Profile

SHEARS, Samuel
(Service number 6/2753)

Aliases
First Rank Private Last Rank

Birth

Date 24 December 1895 Place of Birth Kakahu

Enlistment Information

Date Age
Address at Enlistment Stafford Street, Timaru
Occupation
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status Single
Next of Kin Mr B. SHEARS (father), Stafford Street, Timaru
Religion Church of England
Medical Information

Military Service

Served with NZ Armed Forces Served in Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation 6th Reinforcements
Unit, Squadron, or Ship Canterbury Infantry Battalion
Date 14 August 1915
Transport Willochra or Tofua
Embarked From Wellington Destination Suez, Egypt
Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With

Military Awards

Campaigns
Service Medals 1914-15 Star; 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

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

24 January 1918 admitted to Brockenhurst Hospital, suffering from eye trouble.

Post-war Occupations

Pastrycook

Death

Date * 1978 Age
Place of Death Timaru
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery
Memorial Reference
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

Samuel SHEARS, born on 24 December 1895, was the son of Benjamin and Annie (née COOKE) SHEARS. Benjamin and Annie had married in England and come to New Zealand in about 1880. Samuel (2nd Regiment) was one of 123 men who joined 500 men from the south already on the train and left from the Timaru Railway Station in mid-April 1915, en route for the Front. The Mayor wished them the best of good fortune and complimented them on the manly stand they were so freely taking in going to help to break the sway of one of the greatest despots who had ever lived. He wished them all a safe and speedy return, before the train steamed out of the station to the accompaniment of cheering and good-bye messages. Samuel returned home on Draft No. 221 on the Hororata which was due in Wellington on the 13 March 1919. As soon as the Hororata reached Wellington, the South Island men travelled to Lyttelton and then on to Timaru by a special express, which was decorated with flags and red, white and blue bunting, while painted on the front was "welcome home". They arrived in Timaru on 16 March 1919 to an rousing reception by the crowd packed into Station Street. They were addressed by Mr J. Craigie, M.P., and the Deputy Mayor, welcomed back and complimented on all they had done for the Empire and freedom. The National Anthem was played before being taken home in decorated cars. Samuel married amelia Lottie BOYCE in 1920 at St Mary's, Timaru.

Sources

Cenotaph Database [29 July 2014]; Timaru Herald, 19 April 1915, 19 December 1916, 6 & 9 February 1918, 5 & 17 March 1919, 17 March 1919, 4 June 1920, Press, 4 March 1919 (Papers Past) [06 & 09 September 2014]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [29 July 2014]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [29 July 2014]

External Links

Related Documents

No documents available. 

Researched and Written by

Currently Assigned to

LSh

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