Profile

COLLINS, William J
(Service number 86008)

Sacred Heart Basilica memorial plaque, photographed about 2010 — (South Canterbury Museum )

Aliases
First Rank		Last Rank	Private

Birth

Date	24/05/1891	Place of Birth	Timaru

Enlistment Information

Date	1 May 1918	Age	27
Address at Enlistment	Sommerville Street, Andersons Bay, Dunedin
Occupation	Postal Clerk, P & T Dept. Letter carrier
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status	Married to Violet Julia REES on 1st January 1915 at Dunedin. Son William Andrew COLLINS born 13th September 1917 at Dunedin.
Next of Kin	Mrs V. J. COLLINS (wife), Care Mr H. HAY, Maclennan, Catlins District
Religion	Roman Catholic
Medical Information	Height 5 feet 7 inches. Weight 127 lbs. Chest 34-36 inches. Cmplexion dark. Eyes brown Hair dark brown. Sight 6/6 for both eyes. Hearing good. Colour vision, heart and lungs normal. Limbs and chest well formed. Full movement of joints. Free from varicocele, varicose veins, haemorrhoids, inveterate or contagious skin disease. Good bodily and mental health. Slight defects but not sufficient to cause rejection. No notification for consumption. No treatment in a sanatorium or mental institution. Left leg quarter an inch shorter (physical peculiarity, not from disease). Lumbago. Indigestion for past 3 years. On 1 May 1918 in Dunedin William was classed medically fit for Service beyond the Seas.

Military Service

Served with	NZ Armed Forces	Served in	Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation	New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Unit, Squadron, or Ship	46th Reinforcements, B Company
Date	Entered Camp 14 Aug 1918. Demobilised from Featherston Camp, 24 Nov 1918 - leave of absence.
Transport
Embarked From		Destination

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With

Military Awards

Campaigns
Service Medals
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	14 July 1919	Reason	Termination of period of engagement

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Post-war Occupations

Death

Date	3 September 1937	Age	46 yrs
Place of Death	Queensland, Australia
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery	Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Memorial Reference
New Zealand Memorials	Basilica of the Sacred Heart (as William J Collins?)

Biographical Notes

Married to Violet Julia REES on 1 January 1915 in Dunedin; son William Andrew COLLINS, b. 13 Sep 1917, Dunedin. Two more children born in New Zealand - Violet Anna in 1921 and Raymond George born in 1922. His wife Violet died on 9 February 1926 and is buried at Naseby. William married a second time, in Australia, to Ellen May HARRIS. Son of Andrew & Margaret COLLINS, Timaru. Brother of Andrew Paul & Bernard, both killed in action. William left home on 13 August 1918 and entered camp on 14 august. He was discharged on 14 July 1919 but had already been granted a Certificate of Leave in lieu of Discharge when he was demobilised from Featherston Camp on 23 November 1918. At this date he was described as of good character.

Sources

N Z Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ Ref. AABK 18805 W5530 0027164) [28 July 2013]; Collins Family Tree, Australian Death Index and Australian Cemetery Index (ancestry.com.au) [14 March 2014]; New Zealand, Central Otago, Cemetery Gravestones, 1861-2009 (FamilySearch) [21 March 2014]

External Links

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