Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

Timothy Joseph Brosnahan was born at Kerrytown, Temuka on 23 July 1893, the eldest son of Hugh (also known as Hugh Timothy) and Mary (née Sullivan) Brosnahan, Kerrytown, South Canterbury. He was baptised in the Temuka Catholic Parish on 6 August 1893. Hugh who emigrated with his family from County Kerry, Ireland in 1871, married Irish-born Mary Sullivan in 1890 at Timaru. It was likely that he took the additional name of Timothy to distinguish him from the other Hugh Brosnahans in the district, his father being Timothy. They had five daughters and four sons, probably all born at Kerrytown or thereabouts and all reaching adulthood. Like so many of his relatives, Timothy was educated at St Joseph’s Convent School, Kerrytown. A notice in the Timaru Herald on 24 July 1913 requested the return of a lost sheep dog (black, with white ring round neck, rather large …. and big head) to Tim Brosnahan, Kerrytown.

Timothy Joseph Brosnahan was medically examined at (Kerrytown) Timaru on 4 November 1915. 5 feet 10½ months tall and weighing 144 pounds, with a chest measurement of 34-36½ inches, he had a fair complexion, blue eyes and sandy hair. His sight, hearing, colour vision heart and lungs were all normal, his limbs and chest well formed, while his teeth needed attention. He was free from diseases, vaccinated, and in good bodily and mental health. A good number of recruits for the Tenth Reinforcements were dispatched from the South Canterbury district on 16 November 1915. Among those for the Mounted Rifles was Trooper T. J. Brosnahan, Kerrytown. There at Trentham Timothy Joseph Brosnahan enlisted on 16 November 1915 and was posted to C Squadron, 10th Reinforcements. A self-employed farm labourer at Kerrytown, single and Roman Catholic, he named his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs Mary Brosnahan, Kerrytown, via Timaru, Canterbury. While at Featherston, Brosnahan forfeited concessions for overstaying leave on 20 February 1916.

Trooper T. J. Brosnahan embarked with the Canterbury Mounted Rifles of the 10th Reinforcements, departing from Wellington on 4 March 1916. Disembarking at Suez, Egypt on 8 April, Trooper Brosnahan was taken on the Strength of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Training Regiment at Moascar on 8 April 1916, then transferred as Gunner to the New Zealand Field Artillery at Tel-el-Kebir on 2 May. Embarking at Alexandria for France on on 27 May 1916, Driver Brosnahan was attached to Base at Etaples on 9 June and from 29 July to 9 August attached to the Training School at Camiers. After having marched out to England from overseas and taken on Strength at Sling on 29 August, he proceeded overseas to France again on 17 October. From England, Gunner Brosnahan was attached to Strength at the New Zealand Infantry and General Base Depot at Etaples, France the next day. Detached to Driving School on 6 November 1916, he marched back in at Etaples on 16 November and marched out to Division the next day. Posted to the 14th Battery, 4th Brigade, NZ Field Artillery in the Field on 20 November 1916, he was next posted to the 12th Battery, 3rd Brigade, NZ Field Artillery on 22 January 1917. Detached on leave to the UK on 13 August 1917, he rejoined his Unit from leave on 28 August and was still with his Unit as of 19 February 1918.

Gunner Timothy Joseph Brosnahan was killed in action in the Field at Havrincourt, France on 2 September 1918, aged 25 years. He was buried at Achiet-le-Petit Cemetery, then relocated to Achiet-le-Grand Communal Cemetery Extension. Mrs Hugh Brosnahan, Kerrytown, was officially informed on 19 September. Timothy had seen service in Egypt and had been in the firing line the whole of the time he was in France, without wounding or illness. The casualty list No. 555, for the Canterbury Military District, published yesterday, reported the Temuka Leader of 21 September 1918, is sad reading for people in this district, as it contains the names of a number of local lads who have fallen in the fighting between August 20 and September 7, and the sympathies of all in the district will go out to the bereaved parents and relatives. Among the local names which appeared in the list was Timothy Joseph Brosnahan (Mrs M. Brosnahan, Kerrytown, mother). Gunner Timothy J. Brosnahan was remembered in an In Memoriam notice inserted in the newspaper on 2 September 1919 by his loving father, mother, brothers and sisters – “In a distant land he lies, At rest in a soldier’s grave, His battle fought, his name enrolled, On the scroll of the deathless brave. A lonely grave in a far off land, A grave we may never see; But while life and memory last, We will remember thee.”

