McALISTER, William Hamilton
(Service number 68833)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 08/07/1878 | Place of Birth | Isle of Arran, Scotland |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 19 September 1917 | Age | 39 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Royal Hotel, Blenheim | ||
| Occupation | Bootmaker (for TB Wall, Blenheim) | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | |||
| Next of Kin | Mr D McAlistger (brother) - Auchingallan, Scotland; then Mr B Dickinson (friend), 14 Manse Street, Dunedin | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 34th Reinforcements, A Company | ||
| Date | 8 February 1918 | ||
| Transport | HMNZT 100 Ulimaroa | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Liverpool, Mersyside | |
| Other Units Served With | No.2 Entrenching Battalion; Canterbury IInfantry Regiment | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | western European 1918-19 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | *1928 | Age | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Timaru Hospital | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Timaru Cemetery | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
William Hamilton McAlister served in the Canterbury Infantry Regiment (service number 68833). He was born at the Isle of Arran, Scotland, on 8 July 1878. His parents were Donald and Mary McAlister, who were both born in the Isle of Arran, Scotland.
William arrived in New Zealand approximately 1900 – according to his signed attestation, dated 19 September 1917. On the form it states he had been in New Zealand for 17 years, On the 1908 and 1911 electoral roles, William is listed as a labourer residing at the Melville Hote (now the Dominion Hotel). William gave his occpation as a bootmaker, and his next of kin as Mr D McAlistger (brother) of Auchingallan, Scotland. His will, signed on 22 April 1918, bequeathed his estate to his sister Isabella MacAlister, also of Auchagallon Machrie Bay, Shiskine Arran Scotland.
William embarked from New Zealand on 8 February 1918 and disembarked at Liverpool 29 March 1918. Initially he embarked with th 34th Reinforcements, but on arrival was posted to the New Zealand Riflle Brigade Reserve, spending time in Sling camp in England traning from 20 April 1918 until heding overseas to France a little over a month later. In France he was initially posted to No.2 Entrenching Battalion from 30 May 1918 until being trabsferred to the Canterbury regient on 28 August. He continued to served on the Western Front and took part in the campaign that captured Le Quesnoy. With the wwar over, he was appointed Company Cook on 12 January 1919, relinquishing the role temporarily from 2 to11 February, then permanentnly from 11 March.
Ultimately William returned to New Zealand on the Hororata which left Plymouth 28 July 1919, arriving 20 September 1919 and was discharged from service on 21 October 1919 aftr serving for one year 228 days, all but 144 days being spent overseas.
William died in Timaru in October 1928.
Sources
SCRoll web submission by J Macdonald, 30 November 2024; Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [5 Decemebr 2024]; Military Personnel file, Archives New Zealnd [accessed 5 December 2024]
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Tony Rippin, South Canterbury Museum
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.