BYRON, Arthur Ernest
(Service number 3/3451)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 10 March 1892 | Place of Birth | Christchurch |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 29 January 1917 | Age | 24 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Waimate | ||
| Occupation | Carpenter | ||
| Previous Military Experience | 2nd South Canterbury Regiment | ||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs Ada BYRON (mother), 75 Montreal 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 | 28th Reinforcements, Medical Corps | ||
| Date | 14 July 1917 | ||
| Transport | Ulimaroa or Waitemata | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | ||
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | NZ Medical Corps | ||
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 | 29 March 1975 | Age | 83 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Christchurch | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Addington Cemetery, Christchurch | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Arthur Ernest Byron was born on 10 March 1892 at Christchurch, the second child and elder son of Ralph William and Ada (née Beale) Byron. He started his schooling at Richmond School, Christchurch at the beginning of the 1897 school year, five weeks before his fifth birthday. He then transferred in succession to East Christchurch, Sydenham, St Albans and Addington, moving with his sister and brother to Mornington School in Dunedin in February 1903. Although Arthur had a Christchurch address when he was listed on the Reserve Rolls in 1916, he was in Waimate in 1914. The family had moved from Balclutha to Waimate in 1908. Perhaps Arthur stayed on when his parents moved to Christchurch. Come 29 January 1917, he was medically examined at Timaru and enlisted there for the 28th Reinforcements. A carpenter residing at Waimate, single and non-conformist with regards to religion, he named his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs Ada Byron, 75 Montreal Street, Christchurch. He had served with the 2nd South Canterbury Regiment. On 27 March 1917 at the Waimate Magistrate’s Court, Arthur Ernest Byron was fined five shillings for riding a motor cycle at an unreasonable pace.
A. E. Byron was listed with the men belonging to the South Canterbury Military District who left for camp on 11 April 1917. Private A. E. Byron embarked with the New Zealand Medical Corps of the 28th Reinforcements, departing on 24 July 1917. Byron was discharged on 31 October 1919, on the termination of his period of engagement, and awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
He married Gladys Mabel Rhind in 1927. They had two daughters – Norma and Elsie. Arthur Ernest Byron died at Christchurch on 29 March 1975, aged 83 years. He was cremated, his ashes interred at Addington Cemetery in 1977. When Gladys died in 1987, her ashes were interred there too. Arthur’s younger brother, Clarence Hedley Byron, who also served in World War One, was killed in action in 1918 in France.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [21 February 2025]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [24 February 2025]; School Admission records (Canterbury & Dunedin branches NZSG) [27 February 2025]; Waimate Daily Advertiser, 10 August 1915, 27 March 1917, Timaru Herald, 10 April 1917, Press, 31 March 1975, 17 August 1987 (Papers Past) [07 January 2015; 27 February 2025]; Cemetery records (Christchurch City Council) [27 February 2025]
External Links
Related Documents
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC Genealogy Society
Currently Assigned to
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Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.