Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

William Wade, familiarly known as Willie, was the second son of James Wade and the eldest son of Winifred (Winnie, née Gallen, later Mrs Harnett), of Fairlie. James Wade who hailed from Southend on Sea, England, married Frances Rawson (Fanny) in 1875 at Akaroa, New Zealand. Fanny died at Christchurch in August 1888, leaving James with three daughters and one son, two daughters having died in infancy. James was a stevedore when he married Winifred Gallen on 10 June 1890 at the Priest’s house, Timaru. Winifred who was born in 1866 on the border of counties Tyrone and Donegal, Ireland, came to New Zealand at an early age to join her older brother (William Gallen) and older sister (Catherine Dick). Many siblings (Eleanor, Hugh, Edward, Hannah, Michael, Joseph) followed at different times, all settling in South Canterbury (Mackenzie Country). James and Winnie had two daughters and six sons (two dying in infancy) before James died on 21 May 1904 at Timaru. James Wade was a most respected member of the Timaru community, flags at the harbour being flown at half-mast out of respect. His funeral left the Catholic Church, into which he had been received, for the cemetery, Brethren of the Loyal Timaru Lodge attending. In 1906, Winifred married Timothy Harnett, a widower with two sons and a daughter. Winnie and Timothy had one daughter. William was born on 14 April 1893 at Timaru and baptised Roman Catholic as William Aloysius Wade two days later, 16 April 1893, at Timaru. Young Willie was educated at the Marist Brothers School, Timaru, before transferring to Fairlie in July 1904 when his mother moved there. He left Fairlie School at the end of 1906, then returned in mid-February 1907 until September, his guardian J. Robinson, Fairlie. John Robinson was his uncle, having married Eleanor (Ellen) Gallen in 1897. The Fairlie School broke up in mid-December 1906 with a picnic in the sports grounds. W. Wade received a Standard VI prize.

Willie Wade went off to Sydney, Australia, it is not known when but before February 1915. It was on 10 February 1915 that William Wade enlisted with the Australian Imperial Force at Liverpool, New South Wales, joining the Signallers. He had served with No. 7 Company of the Post & Telegraph Corps, Wellington, New Zealand. A telegraphist, 21 years 10 months old, single and Roman Catholic, he named his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs W. Harnett, Gorge Road, Fairlie, South Canterbury, New Zealand. William had been medically examined on 10 February 1915 at Sydney. He was 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighed 140 pounds, and had a chest measurement of 33-36 inches. His complexion was dark, his eyes and hair brown. He was free of any diseases and deformities. He could see the required distance with either eye. His heart and lungs were healthy. He had the free use of his joints and limbs. He was free of all diseases and defects which may have rendered him unfit for the duties of a soldier and he had a vaccination mark. He declared that he was not subject to fits of any description. Thus, he was fit for Active Service. Previous to his enlistment Sapper Wade followed the occupation of wireless operator, being in the service of the Union Steam Ship Coy., and was in Papeete a few days after its bombardment, by the German cruiser Emden.

After joining the Signallers in February 1915, W. Wade was transferred to the 4th Signal Troop on 2 March 1915. Sapper W. Wade embarked at Sydney, New South Wales on 31 May 1915 per the “Ajana”. He was transferred to the 2nd Division Signalling Company on 21 August 1915. Sapper Wade embarked at Alexandria for overseas on 30 August 1915 per the “Southland” and was on board travelling from Alexandria to Gallipoli when she was torpedoed by a German submarine off the island of Lemnos on 2 September 1915. As of 2 January 1916, he and his comrades were waiting to get away to Egypt. His was one of the last boatloads to leave the Peninsula after the evacuation of Gallipoli. He was transferred to the 6th Infantry Brigade at Anzac on 5 December. After disembarking at Alexandria from the “Empress of Britain” on 3 January 1916, Wade was transferred and taken on the strength of the 4th Division Signalling Company at Moascar on 6 March. From 1 February 1916, his mother was to be allotted ¾ per day, cancelling her previous allotment of 2 shillings per day. Transferred back to the 4th Division Signalling Company on 9 March 1916, Wade was then appointed Lance Corporal on 15 April 1916. Embarking at Alexandria for overseas on 8 June 1916 per the “Kinsfaun Castle”, he disembarked at Marseilles that same day to join the B.E.F. In March 1917 he was promoted to 2nd Corporal and in April to Corporal.

