PARRIS, Harry
(Service number 18112)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 20/11/1878 | Place of Birth | Brighton, Sussex, England |
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Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | P.O. Timaru | ||
| Occupation | Cook & baker | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Mr L. PARRIS (father), 9 Stanley Street, Brighton, England. Mr DREW (friend), City Boarding House, Timaru | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
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| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | |||
| Date | |||
| Transport | |||
| Embarked From | Destination | ||
| Other Units Served With | |||
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| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
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| 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 | 5 January 1920 | Age | 41 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Christchurch | ||
| Cause | Heart failure, due to chronic nephritis | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Harry Parris was born on 20 November 1878 (it appears) at Brighton, Sussex, England, the oldest child and probably the only son of Luke and Amy (née Parrott) Parris. He was baptised on 5 January 1879 at St Peter’s, Brighton. He had two younger sisters. In 1881 and 1891 Harry was at home at Brighton with his parents. In 1901 he may have been a stenographer boarding at Southampton. Harry Parris, a cook at Murchison, was listed on the Reserve Rolls, but when he enlisted he was a cook and baker at Levels, Timaru. In 1910, when he was a cook at Werry’s Hotel, Timaru, his watch was stolen. On 5 April 1916, the South Canterbury quota for the 15th Reinforcements left by the express for the military camps, the Infantry – including H. Parris, Timaru - proceeding to Trentham. Before departing Timaru, the men were entertained by the Ladies’ Patriotic Committee at luncheon in the Stafford Tea Rooms. Falling in at the Drill Shed at 3pm, they were addressed by the Mayor, Mr Craigie, M.P., and the Rev. Dean Tubman. The 2nd South Canterbury Regimental Band was in attendance, and the High School Cadets and the Honorary Territorials formed a cordon at the railway station. At Trentham in May 1916, Parris was in Hut 123 with five Waimate boys and a few others from South Canterbury – ‘We now come to Parris, who came off a mill, Who had the misfortune of feeling ill; So the doctor thought he must give him a pill; If this doesn’t cure, him the d--d stew will.’ [Waimate Daily Advertiser, 12 May 1916.] Harry Parris died on 5 January 1920 at Christchurch. He was found dead in bed at the hut where he was living. The cause of death was heart failure, due to chronic nephritis. He was buried at Sydenham Cemetery.
Sources
Baptism record (ancestry.com.au) [11 August 2020]; 1881, 1891, 1901 England census returns (ancestry.com.au) [11 August 2020]; Sydenham Cemetery burial record (Christchurch City Council) [12 August 2020]; Timaru Herald, 5 April 1916, Press, 7 January 1920 (Papers Past) [03 & 11 August 2020]
External Links
Related Documents
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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.