SUTHERLAND, Alex Roland Earl
(Service number 29196)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 13/04/1896 | Place of Birth | Invercargill |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 29 June 1916 | Age | 20 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Waimate | ||
| Occupation | Farm labourer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | No 3 Field Ambulance (Christchurch) - serving | ||
| Marital Status | |||
| Next of Kin | Mrs C. SUTHERLAND (mother), 303 Hereford Street, Christchurch | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 18th Reinforcements, Canterbury Infantry Battalion, C Company | ||
| Date | 11 October 1916 | ||
| Transport | Tofua | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Plymouth, Devon, England | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Canterbury Regiment | ||
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 | 23 February 1927 | Age | 30 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Timaru | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Timaru Cemetery | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Alex Roland Earl Sutherland, known as Roland or Roley, was born on 13 April 1896 at Invercargill, the second son of Alexander Dunbar and Catherine (Kate, née Hodgson) Sutherland. He was was admitted to West Christchurch School from Invercargill in February 1905. A few months later, he transferred to Christchurch East School. In 1907 he spent a few months at Mackenzie School, in the custody of his mother’s family, and at Cheviot School, before returning to Christchurch East, leaving there in December 1911 to go out to work. His father died on 22 Deember 1907 at his Christchurch residence, and his older brother died three days later.
Roland Sutherland was listed on the Reserve Rolls before he enlisted on 29 June 1916 at Trentham. He was a farm labourer at Waimate, single and Wesleyan. He was serving with the New Zealand Ambulance (Christchurch). His nominated next-of-kin was his mother – Mrs C. Sutherland, 303 Hereford Street, Christchurch. Private A. R. E. Sutherland embarked with the Canterbury Infantry Battalion of the 18th Reinforcements, departing for Plymouth, England, by the “Tofua” on 11 October 1916. Having returned by the Marama’s draft which was due at Wellington on 16 or 17 July 1919, he was discharged on 10 October 1919 and was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. The name of A. R. E. Sutherland appeared regularly on the Waimate Daily Advertiser Roll of Honour under the sub-title of Answered the Call.
After the war, Roland was a mechanic and resided with his mother in Christchurch. He died on 23 February 1927 at the residence of his sister Sybil – Mrs H. Mason, Luxmore Road, Timaru, just 30 years old. He was buried at the Timaru Cemetery, a services stone marking his grave. Sybil had married a returned serviceman in 1924.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museumm Cenotaph Database [07 July 2022]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [08 July 2022]; School Admission records (Canterbury Branch NZSG) [17 July 2022]; Timaru Cemetery headstone image (Timaru District Council) [17 July 2022]; Timaru Cemetery headstone transcription (South Canterbury Branch NZSG records) [17 July 2022]; Waimate Daily Advertiser, 30 May 1918, Lyttelton Times, 9 July 1919, Timaru Herald, 25 February 1927 (Papers Past) [18 September 2019; 17 July 2022]
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
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.