BITCHENER, John Alfred
(Service number 27206)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 31/07/1889 | Place of Birth | Waimate |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Box 60, Waimate | ||
| Occupation | Farmer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | |||
| Next of Kin | Mrs Mary BITCHENER (mother), P.O. Box 60, Waimate | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 17th Reinforcements, J Company | ||
| Date | 25 September 1916 | ||
| Transport | Devon | ||
| 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 | 2 August 1983 | Age | 94 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Of Kowhainui Home, Whanganui | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Cremated, ashes interred at Aramoho Cemetery, Whanganui | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
John Alfred Bitchener was the oldest in the family and probably the only son of John and Mary (née Laughton or Langton). This was the only family by the name of Bitchener in New Zealand at the time. At noon on 31 May 1916, South Canterbury’s quota of the 17th Reinforcements was entertained at dinner in Stafford Tea Rooms by the lady members of the South Canterbury War Relief Society. The soldiers assembled at the Drill Hall at 3.30 pm to be farewelled by the Mayor before leaving on the north-going express. In this quota was J. A. Bitchener. John married Gladys Sarah Henderson in 1923.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [12 September 2019]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [12 September 2019]; Whanganui Cremation records [12 September 2019], Aramoho Cemetery burial records (Whanganui District Council) [17 September 2019]; Timaru Herald, 31 May 1916 (Papers Past) [17 October 2015]
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.