SHEFFORD, William
(Service number 64672)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 07/08/1884 | Place of Birth | Waimate |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 22 August 1917 | Age | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Norton Reserve, Waimate | ||
| Occupation | Labourer for S Thornley, Waikari | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs Emily SHEFFORD (mother), Norton Reserve, Waimate | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 32nd Reinforcements, Canterbury Infantry Regiment, C Company | ||
| Date | 21 November 1917 | ||
| Transport | Maunganui | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Liverpool, Merseyside, England | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Western European 1918-1919 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | British War Medal; Victory Medal | ||
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 | 17 May 1925 | Age | 39 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | |||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | St John's Anglican Cemeyery, Rangiora | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
William (Bill) Shefford was born on 7 August 1884 at Waimate, the son of John and Emily (née Wild) Shefford.
Bill enlisted at Timaru on 22 August 1917. At the time he was working as a labourer for S Thornley of Waikari. He was posted to C Company of the 32nd Reinforcements, Canterbury Infantry Regiment. He embarked from New Zealand on the Maunganui on 21 November 1917, headed for Liverpool in England. Arriving in the UK, he marched into the training camp at Sling on 8 January 1918. Three months further training followed there, including a short stint in hospital at Tidworth with Rubella. Then, on 14 April 1918, he headed ‘overseas’ (i.e. to France), where he joined B Company, 1st Battalion, Canterbury Infantry Regiment, on 26 April.
At this time the Canterbury Infantry Regiment was part of the New Zealand Forces stabilising the front following the German breakthrough in March. Germany’s victory over Russia at the start of the year had allowed them to move all its forces to the Western Front and attack. In March Germany broke through the Allies lines and the New Zealand Division was amongst those rushed in to halt the advance. The New Zealanders plugged a dangerous gap in the line near Hèbuterne and then fought to stabilise the front. This was one of their most important contributions to winning the war. The German attacks ran out of momentum and in August and the Allies launched the ‘Hundred Days’ offensive that would lead to victory. The New Zealanders were at the forefront of the assault in places like Bapaume almost continually from August 21 until the end of the war. The fighting was largely free of trenches and the New Zealanders preferred the movement of open country warfare, which largely ended with the capture of the fortified French town Le Quesnoy. The armistice ending the war was declared soon after on 11 November.
With the war ended, Bill was one of thousands of men who had to wait their turn to return to New Zealand. On 8 June 1919 he embarked on the ‘Chupra’ from London. Bill was finally discharged in New Zealand on 25 August 1919, having served for a total of two years and four days - one year and 249 days of which was spent overseas. For his service he was awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal, issued to him in 1924.
On discharge Bill listed his intended address as Norton Reserve, Waimate. He appears to have moved north though as Bill married Ruby Millicent Honeybone on 7 May 1921 at St Luke’s Church, Christchurch. The couple had no children.
William tragically died only a few years later in 1925 at Rangiora. He was a passenger in a car that was struck by a train on the evening of 14 May. One of his legs had to be amputated, but the effort to save him was unsuccessful and he died at Brocklehurst Hospital at 4.15 pm on 17 May 1925.
William’s brother James was killed in action in 1917 in France and another brother, Thomas, also served in World War One.
A final note: William (Bill’s) parents also had another son they called William, born in 1884 (known as ‘Loney’), Confusion and conflation of the two Williams’ caused some trouble during research for a number of reasons including that William (Loney’s) mother was incorrectly listed as ‘Emma’ in birth, death, and marriage records. ‘Loney’, who never served with the NZEF, died in 1947 aged 1947, and is buried in Waimate as William George Shefford, further adding to the confusion. However Bill’s World War One service records bear a note, dated 1925, recording that he was awarded his medals prior to his death, helping confirm his identity as separate from Willaim ‘Loney’.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [31 May 2020]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [01 June 2020]; New Zealand Times, 29 April 1919 (Papers Past) [26 May 2020]; Ruru Lawn Cemetery burial record (Christchurch City Council) [02 June 2020]; SCRoll web submission by D Pinnell, 11 to 15 November 2024; "Death after accident" in the Evening Post on 18 May 1925, courtesy of Papers Past at https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/ [Accessed 15 November 2024]
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG; Tony Rippin, South Canterbury Museum
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.