Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

Bernard Head was the son of the late Henry and Hester Head. On his enlistment in NZ forces, in addition to his UK family as next of kin he was required to give a NZ contact - so he listed Major Norton Francis of Waimate.

An independent researcher submitted the following information about Bernard Head:

“Commissioned as Lieutenant 1st and 2nd Battalions of The King’s Light Infantry (Shropshire Regiment) 1894. Bernard passed military school 16 January 1900. In March 1900 he was given a temporary commission in the army as Lieutenant when he joined the Volunteer Service. Fought 2nd Boer War 1900-1901. Sailed to South Africa on 3/3/1900 from Albert Docks at Liverpool and arrived Cape Town 28/3/1900. Head returned to UK on 11/4/1901 on the ‘Formosa’ which landed 9 May 1901. During the Boer War (QSA and three clasps) Bernard Head was a Captain in the Ellesmere Company of the 2nd Volunteer Battalion Kings Shropshire Light Infantry from 1900-1905. Resigned 1905.”

“Worked for Lord Harlech for 3 years. From 1904-1907 Travelled to NZ and Australia and often returned to UK 1908-1915 ... Major Head was a man of independent, means, a thorough English gentleman and sportsman. He originally came to New Zealand for trout fishing and became very attached to the Dominion, of whose scenery and tourist attractions he always spoke in terms of the highest praise. Head devoted himself to mountaineering and exploration, and in 1909, along with two local guides, made the first ascent of Mount Aspiring in Otago, New Zealand (other peaks and geographical features in the area are still named after Head and his relatives). Bernard Head's life seems to encapsulate the spirit of the Edwardian age: another brother, Christopher, a former Mayor of Chelsea, was drowned on the Titanic in 1912, while a third, Henry, was a pioneering neurosurgeon who famously experimented with the subject of nerve regrowth by severing the nerves of his own arm!”

“[Head was] Commissioned as captain of 1/5 Rwf [Royal Welsh Fusiliers] in 1910 and later in the army it was on He joined RWF as a major in 1913 In 1914 promoted to major in January with [the] NZ army. [He was part of the] Samoan Advance Force … 2nd in command of [the] Wellington Regiment. Departed NZ Auckland on 26 January 1915 for UK. On trips in England he presented the German flag which once flew over the Post Office there to a girl in his home town of Ellesmere, Shropshire)”

“[Head] Rejoined the 1/5 rwf in March 1915 ... [on] 19 July 1915 he sailed from Devonport on the ‘Caledonia’ … via Lemnos and Imbros. Departed 8 August 1915 on HMS Rowan then … to Sulva Bay [Gallipoli]. Arrived early hours 9 August 1915, disembarked at “C” Beach, Suvla Bay, Gallipoli.”

"Head was killed by sniper on 12 August 1915 during Gallipoli campaign" He notes that "...in the war diary it looks like he was recorded as being killed on the 12th", but on closer inspection it is evident it actually was the 13th. "This recognised as correct date from other researchers ... even [though] many records still show the 12th including his NZ Army and British Army records ..."

Sources

Auckland War memorial Museum Cenotaph Database (January 2015); SCroll web submissions by H Fitz-Gerald, 19 July & 4 Ocotber 2023; Commonwealth War Graves Commission [accessed 19 July 2023]

External Links

Related Documents

No documents available. 

Researched and Written by

David Batchelor, South Canterbury Museum

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.