LAW, John Nicol
(Service number 40707)
| First Rank | Rifleman | Last Rank | Rifleman |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 03/04/1887 | Place of Birth | Forgue, Aberdeenshire, Scotland |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 13 November 1916 | Age | 29 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | 8 Merry Street, Waimate | ||
| Occupation | Shepherd | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs Mary LAW (mother), 8 Merry Street, Waimate | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Rifle Brigade | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | Reinforcements, G Company | ||
| Date | 13 February 1917 | ||
| Transport | Mokoia | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | Plymouth, Devon, England |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Rifle Brigade | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Western European | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | British War Medal; Victory Medal | ||
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 | 7 June 1934 | Age | 47 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | "Rannerdale", Christchurch | ||
| Cause | Rheumatic fever & rheumatoid arthritis | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
John Nicol Law was born on 3 April 1887 at Forgue, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the eldest son of George and Mary (née Nicol) Law. In 1891 young John was a scholar, at home with his family at Forgue, where his father was a blacksmith. It appears that he was a farm worker at Rossie Reformatory at Craig, Angus, in 1901, his parents still at Forgue. In the 1900s the family, except the two eldest daughters who remained in Scotland, came to New Zealand. They may not have all come together. By 1911 John was a ploughman at Waihao Downs. He was a shepherd living at home in Waimate when he enlisted on 13 November 1916 at Timaru. Single and Presbyterian, he named his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs Mary Law, 8 Merry Street, Waimate.
Rifleman J. N. Law embarked with the New Zealand Rifle Brigade, departing from Wellington for Plymouth, England, on 13 February 1917 by the “Mokoia”. 40707 J. N. Law, of Waimate, was in a large draft of returned soldiers who arrived at Wellington on 6 March 1918. He was discharged soon after - on 17 April 1918 and was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. The name of J. Law appeared regularly on the Waimate Daily Advertiser Roll of Honour under the sub-title of Answered the Call.
John Law married Eleanor Mary Ann Atwill in 1919 and their daughter, Edith Mary Webb Law was born the same year. John and Eleanor lived at Waimate. In 1928 John became a hospital patient at Christchurch and remained so until his death. John Nicol Law died on 7 June 1934 at “Rannerdale”, Christchurch. His death was caused by rheumatic fever and rheumatoid arthritis, perhaps resulting from his war service. He was buried in the services section of Bromley Cemetery. Eleanor remarried. George Law, a younger brother of John, also enlisted for war service but was prevented from going overseas by medical conditions. His mother had died in 1929 and his father died in 1944.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [04 July 2022]; 1891 & 1901 Scotland census returns (ancestry.com.au) [23 July 2022]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [23 July 2022]; Bromley Cemetery headstone transcription (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [23 July 2022]; Bromley Cemetery burial record (Christchurch City Council) [23 July 2022]; NZ Times, 7 March 1918, Waimate Daily Advertiser, 30 May 1918 (Papers Past) [18 September 2019; 23 July 2022]
External Links
Related Documents
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, Teresa Scott, South Canterbury Genealogy Society
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.