Profile

HATHAWAY, Oliver Milson
(Service number 23/1663)

Aliases
First Rank	Rifleman	Last Rank

Birth

Date	29 February 1882	Place of Birth	Timaru

Enlistment Information

Date		Age
Address at Enlistment	99 Carlton Street, Christchurch
Occupation	Tram conductor
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status
Next of Kin	Mrs E. J. HATHAWAY (mother), 11 Princes Street, Timaru
Religion	Church of England
Medical Information

Military Service

Served with	New Zealand Armed Forces	Served in	Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation	New Zealand Rifle Brigade
Unit, Squadron, or Ship	Reinforcements G Company
Date	19 January 1917
Transport	Waitemata
Embarked From	Wellington	Destination	Plymouth,England

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With

Military Awards

Campaigns	Western European
Service Medals	British War Medal; Victory Medal
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		Reason	No longer physically fit for war service on account of wounds received in action.

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Post-war Occupations

Death

Date	25 April 1983	Age	91 years
Place of Death
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery	Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch
Memorial Reference	Block 3, Plot 155
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

Oliver Milson HATHAWAY was the son of Felix HATHAWAY and his wife, Jane Young née SCOTT. At the time of enlistment, Oliver was a tram conductor for the Christchurch Tramways. Oliver's experiences during the war was punctuated with trauma and illness, as the local newspaper the Timaru Herald reported:

"Oliver M. Hathaway, son of Mrs. F. Hathaway, Princess Street, Timaru, who was wounded at the Messines offensive and sent to Brockenhurst hospital, has, according to a cable received, been removed to Hornchurch Convalescent Hospital." (23 July 1917).

"Mrs.E. Hathaway, Princess Street Timaru, has received word that her son, Private O. M. Hathaway, is in the Walton-on-Thames- hospital suffering from a gunshot wound in one arm." (7 January 1919)

Despite these experiences Oliver returned to New Zealand and lived to the age of 91.

Oliver's brother Felix David HATHAWAY also served in WWI.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [01 December 2013]; Memorial Park Cemetery burial records (Christchurch City Council) [26 July 2014]; Timaru Herald, 2 June 1915, 30 June 1917, 12 & 23 July 1917, 7 & 23 January 1919 (Papers Past) [26 July 2014]; School Admission Records (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [2014]; Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch, burial record (Christchurch City Council) [26 July 2014]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of internal Affairs) [13 September 2015]; SCRoll web submission by AJ Mabey, 30 October 2021

External Links

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