MATHESON, John Thomas
(Service number 75650)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 24/06/1890 | Place of Birth | Timaru |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Ohakune Junction | ||
| Occupation | Railway employee | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs J. MATHESON (mother), Rosebrook, Gleniti, Timaru | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 39th Reinforcements, A Company | ||
| Date | 13 June 1918 | ||
| Transport | Athenic | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Liverpool, Merseyside, England | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Wellington Regiment | ||
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 September 1958 | Age | 68 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Hamilton | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Hamilton Park Cemetery | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
John Thomas Matheson, known as Thomas, was born on 24 June 1890 at Timaru, the older son of Alexander and Julia (née Callaghan) Matheson. He was baptised Roman Catholic on 27 July 1890 at Timaru. In 1897 Thomas and his sister Catherine spent a few months at Berwick School in Otago, the family living at Maungatua, his father’s home district. From there Thomas and his sister went to the Roman Catholic School in Timaru, transferring to Gleniti School in 1898, and joined there by Mary and Alexander junior. Little Mary died in 1900, just 8 years old, while a pupil at Gleniti. Thomas left at the age of fourteen to go out to work, becoming a fireman with NZ Railways. By 1914 he had been transferred to Taihape and in 1916 he was listed on the Reserve Roll at Ohakune Junction. Private J. T. Matheson embarked by the “Athenic” on 13 June 1918 with the 39th Reinforcements, headed for Liverpool. He had nominated his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs J. Matheson, Rosebrook, Gleniti, Timaru. Pte. J. T. Matheson, Gleniti, returned to New Zealand by the “Mamari” which was scheduled to arrive at Auckland on 18 August 1919. On 23 November 1921 at the Church of the Sacred Heart, Timaru, John Thomas Matheson married Ethel Mary Sedgwick. His brother Alex was best man. Thomas died on 2 September 1958 at Hamilton, aged 68, and was buried in the Hamilton Park Cemetery.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [16 July 2021]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [16 July 2021]; School Admission records (Dunedin & South Canterbury branches NZSG) [19 July 2021]; Hamilton Park Cemetery burial record (Hamilton City Council) [17 July 2021]; Sun, 8 August 1919, Timaru Herald, 10 December 1921 (Papers Past) [16 & 17 July 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.