On 3 October 1919, Mary Brosnahan wrote to The Officer in Charge, War Expenses, Wellington, on paper headed The South Canterbury Returned Soldiers’ Association. “Dear Sir, Enclosed herewith please find my application for gratuity on behalf of my late son 7/2237 T. J. Brosnahan. He was killed in action on 2nd Sept 1918 and I am his next of kin (Mother). Please open P.O. account at Pleasant Point in my name & pay all monies due to the credit thereof. Yours faithfully, Mary H. Brosnahan.” (Mary H. Brosnahan is Mary Hugh Brosnahan, to distinguish he as the wife of Hugh from the other Mary Brosnahans in the district. On occasion she used this name on electoral rolls.) £68.1.0 was duly paid on 17 February 1920. His medals – British War Medal and Victory Medal - were sent to his mother, his legatee. The Scroll and Plaque were sent to his father Hugh Brosnahan, his legal next-of-kin.

Timothy Joseph’s name is inscribed on the Timaru Memorial Wall, the Temuka War Memorial, the Pleasant Point War Memorial, and on the St Joseph’s Church Temuka Memorial. In September 1921, the Pleasant Point War Memorial was unveiled in an impressive ceremony. Sited in a commanding position, it is an imposing monument constructed largely of Coromandel granite, with the names – including those of T. John Brosnahan and T. Joseph Brosnahan - clearly engraved beneath the inscription – “Our Glorious Dead. Their Memory Liveth for Ever.” Wreaths were laid on the steps and the “The Last Post” sounded by the bugler.

The St Joseph’s Church, Temuka, Memorial, an “exceedingly beautiful” monument to the memory of those who had fallen in the war, was unveiled after a Memorial Service on 25 April 1922. During the service appropriate music was provided by the choir and an excellent address was delivered by the Rev. Dr. Kennedy. The name of Thomas [sic] Joseph Brosnahan was heard again on Anzac Day, 1927. A Requiem Mass was celebrated at St Joseph’s Church, Temuka. The celebrant preached a very stirring sermon based on the Book of Wisdom (Chapter III, Verses 2-5). He pointed out that the Gallipoli campaign and later “gigantic episodes” would remain for all time a wonderful symbol of the age-old courage of men. He reminded the lads present that the enormous sacrifices made by the soldiers of New Zealand and other parts of the Empire were helping them to have brighter and better lives, and that all should render thanks to God, who had delivered them out of the hands of the enemy. They had gathered to commemorate the landing at Gallipoli and also to set aside the day to show their deep and grateful acknowledgement of the services of the men who had fought and died for them on other fields of the great battle-front. “The light of immortality that flashed from the abandoned tomb of the risen Christ lingers on in every mound of Flanders mud and clay, the gullies of Gallipoli, the sands of Palestine and Egypt, on the quiet churchyards in English villages and on God’s acres in New Zealand.. . . . And to-day, before God’s altar, we remember them with the love we bore them and the pride we shall have in them,” he concluded. Before the Dead March was played by the organist, the names were read of those from the Temuka parish who had died “on the field of honour” – the first two being Timothy John Brosnahan and Timothy Joseph Brosnahan.

On 10 August 1922 the Temuka Borough memorial was unveiled before a very large gathering in the domain, including Temuka Territorials and Cadets, Temuka and Geraldine returned soldiers, the Temuka Pipe Band, the Salvation Army Band, the children of the district schools, national and local dignitaries, and local folk. Opening proceedings, the Mayor said “We regret that this occasion has arisen, but having done so we must look back with pride at the actions of those who rose to the call of the Motherland, which was in peril. Many of those brave boys who left these shores did not return, and we have erected this memorial to their memory, . . . “Following hymns and scripture readings, His Excellency the Governor-General formally unveiled the monument and the local M.P. read out the names inscribed thereon. T. J. Brosnahan – Timothy Joseph or Timothy John?

