EDWARDS, Benjamin Gordon
(Service number 7/42)
| First Rank | Trooper | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 16/08/1887 | Place of Birth | Invercargill |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 13 August 1914 | Age | 27 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Orari Bridge, Geraldine; Canterbury; | ||
| Occupation | Beekeeper (for FE South, Geraldine) | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Benjamin Edwards (father), 90 McFadden’s Rd, St Albans, Christchurch | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | Main Body | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | Canterbury Mounted rifles | ||
| Date | 15 October 1914 | ||
| Transport | Tahiti or Athenic | ||
| Embarked From | Lyttelton | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Egyptian 1914-1915, Balkans (Gallipoli, Mudros, Lemnos) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal, Gallipoli Medallion & lapel badge (1967) | ||
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 |
Death
| Date | 17 April 1968 | Age | 81 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Rotorua | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Rotorua Cemetery | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Son of Benjamin and Mary Ann Edwards nee Smith.
Benjamin was admitted hospital 27 May 1915, transferred to Malta, then to England. While in England he was discharged for a furlough from 29 September 1915, returning to the base depot at Weymouth on 18 October 1915. In January he was transferred to the convalscent hospital at Hornchurch.He was discharged as no longer fit for service and returned to NZ in September 1916. Benjamin served for a total of two years and 23 days, 1 year and 295 days of which was served overseas. His military service cover sheet gave his intended address as Napier, while his discharge papers stated Timaru.
After the war Benjamin married Myra Madelene Ada Gawler in 1921. He died in Rotorua on 17 April 1968.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database (January 2015); NZ Births, Deaths, and Marirages at https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Home/; Archives New Zealand: Paperspast at paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records, Archives NZ R21000220 [30 August 2023]; SCRoll web submission by N Carter, 29 August 2023.
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Liz Shea, SC branch NZSG; Carol Bell, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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