Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

Alexander Allan (10/2835) was born on 17 July 1876 at Temuka, the eldest son of Alexander Mair and Mary Ellen (Ellen, née Scollard) Allan. Scottish-born Alexander and Irish-born Ellen married in New Zealand in 1875. They had five sons and three daughters, one son dying in 1891 at 19 months. Little William had climbed up on a low chair to get his hat off a box and fallen between the chair and the box. He seemed unharmed for about an hour then went into a fit and died. The children were all educated at Rangitira Valley School, the older ones (Alexander included) transferring there from Waitohi in 1886. The first meeting of creditors regarding the bankruptcy of Alexander Mair Allan, of Waitohi, farmer, was held in mid-June 1888. He had applied for an order of discharge in March 1886, which was granted. An order for discharge was applied for again in September 1888. A. M. Allan was still a farmer at Waitohi when he gave evidence in court on 4 March 1889. At the beginning of February 1904, Mr W. Wright, of Rangitira Valley, requested necessary alterations to be made on the Temuka Road Board roll, as he had sold his farm in lots (enumerated) to Messrs J. Davey, J. Talbot, A. M. Allan, Alex. Allan, Jas. Allan, and E. F. O’Neil; that is Alexander Mair Allan and his two oldest sons, Alexander and James. “Mr Alex. Allan, junr., whilst driving with a friend to the Waitohi last evening, met with rather a painful accident. The horse took fright and shied at an object on the roadside, and the occupants of the trap were thrown out. Mr Allan sustained a cut over the right eye, and bruises over the ribs and hip. The sufferer was attended to by Dr Paterson, and is now progressing as favorably as can be expected under the circumstances.” [Temuka Leader. 14 July 1906.]

Mrs A. M. (Ellen) Allan died on 18 November 1910 at her Rangitira Valley residence and was buried at Temuka. For several years her loving family inserted a memorial notice in the newspaper – (1911) “How wo miss thee dearest mother, None but our sad hearts can tell. A place is vacant in our home Which never can be filled. Rest, dear mother, your work is o’er, Your loving hands will toil no more, Till God alone did think it best, To ease yon from suffering and give you rest, But in heaven we hope to meet.” (1912) “Two long years have passed, dear mother, Since you crossed the great divide; There to wait your loved ones’ coming In the land beyond the tide, Two years have passed, our hearts are sore, As time goes on we miss you more, Your loving voice, your welcome face, There’s none can fill our mother’s place.” Alexander Allan may have farmed locally until 1911 at least. In 1914 he was a labourer at Rangiotu in the Manawatu district.

Alexander Allan was medically examined on 16 May 1915. He stood at 5 feet 9 inches, weighed 150 pounds, and had a chest measurement of 34-36½ inches, a medium complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. His sight, hearing, colour vision, heart and lungs were all normal, his limbs and chest well formed, and his teeth efficient. Free from diseases, vaccinated and in good bodily and mental health, although he had had pneumonia in the right lung, he was passed fit. The men from the Palmerston North district who were to leave with the 7th Reinforcements of the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces entrained for Trentham on 14 June 1915. “They were a fine, sturdy lot and well up to the high standard of physique of the men of previous reinforcements.” Although there was no public send-off, there was a good attendance of citizens at the Defence Headquarters as the men were assembled and wished good luck. Mr D. Buick, M.P., reminded the men that they were not going away for a picnic, but to fight - and the men knew that. He was pleased to see that the pluck of their ancestors was inherent in the men. “You are going away to fight for the British Empire in the great cause of liberty, for we don't want the military state in New Zealand. We wish you good luck, and hope to welcome you on your return,” he concluded. The quota then marched to the station and left by the Mai Trunk express for Wellington en route to Trentham. Among those who left for camp was A. Allan (Infantry). On 14 June 1915 at Trentham, Alexander Allan enlisted. A teamster, single and Roman Catholic, he named his brother as next-of-kin – Garrett Allan, Rangatira Valley, Temuka; while his address was C/o Mrs Barnes, Rangiotu.

“The 1st and 2nd Battalions, Trentham Rifle Brigade (the Earl of Liverpool’s Own) and the whole of the 7th Reinforcements, comprising over 5000 men, will make their first public appearance in Wellington on Saturday afternoon, when they will engage in a route march through the city. It being expected that an unusually large crowd will throng the street to see the troops as they pass by, the whole of the Wellington City garrison troops (including the Senior Cadets) are being ordered out for duty on Saturday afternoon to regulate the traffic.” [Manawatu Standard. 5 October 1915.] The route march of the. troops through the streets oi Wellington on the afternoon of 9 October was one of the most spectacular affairs witnessed in Wellington The men were in excellent condition and consisted of the Seventh Reinforcements and First and Second Battalions of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade. “The Seventh carried their arms at the slope, presenting a long line of bright steel, while the Riflemen carried their arms at the trail and marched with the light infantry step. Nine bands took part in the display and crowds all along the line of route cheered lustily as the men, numbering 5000, marched past.”

Private A. Allan embarked with the Wellington Infantry Battalion of the 7th Reinforcements, departing from Wellington on 9 October 1915 and disembarking at Suez, Egypt on 18 November. He transferred to Lady Godley at Alexandria on 27 December 1915 and joined the Wellington Infantry Battalion at Ismalia on 9 January 1916. He was then transferred to the 2nd Battalion, Wellington Infantry Regiment on 1 March 1916. He embarked for France at Alexandria on 9 April 1916. There in France on 2 May, he was awarded 3 days’ Field Punishment for absence from roll call at 8am on 29 April 1916. On 28 June 1916, he was admitted to No. 2 Canadian Hospital with pulmonary TB. Embarking for England per the Hospital Ship “St Patrick” on 29 June, he was admitted to the 3rd London General Hospital at Wandsworth on 30 June, with tubercle of the lung. On 21 July 1916, he was transferred from there to Walton Hospital, and on 9 August 1916, he was transferred from Walton to Hornchurch, reporting to the New Zealand Convalescent Camp at Grey Towers on 10 August. Having reported at Codford from Hornchurch, he was taken on Strength from 4 September and posted to W Company. Reporting at Sling from Codford on 15 September, he was posted to the Strength of the 1st Wellington Company.

