WRIGHT, Lionel Gordon
(Service number 6/2815)
| Aliases |
|
| First Rank |
Corporal |
Last Rank |
2nd Lieutenant |
Birth
| Date |
07/11/1894 |
Place of Birth |
Ellesmere, Canterbury |
Enlistment Information
| Date |
|
Age |
|
| Address at Enlistment |
Willowbridge, Waimate |
| Occupation |
Farm worker |
| Previous Military Experience |
|
| Marital Status |
Single |
| Next of Kin |
W. R. WRIGHT (father), Willowbridge, Waimate, South Canterbury |
| Religion |
Wesleyan Methodist |
| Medical Information |
|
Military Service
| Served with |
NZ Armed Forces |
Served in |
Army |
| Military District |
|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation |
6th Reinforcements |
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship |
Canterbury Infantry Battalion |
| Date |
14 August 1915 |
| Transport |
Willochra |
| Embarked From |
|
Destination |
Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With |
|
| Last Unit Served With |
CanterburyRegiment |
Military Awards
| Campaigns |
|
| Service Medals |
|
| Military Awards |
|
Death
| Date |
10 October 1926 |
Age |
31 years |
| Place of Death |
Dunedin Hospital, Dunedin |
| Cause |
Injuries suffered in accident on farm at Roxburgh |
| Notices |
Otago Daily Times, 11 October 1926; Press, 11 October 1926 |
| Memorial or Cemetery |
Andersons Bay Cemetery, Dunedin |
| Memorial Reference |
Services Area 7SF, Plot 2 (initially Block 62, Plot 30) |
| New Zealand Memorials |
|
Biographical Notes
Lionel Gordon was born on 7 November 1894 at Ellesmere, the second son of William Richard and Alice Florence (née Barnett) Wright. He was educated at Burnham, Kirwee and Weedons schools in Canterbury. He was a farm worker residing at Willowbridge, Waimate, when he enlisted. He nominated as next-of-kin, his father, W. R. Wright, Willowbridge. L.G. Wright, of Waimate, returned to New Zealand per the ‘Awarua’ which was due at Auckland about 19 November 1919. In 1922, Lionel married Cora Evelyn Turnbull. Cora, too, had served in the war as a nurse. A famer at Roxburgh, Lionel died on 10 October 1926 at Dunedin Hospital, as the result of an accident. He had gone out to ride round his sheep. After some time his horse returned riderless, followed by his dogs. Mr Wright was found the next day, badly bruised and injured about the head. He was taken to Dunedin by ambulance and operated on, but nothing could be done. He had been flung from the horse and suffered severe injuries. Wright had suffered wounds in the war which left him with a stiff leg. Synovitis in his left knee had resulted in 60% disability. The coroner noted that it was possible that the accident was attributable to the stiff leg, though the exact cause of death could not be ascertained. After a service at St Matthew’s Church, Lionel Gordon Wright was interred at Andersons Bay Cemetery, Dunedin. In 1946 he was disinterred and buried in soldiers’ ground. More than 57 years later, Cora died at Roxburgh. She was cremated and her ashes interred with Lionel at Andersosn Bay, her services plaque added to the site
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [01 November 2020]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [21 December 2020]; School Admission records [21 December 2020]; Andersons Bay Cemetery, Dunedin, burial records & headstone images (Dunedin City Council) [21 December 2002]; Timaru Herald, 30 October 1919, Otago Daily Times, 11 October 1926, Evening Star, 11 & 12 October 1926, Press, 11 October 1926, Mount Benger Mail, 20 October 1926 (Papers Past) [01 November 2020; 21 December 2020]
External Links
Related Documents
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.