THOREAU, Edward John
(Service number 13375)
| First Rank | Trooper | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 25/06/1871 | Place of Birth | Christchurch |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 11 January 1916 | Age | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | 31 Tainui Street, Palmerston North | ||
| Occupation | Driver | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Married. Two children | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs Susan THOREAU (wife), 31 Tainui Street, Palmerston North | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade | ||
| Date | 27 May 1916 | ||
| Transport | Willochra or Tofua | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | 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 | 16 May 1921 | Age | 54 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Palmerston North Hospital | ||
| Cause | Result of accident | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Terrace End Cemetery, Palmerston North | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Edward John Thoreau was the eldest son of Philip Edward and Jane (née Bateman) Thoreau. Philip was from Jersey in the Channel Islands. Edward's service record gives a birth year of 1871 but he may well have been born in about 1867, his age at death being 54. Edward was educated at the Public School Timaru and the Timaru South and Timaru Main schools. One school record gives a birth year of 1870. He married Susan Gibson in 1891. He and Susan had two children - Ethel and Edward John junior. In 1905 the family moved to Palmerston North where Edward was employed by the borough council. In Timaru he had been a sergeant with the South Canterbury Mounted Rifles. Although over the military age he enlisted and was on active service for some years. Susan died in December 1918 while Edward was on active service and their son was away at the front. Edward senior was killed tragically when he was knocked over by a car at night and suffered horrific injuries. His father had served in the Jersey Militia and, in fact, volunteered on the outbreak of Worl War I, being ruled out on account of his age. Philip Thoreau was for three years custodian of the Returned Soldiers' Association rooms in Timaru. Edward's brother Albert served in the South African War.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [06 January 2019]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [06 January 2019]; School Admission record (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [06 January 2019]; Refer Timaru Herald, 30 May 1905, 14 December 1918, Manawatu Times, 6 December 1918, 17 & 18 May 1921 (Papers Past) [06 & 07 January 2018]
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.