Evacuated to Codford from the New Zealand Reserve Group at Sling on 5 January 1917, he was taken on Strength. On 17 January, however, he left Codford for the Reserve Group at Sling and was taken on the Strength of the Divisional Employment Company, with which he went overseas on 30 May 1917. He was transferred to No. 1 New Zealand Divisional Employment Company in France on 31 July. Classified C by the NZEF Travelling Medical Board in the Field in France on 12 September 1917, he marched out to the Discharge Depot at Torquay on 26 September. Private Alexander Allan, 10/2835, returned to New Zealand per the “Ruahine” (Draft 134), embarking at Liverpool on 16 November 1917 and arriving on 6 January 1918. Mr Allan, Waitohi, had received word on 14 December 1917 that his brother, Private A. Allan, had been invalided home and would arrive in New Zealand shortly. This was perhaps his brother James, as both Garret and Peter had, themselves, left for the front.

One of the largest crowds yet seen in Temuka assembled at the railway station on Tuesday, 8 January 1918 to welcome home five more returned soldiers, invalided home from the war. Cars were in readiness for the soldiers and their relatives, and headed by the Temuka Pipe Band they marched to the Post Office, where there must have been nearly a thousand people assembled to meet and greet them. Mr T. Gunnion, on behalf of the Temuka Patriotic Entertainment Committee extended a hearty welcome to the soldiers, thanking them for what they had done for Temuka in particular and the Empire generally. “They had done their part nobly and well, and all were proud of them.” The Mayor added felicitations on behalf of the townspeople. He trusted that the men would soon recover their health. Thanks were returned for the great reception the soldiers had been accorded, and on the call of Mr Gunnion three hearty cheers were given for the soldiers. After the Band had played some more selections the men were driven to their homes. One of the men who returned was Private Allan (Rangitira Valley), suffering from rheumatism. He had spent over two years overseas in Egypt, France, Belgium and England, for which he was awarded the 1914-1915 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. He was discharged on 3 February 1918, no longer fit for war service on account of illness contracted on active service. Alexander was one of 45 returned soldiers who were presented with gold medals at a most memorable gathering organised by the Waitohi Flat Presentation and Memorial Committee and held in the Waitohi schoolroom in November 1919. An enjoyable concert was provided before the returned soldiers, assembled in the front seats, were thanked and welcomed home. All involved were thanked for their kindness and mementoes of the war and the ladies of Waitohi were thanked for the much-valued parcels sent to the front.

Alexander Allan, labourer at Rangatira Valley, was a witness to the second marriage of his sister Johanna Catherine at the Manse, Temuka in 1920. Alexander remained at Rangitira Valley for a few years after the war. Did he then make his way to the North Island, working perhaps as a teamster and a porter in the late 1920s and the 1930s? His father, Alexander Mair Allan, died on 17 July 1926 at Christchurch and was buried at Temuka with his wife and infant son, the funeral leaving his daughter’s Waitohi residence. The family of the late Alexander Mair Allan, late of Rangitira Valley, thanked all kind friends and neighbours for their messages and expressions of sympathy in their sad bereavement. He died intestate, having cash in the Public Trust Office. Alexander Allan died on 31 October 1953 at Wellington where he had spent at least the last ten years of his life working as a barman. He was 77 years old and was buried in the Soldiers’ Section of Karori Cemetery, Wellington, a services plaque marking his plot. Two younger brothers of Alexander served in World War One – Garret Allan and Peter Allan. Three nephews – James Garret Allan, son of his brother James, and Alexander William Allan and Mervyn Peter Allan, sons of his brother Peter – served in World War Two.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [25 July 2016]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ Ref. AABK 18805 W5520 0007508) [26 July 2016]; NZ BDM Historical Records (Department of Internal Affairs) [25 July 2016] ; School Admission record (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [25 July 2016]; Karori Cemetery, Wellington, headstone image & burial record (Wellington City Council) [26 July 2016]; Timaru Herald, 2 November 1953 (Timaru District Library) [27 July 2016]; South Canterbury Times, 15 & 16 March 1886, 15 September 1888, Temuka Leader, 28 June 1888, 3 September 1891, 4 February 1904, 14 July 1906, 19 November 1910, 18 November 1911, 18 November 1912, 10 January 1918, Timaru Herald, 17 November 1913, 15 December 1917, 9 January 1918, 10 November 1919, 19 & 30 July 1926, Manawatu Standard, 14 June 1915, 5 & 9 October 1915, Manawatu Times, 15 June 1915, Otago Daily Times, 8 September 1916, 7 October 1916, Sun, 5 January 1918, Dominion, 7 January 1918, NZ Times, 7 January 1918 (Papers Past) [03 May 2015; 27, 28, 29 & 31 December 2024]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [26 July 2016; 27 December 2024]

External Links

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph record
• Military personnel file

Related Documents

• ALLAN Alexander, 10-2835 - newspaper clippings (pdf, 150.6 KB updated 18-Feb-2025)

Researched and Written by

Teresa Scott, SC Genealogy Scoiety

Currently Assigned to

TS