William Wade was awarded the Military Medal - commended for devotion to duty and bravery in France on 16 April 1917. A cable sent on 26 September 1917 said that he had been appointed Temporary Sergeant. He was then awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal - commended for conspicuous bravery and unflinching devotion to duty on 2 October 1917 while repairing a damaged cable route from Westhork to Albert Redoubt in Belgium. The NCO in charge had been wounded. W. Wade promptly took charge, and, with utter disregard for personal danger, directed their work from crater to crater. He worked his party under continuous shell fire, and completed his task. He maintained these communications for five successive days. (Commonwealth Gazette, No. 95, 27 June 1918). The extract from the London Gazette of 16th November 1917, which outlined the award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal, was sent to his mother on 13th March 1918. And on 17 June 1918 the medal was forwarded, with the observations “a brave Australian soldier who nobly laid down his life in the services of our King and Country” and “whose magnificent conduct on the field of battle has helped to earn for our Australian soldiers a fame which will endure as long as memory lasts”.

William escaped wounds and illness until his supreme sacrifice. In November 1917, it was reported that Temporary Sergeant W. Wade, 1021, who was with the Australian Forces and whose next-of-kin was his mother, Mrs W. Harnett, Fairlie, had died in the 12th Australian Ambulance in Belgium (“Somewhere in France”) on 21 October 1917 from shell wounds received in Action that day. He was 24 years 6 months of age. He was struck by a shrapnel bullet which pierced his steel helmet and penetrated his head. He never regained consciousness and passed away just as he reached the Field Ambulance. He was buried with all honours by a Catholic priest and a cross of oak from the destroyed Ypres Cathedral was erected over his grave. Sergeant William Wade was buried in the Menin Road South Military Cemetery, Ypres, Belgium. A cable was sent on 7 November to inform Mrs W. Harnett, Gorge Road, Fairlie. The Cemetery Register read – WADE, Serjt. William, 1021, D.C.C 4th Div. Signal Coy. Australian Engineers. Died of wounds 21st Oct., 1917. Age 24. Son of Winifred Harnett (formerly Wade), of Gorge Rd., Fairlie, New Zealand. Native of Timaru, New Zealand. III. I. 37. Not all details could be included on the headstone, however, as the Imperial War Graves Commission imposed a limit to the number of letters.

W.O. J. O’Brien, of the Australian Forces, wrote enthusiastically to Mrs Harnett from Ypres on 22 October 1917, of Sergeant Harnett as a soldier and as a companion. “He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his bravery and particularly good work in the Zonnebeke battle. He not only earned the decoration, but also the gratitude and thanks of the whole Division. He had just been made a Sergeant, and had he been spared would have won his commission in very short time. . . . . He was more than a friend to me. We had been together ever since we enlisted. We have always lived in the same tent, same dug-out, and the same shell-hole, and up till a few days ago we always worked together. . . . . He was . . . . . bravest of the brave, the most capable boy in the Company at his work, and also the most popular. His death was a very great loss indeed. . . . All the officers and men that could be spared from the Company attended the funeral, and when the Last Post was sounded there was not a dry eye among them.” William Harnett should read William Wade.

William’s paybook will of 27 July 1917 is incorporated into his Attestation Papers. He bequeathed all his property and effects to his mother (Mrs Winifred Harnett). Messrs. Raymond, Raymond & Campbell, Solicitors, Stafford Street, Timaru, New Zealand, handled his estate. William’s brother-in-law, Leonard Peter Robinson, wrote on behalf of William’s mother asking about clasps and bars for the different engagements in which T/Sgt. W. Wade took part. In July 1918 L. P. Robinson received one package containing one medal. In 1919 a package of William’s personal effects was sent, the contents being 1 suit pyjamas, 1 bathing costume, 1 shirt, 1 hairbrush, 1 jersey, 1 muffler, 1 sounder, 1 pr socks, 1 comb, 1 housewife. In December 1920 (her previous reply having not been delivered) Winifred Harnett (William’s mother) notified the Base Records Office in Melbourne, that she was his nearest living blood relative, his father had died at Timaru 15 years ago, and Sergt Wade had been her help and part of her support. The 1914/1915 Star was forwarded on 19 January 1921 and the British War Medal on 13 September 1921. The Victory Medal was also awarded. Whether the Memorial Plaque got to the family is not apparent. A photograph is attached to a record of William in Mapping our Anzacs scrapbook (ancestry.com.au).