H. T. (Timothy) Brosnahan died on 7 May 1926 at Kerrytown and was buried at the Temuka Cemetery. Mary, the widow of Hugh T. Brosnahan, Kerrytown, died at Timaru on 14 September 1938 and was buried at Temuka with her mother (Catherine Sullivan). Hugh and Mary had spent their entire married life at Kerrytown. Tim’s two youngest brothers both lost their lives in World War Two – Hugh was killed on Active Service in the Western Desert in 1942 and Patrick Francis was killed on Active Service in Tunisia in 1943. Many other relatives (cousins among them) served in World War One, so intertwined were the Kerrytown families – Timothy John Brosnahan was killed in action in 1916 in France, son of Hugh (“The Pub”) Brosnahan; Louis Brosnahan and Patrick Joseph Brosnahan, sons of Hugh (“The Pub” Brosnahan; Daniel Joseph Brosnahan, son of John Hugh Brosnahan; Hugh Hoare, son of Mary Brosnahan; James Francis Poff, Francis (Frank) Patrick Joseph Poff and Leo John Aloysius Poff, sons of Johannah Brosnahan; Michael Brosnan/Brosnahan and James Timothy Brosnahan, sons of Timothy Michael (Thady Mick) Brosnahan; James Gregory Brosnahan, son of Timothy Brosnahan; Michael (Mick) Anthony Spring died of wounds in 1915 at Gallipoli, son of Margaret Brosnahan; Thomas Leonard, son of Johannah (Hannah) Brosnahan; Timothy Gregory Breen, son of Norah Brosnahan; Daniel Scannell and Christopher Patrick Scannell, sons of Mary Brosnahan; Timothy Joseph Perry was killed in action in 1917 in Belgium, son of Catherine (Kate) Brosnahan. And in World War Two – Hugh Patrick Brosnahan, son of Hugh Francis Brosnahan; Cecil Patrick McEvedy served in the Navy, son of Emma Brosnahan; Timothy John McGrath served in the Air Force, son of Nora Brosnahan; Beatrice Mary Brosnahan served in the Air Force, daughter of Louis Brosnahan; Cecil Patrick Hoare, grandson of Mary Brosnahan; Fergus Patrick Brosnan, son of Timothy Michael (Thady Mick) Brosnan; Michael James Sullivan, son of Lucy Bridget Brosnan and grandson of Timothy Michael (Thady Mick) Brosnan; Eugene Augustus Breen, grandson of Norah Brosnahan; Hugh Brosnahan was killed in action in 1942 in North Africa, son of Hugh Brosnahan and brother of Timothy Joseph killed in action in 1918; Patrick Francis Brosnahan was killed in action in 1943 in North Africa, son of Hugh Brosnahan and brother of Timothy Joseph killed in action in 1918; Daniel Peter Brosnahan, son of Cornelius Brosnahan; in addition, Joseph Patrick Brosnahan, son of Joseph Patrick Brosnahan served in Malaya from 1948 to 1964.

A photograph of Gunner T. J. Brosnahan (Kerrytown), killed in action, was printed in the Otago Witness of 9 October 1918.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [29 July 2013]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ Ref. AABK 18805 W5530 0018550) [29 July 2013]; CWGC [29 July 2013]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs); Timaru Herald, 24 July 1913, 13 November 1915, 20 September 1918, 2 September 1919, 16 September 1921, 26 April 1922, 8 May 1926, 8 February 1928,, 15 & 16 September 1938 Evening Star, 20 September 1918, Press, 20 & 21 September 1918, Lyttelton Times, 20 September 1918, Star, 20 September 1918, Temuka Leader, 21 September 1918, 17 September 1921, 26 April 1922, 12 August 1922, 26 April 1927, Otago Witness, 9 October 1918 (Papers Past) [14 & 16 April 2014; 13 & 22 February 2016; 06 February 2018; 16 December 2020; 12 July 2023; 12 November 2023; 09 February 2026]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [09 February 2026]

External Links

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph record
• Military personnel file

Related Documents

• BROSNAHAN Timothy Joseph - newspaper clippings (pdf, 165.8 KB updated 06-Apr-2026)

Researched and Written by

Teresa Scott, SC Genealogy Society

Currently Assigned to

TS