McCARTHY, John
(Service number 6/4101)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 24/02/1884 | Place of Birth | Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 16 November 1915 | Age | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | City Dining Rooms, Timaru | ||
| Occupation | Labourer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | R.N.R. - 5 years. Time expired | ||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Miss Mary McCARTHY (sister), Kisale, Cork, Ireland | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 10th Reinforcements, Canterbury Infantry Battalion, C Company | ||
| Date | 4 March 1916 | ||
| Transport | Willochra | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Canterbury Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Western European (Somme) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 20 September 1916 | Age | 32 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | No. 36 Casualty Clearing Station, France | ||
| Cause | Died of wounds | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Heilly Station Cemetery, Mericourt-l'Abbe, Somme, France | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
John McCarthy, 6/4101, was born on 24 February 1884 at Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland. In 1915 he was a labourer for the Timaru Harbour Board, his address given as City Dining Rooms, Timaru. A good number of recruits for the Tenth Reinforcements were dispatched from the South Canterbury district on 16 November 1915. Among those for the Infantry was Private J. McCarthy, Timaru. It was 16 November 1915 when he enlisted with the New Zealand Forces. He was single and Roman Catholic, and had served for 5 years with the R.N.R., before his time expired. John named his sister, Miss Mary McCarthy, Kimsale, County Cork, Ireland, as next-of-kin. Private J. McCarthy embarked per the “Willochra” with the Canterbury Infantry Battalion of the 10th Reinforcements, departing on 4 March 1916 from Wellington for Suez, Egypt. In September 1916 the New Zealand Division of 15,000 troops joined the offensive at the Somme. Within three weeks, 2,000 of these men had lost their lives. Private John Sullivan was wounded and died of his wouns on 20 September in the No. 36 Casualty Clearing Station. He was buried at Heilly Station Cemetery, Mericiurt-l’Abbe, Somme, France. His legal next-of-kin to receive his medals, plawue and scroll was his brother, Mortimer McCarthy, Kinsale, Cork, Ireland.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [26 July 2021]; Timaru Herald, 13 November 1915, 3 Ocrtober 1916, Dominion, 3 October 1916 (Papers Past) [16 December 2020; 26 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.