While he was away, William kept in touch with his family back in Fairlie. His sister Nellie received a letter written in July 1915 and another written in January 1916. We soon got into the routine on board ship, he wrote. We slept in hammocks, swung to the deck above. “Revellie” [Reveille] went at 6 a.m. and we started work at 6.50 a.m. The horses stood the journey well. We had about 250 on board. The men fared well. I enjoyed the trip, even though the work was hard. I had two horses, a riding one and a pack horse. The riding horse was a lovely tempered animal and I made him my favourite. On his way to the Front, Willie’s ship stopped in India where she had to be repaired, the result being that the men were ashore in barracks with about 800 territorials from England. There were hospitals in India with wounded from all parts—France, Belgium and Dardanelles. “We are being treated well. The white people will do anything for us, and are always pleased to hear a yarn about Australia. New Zealand is unknown here; people know nothing about it. They can’t make the Colonial out at all. . . . . . We are all well; and I never felt better in my life, eating like a horse and sleeping like a top.” At Christmas 1915 he and other fellow Australian soldiers enjoyed “billies” of gifts sent from home – pipes, tobacco, cigarettes, tins of sardines, packets of safety pins, some bachelor’s buttons, some nuts. His ‘billy’ was sent by an ‘Old Sundowner of South Australia’. Sapper Wade concluded his letter by wishing to be remembered to all his friends at Fairlie.

Sergeant William Wade – killed in France, October 21, 1917 - was remembered by his mother, sisters and brothers in a Roll of Honour notice in the Timaru Herald of 21 October 1921 –

“How constantly we think of him,

With eyes and hearts that fill;

The love we had for him in life

In death seems stronger still.”

Brothers Hugh Joseph (Joe) Wade and Edward James Wade also served in World War One and were both fighting on the Western Front at the same time as Willie. He was one of a family with an exceptionally brilliant war record - William was awarded the Military Medal and D.C.M.; his brother Edward was awarded the Military Medal; another brother, Hugh Joseph (Joe) Wade, had a leg amputated. Both Edward and William were in France when their brother Joseph had both legs smashed with shell. Then Edward and Joseph were both in hospital in England when Willie died of his wounds. Yet another brother, John Wade, the youngest son of Winifred and brother of Willie, Edward and Joe, and stepbrother of John and William Harnett, was called up in July 1917 when he had just turned 20. He was appealed for by his mother. Of her four sons and two stepsons, five had already enlisted. A sine die adjournment was granted.

W. Wade is honoured on the Timaru Memorial Wall (as W. Wade and, it appears, as W. Harnett), the Mackenzie District War Memorial at Fairlie, the Fairlie Primary School Memorial and the Fairlie School Hall Memorial, and the Australian War Memorial, Canberra (panel 26). Anzac Day 1926 was fittingly observed in Fairlie when a large crowd assembled in the school grounds to witness the unveiling of the memorial tablets erected at the base of the school flagstaff in memory of pupils who had lost their lives in the Great War. The flagstaff had been presented in 1917 and now large marble tablets had been placed in the base, one bearing an inscription and the other the names of the fallen men. The Pipe Band played a march to the grounds and at the conclusion of the unveiling ceremony gave a lament. Proceedings opened with the National Anthem, the Brass Band accompanying. It also accompanied the singing of Kipling’s Recessional later. T the unveiling ceremony was performed in a reverent manner, and many beautiful wreaths were afterwards placed on the steps. The original Mackenzie County War Memorial was unveiled on 16 December 1929. It has since been rebuilt. The parade, including the Timaru Municipal Band, 49 Returned Soldiers, the Executive Committee of the War Memorial, the Mackenzie Pipe Band, and School children from Mackenzie County Schools, formed up at the Post Office and marched to the site of the memorial. After the singing of the National Anthem, and a verse of the Canadian Anthem, the Chairman addressed the gathering, expressing gratification at the fact that at long last they were met to unveil and dedicate the memorial to the soldiers from the Mackenzie County who fell in the Great War. The design was unique in South Canterbury. It was not a cenotaph, or solely a monument of those buried elsewhere. It expressed more than that. It was a catafalque, a cairn upon which symbolically the remains of the Unknown Warrior were elevated, and were contained in the representation of a casket at the top of the structure. The base was composed of glacial boulders, and the shaft of limestone blocks. The whole erection was therefore constructed of indigenous stone. Thus symbolically the Warrior rested on his native soil. The wreath above the tablet, composed of laurel leaves carved in stone symbolised victory. The tablet on which the names were inscribed is of marble. In a lengthy address, Father Barra, who had himself served as a chaplain, outlined clearly the campaigns throughout which New Zealanders had served, fought and died. They had “stood up in their splendid manhood, enthusiastically responding from the first to the call of their country.” He paid sensitive and abundant tribute to all involved in any role in the conflicts. An avenue of oak trees commemorating Fairlie’s fallen soldiers lines its main street.

