DEANS, Francis Richardson
(Service number 54017)
| First Rank | Rifleman | Last Rank | Private or Rifleman |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 26/01/1897 | Place of Birth | Waimate |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 12 February 1917 | Age | 20 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Chappel Street, Timaru | ||
| Occupation | Labourer (Pareora Freezing Works, Pareora) | ||
| Previous Military Experience | 2nd South Canterbury Regiment - serving | ||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs H. R. DEANS (mother), 41 Niblett Street, Wanganui | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 27th Reinforcements, G Company | ||
| Date | 16 July 1917 | ||
| Transport | Athenic | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Liverpool, Merseyside, England | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 4 April 1983 | Age | 86 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Timaru | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Salisbury Park Crematorium, Timaru; ashes interred Timaru Cemetery | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Francis Richardson Deans was the second-born son of John and Rosa Harriet (née Richardson) Deans, and the only one of their three sons to survive infancy. He was born on 26 January 1897 at Waimate and educated at Hannaton and Timaru Main schools. Francis Deans was a labourer at the Pareora Freezing Works and had just turned twenty when he enlisted on 12 February 1917. A single man, residing at Chappel Street, Timaru, he named his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs H. R. Deans, 41 Niblett Street, Wanganui. This was the address to which his oldest sister, Harriet Rosa McKinney, had gone when her husband, William McKinney, enlisted in June 1918. The South Canterbury quota of the 29th Reinforcements left Timaru on 30 April 1917. There among the men who proceeded to camp was F. R. Richardson. It was the 27th Reinforcements with which Rifleman F. R. Deans embarked. He left for Liverpool, England, on 16 July 1917 per the “Athenic”. Rifleman F. R. Deans, 54017, came home by the “Pakeha” (Returning Draft No. 251) which was due at Wellington about 30 May 1919. He married Dorothy Jessie Barkley (known as Doris) in 1936. Francis Richardson Deans, of Timaru, was called up for service again in December 1942. He died on 4 April 1983 at Timaru, aged 86 years. He and Doris, who died in 1985, were cremated at Salisbury Park Crematorium. Their ashes were interred in the Deans plot at Timaru Cemetery.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [03 February 2022]; School Admission record (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [08 February 2022]; Timaru Herald, 30 April 1917, 23 December 1942, Evening Post, 15 May 1919 (Papers Past) [08 February 2022]; Timaru Cemetery headstone images (Timaru District Council) [01 February 2022]; Salsibury Park Crematorium record [08 February 2022]
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.