Profile

HUGHES, Frank Irwin
(Service number 21830)

Aliases
First Rank Rifleman Last Rank Gunner

Birth

Date 17/05/1896 Place of Birth Timaru

Enlistment Information

Date 4 May 1916 Age 19 years 11 months
Address at Enlistment 71 Woodlands Road, Timaru
Occupation Plumber
Previous Military Experience 2nd S.C. Regiment - serving
Marital Status Single. Married 1919, Scotland
Next of Kin Mrs Ella MILLER (aunt), 71 Woodlands Road, Timaru; Mrs L. McNair HUGHES (wife), 86 Wellgate, Lanark, Scotland
Religion Church of England
Medical Information

Military Service

Served with NZ Armed Forces Served in Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation New Zealand Rifle Brigade
Unit, Squadron, or Ship 7th Reinforcements, 3rd Battalion, G Company
Date 21 August 1916
Transport Mokoia
Embarked From Destination Plymouth, Devon, England
Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With NZ Field Artillery

Military Awards

Campaigns
Service Medals British War Medal; Victory Medal
Military Awards

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

Discharge

Date 22 October 1919 Reason On termination of period of engagement.

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Post-war Occupations

Rubber worker

Death

Date 21 November 1959 Age 63 years
Place of Death 102 Malcolm Avenue, Beckenham, Christchurch (residence)
Cause
Notices Press, 23 & 24 November 1959
Memorial or Cemetery Ruru Lawn Cemetery, Christchurch
Memorial Reference Block 43, Plot 298
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

Frank Irwin Hughes was born on 17 May 1896 at Timaru, the second son of William John and Margaret Jane (née Irwin) Hughes, who had married in 1892. Within a few months in 1899, little Frank and his older sister and brother lost their parents and baby brother – William John Hughes died on 15 March; little William Harold Hughes on 7 August, aged 13 months; and Margaret Jane Hughes on 7 October. Frank started at Timaru South School on his fifth birthday, his guardian being Mr E. Irwin. He left school in February 1910 to go out to work. Frank Hughes enlisted on 4 May 1916 at Trentham. He was a plumber for Southgate Brothers, Timaru. Residing at 71 Woodlands Road, Timaru, and single, he named his aunt as next-of-kin – Mrs Ella Miller, 71 Woodlands Road, Timaru. Ella Isabella Irwin married John Robertson Miller (Millar) in 1897. He was serving with the 2nd South Canterbury Regiment. Rifleman F. I. Hughes embarked with the New Zealand Rifle Brigade of the 7th Reinforcements, departing for Plymouth, England, per the “Mokoia” on 21 August 1916. He married Lilian McNair Stewart on 12 March 1919 at Lanark, Scotland. Lilian became his next-of-kin – Mrs L. McNair Hughes, 86 Wellgate, Lanark, Scotland. Gunner F. I. Hughes, Timaru, returned to New Zealand by the “Corinthic” which was due at Wellington on or about 22 September 1919, and headed for 34 Oxford Street, Timaru. He was discharged on 22 October 1919, on the termination of his period of engagement, and was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. Frank also served for over three years with the New Zealand Staff at Burnham in World War Two. Frank Irwin Hughes died suddenly at his residence (103 Malcolm Avenue, Beckenham, Christchurch) on 21 November 1959, aged 63 years. He was buried at Ruru Lawn Cemetery with Lilian who had died in August 1956. He was survived by his fours daughters and two sons who were all born in New Zealand, and also by his sister and brother and Millar cousins.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [04 June 2023]; Timaru Herald, 5 September 1919, Press, 23 & 24 November 1959 (Papers Past) [02 & 04 June 2023]; School Admission record (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [04 June 2023]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [04 June 2023]; Ruru Lawn Cemetery burial record (Christchurch City Council) [04 June 2023]; Timaru Cemetery headstone image (Timaru District Council) [04 June 2023]

External Links

Related Documents

No documents available. 

Researched and Written by

Teresa Scott, South Canterbruy Genealogy Society

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.

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