ST JOHN, Paul
(Service number 55561)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 22/06/1877 | Place of Birth | London, England |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | North Street, Timaru | ||
| Occupation | Tailor's cutter | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Married. Two children | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs Louise ST JOHN (wife), North Street, Timaru | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
| Date | 15 August 1917 | ||
| Transport | Ruahine | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Glasgow, Scotland | |
| 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 | 25 June 1939 | Age | 62 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Christchurch | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Avonside Cemetery, Christchurch | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Paul St John was born on 22 June 1877 in London, the son of Albert and Mary St John who were both deceased when Paul enlisted in New Zealand in 1917. Paul had been in New Zealand for 17 years. He married Louise Bernhardson on 2 April 1899 in London. Their daughter, Louise St John was born on 29 December 1899 in London. In 1900, Paul, his wife Louise, and his daughter Louise departed from Antwerp, arriving in Sydney, Australia on 10 September. By 1902 the family was in New Zealand, their son Edmond born on 17 August 1902 at Invercargill. The family home in Christchurch was completely destroyed by fire in late March 1908. In mid June 1914 young Edmund entered Timaru Main School from Christchurch, leaving for High School at the end of 1915. His sister Louise St John enjoyed success at the Timaru Girls’ High Schoo and in higher educationl. Paul St John, a tailor of Timaru, registered at the Timaru Defence Office on 7 April 1917, his being the only registration on that day. Private P. St John embarked with the 29th Reinforcements on 15 August 1917, destined for Glasgow, Scotland. He returned to New Zealand in March 1918. The South Canterbury men came from Lyttelton by special train expected mid afternoon on the 19th March. Paul St John died on 25 June 1939 at his Christchurch residence and was buried in the Avonside Anglican Cemetery.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [10 January 2021]; School Admission records (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [12 January 2021]; Avonside Cemetery headstone transcription [12 January 2021]; Timaru Herald, 9 April 1917, 18 March 1918 (Papers Past) [09 April 2015; 17 January 2021]
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.