The Wade brothers were cousins of the Dick brothers who served in World War One – Joseph Andrew Dick who was killed in action in 1917 and James Alfred Dick, sons of Winnie’s sister Catherine (Kate) née Gallen. Two Gallen cousins also served in World War One – William James Gallen, son of Winnie’s brother Hugh, and John James Gallen, son of her brother Edward. At least one Gallen relative served in World War Two – Anthony Edward Timothy Gallen, whose brother John Hugh Gallen was drawn in a ballot. Cousins James Cornelius Gallen and Patrick Bede Gallen (sons of Michael) were also drawn in World War Two ballots. William Henry Loomes, a son of Louisa Wade, a half-sister of Edward, Joseph and Willie Wade, served in World War Two. Winifred Harnett (Winnie, formerly Wade) was accidentally killed. What a stoic, brave yet proud woman she must have been. Her fourth son (James) had died in 1899 at five months; her youngest son (Albert James) died in 1904, he too five months old; her husband James Wade died in May 1904, leaving four children of his first marriage and six of his second; her eldest son died of wounds in France in October 1917; her third son lost a leg in France in 1917. Mrs Winifred Harnett, one of the oldest and best-known residents of the Mackenzie Country, an excellent wife and mother, and a generous and large-hearted lady, fell from a trap when the horse shied near Timaru on 6 June 1922. She was killed on the spot, but “not before a kindly Providence ordained that at that moment Father J. O’Connor, S.M., of Geraldine, should come upon the scene, and imparted to the dying woman the last absolution.”

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [26 April 2015; 09 April 2017]; CWGC [26 August 2013]; Australian Military Forces - Australian Imperial Force records [26 August 2013]; CWGC [26 August 2013]; Timaru Herald, 4 March 1899, 26 February 1904, 23 May 1904, 15 December 1906, 19 August 1915, 16 March 1916, 13 July 1917, 8 & 29 September 1917, 19 & 21 November 1917, 10 December 1917, 4 & 16 February 1918, 10 August 1921, 20 & 21 October 1921, 2 March 1928, 29 April 1926, 16 December 1929, NZ Tablet, 2 June 1904, 22 June 1922, Otago Daily Times, 23 November 1917 (Papers Past) [20 September 2013; 02 & 06 November 2013; 03 March 2018; 29 & 30 January 2020; 01 February 2020; 12 April 2020; 08 September 2021; 10 March 2022]; Mapping our Anzacs scrapbook (trees.ancestry.com.au) [26 August 2013; 02 & 06 November 2013]; Probate record (Archives NZ/Family Search) [09 June 2014]; School Admission records (South Canterbury Branch NZSG); Christchurch Catholic Diocese Baptisms Index CD (held by South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [07 May 2017; 26 October 2020]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [10 April 2017; 22 January 2026]

External Links

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph record

Related Documents

• William WADE biography by Doreen Knight (pdf, 309.3 KB updated 01-Mar-2019)

Researched and Written by

Teresa Scott, SC Genealogy Society

Currently Assigned to

TS