HARRIS, Edward
(Service number 7/2018)
| First Rank | Captain | Last Rank | Captain |
|---|
Birth
| Date | Unknown | Place of Birth | Schoolhouse, Christ's College, Christchurch |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | |||
| Occupation | Sheep farmer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | Captain of the Geraldine Rifles | ||
| Marital Status | Married.Four children. | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs Margaret HARRIS (wife), 19 Dyer's Pass Road, Christchurch | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 9th Reinforcements Canterbury Mounted Rifles, C Squadron | ||
| Date | 8 January 1916 | ||
| Transport | Maunganui | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | New Zealand Pioneer Battalion | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
Award Circumstances and Date
This Officer's Company was engaged in digging a communication trench from Crest trench to Switch Trench on 16th September. The ground over which they had to work was heavily shelled by the enemy. Captain Harris laid off the tasks and kept the men at work until the Company was withdrawn after six hours work. Captain Harris's coolness and encouragement kept his men working in spite of casualties and the fact that the trench was continually blown in. He was wounded approximately an hour before the Company was withdrawn. He died on the 18th September. L.G. 4 January 1917, p262, Rec No 441.
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 | 18 September 1916 | Age | 47 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | |||
| Cause | Died of wounds | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Demancourt Communal Cemetery extension, Somme, France | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | Memorial wall, Timaru; St Mary's Church, Geraldine: Geraldine War Memorial; Woodbury War Memorial | ||
Biographical Notes
Youngest son of Archdeacon William Chambers & Matilda Louisa (nee SANDERS) HARRIS, of Christchurch, New Zealand; husband of Margaret HARRIS (nee CAMPBELL; married 1902), of 19 Dyers Pass Rd., Christchurch. Always followed a pastoral life; station manager
Sources
Cenotaph Database [17 October 2013]; CWGC [23 October 2013]; Press, 17 June 1885 (PapersPast) [23 October 2013];North Otago Times, 28 September 1916 (Paperspast) [13 October 2013]; Cyclopedia of New Zealand (Canterbury) [23 Octobere 2013]
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Currently Assigned to
TS
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
Tell us more
Do you have information that could be added to this story? Or related images that you are happy to share? Submit them here!

