as part of the 2nd South Canterbury Regiment's quota. A great nephew recounts:
"My great uncle trained in Egypt, fought at Gallipoli and later in France ... Frank had a well developed sense of humour. Before embarking for Gallipoli, there was a celebratory dinner at the mess, from memory of his retelling a shilling a head, each to pay separately. Frank arranged to be second last to leave his table and directed the waiter to collect all moneys from the remaining officer. He heard an eruption on the way out. On the beach at Suvla Bay the British officers had stores of foodstuffs the enlisted men did not, Frank liberated some marmalade, allegedly delicious."
After the war Frank married Mary Patricia Sutherland in 1921 at St Mary's, Timaru. In 1928 the couple had a son, Bruce, who died in infancy.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [21 April 2019]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [21 April 2019]; School Admission record (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [21 April 2019]; Purewa Crematorium record; Timaru Herald, 12 August 1914 (Papers Past) [02 December 2013]; SCRoll web submission by B Harold, 23 December 2023
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.