Profile

RICHARDS, Sidney Edward
(Service number 50068)

Aliases
First Rank Trooper Last Rank

Birth

Date 22/01/1890 Place of Birth Rakaia

Enlistment Information

Date Age
Address at Enlistment Waihao Downs
Occupation Station manager
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status
Next of Kin Mrs C. RICHARDS (mother), Waihao Downs, Canterbury
Religion Free Thinker
Medical Information

Military Service

Served with NZ Armed Forces Served in Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Unit, Squadron, or Ship 29th Reinforcements, Mounted Rifles Brigade
Date 13 November 1917
Transport Tofua
Embarked From Destination Suez, Egypt
Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With

Military Awards

Campaigns
Service Medals
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

Post-war Occupations

Sheep farmer

Death

Date 9 November 1941 Age 51 years
Place of Death
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery Methven Cemetery
Memorial Reference Returned Services Section, Plot 14
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

Sidney Edward Richards was the second son of Edward and Elizabeth (née Harrison) Richards. He started at Dorie School in 1896 and transferred to Waimate School in 1903. Three of his four brothers also served in World War I - Albert Victor, Leslie Lawrence and Clarence Alexander (known as Alexander). Sidney was one of eleven men, probably along with his brother Alexander, who left Waimate by the first express on 8 March 1916. Before departing the men were treated to a send-off. They marched through the streets of Waimate, the Brass Band playing martial airs and a huge red ensign leading the way. The deputy-Mayor addressed them: “. . . . We are all glad and proud to be present and witness the beginning of the great sacrifice you are making – a sacrifice that means severing for a while the connection with the land you love so well. We recognise that nothing but the call of duty would cause men to give so much, as you are doing. We honour you for your readiness to sacrifice personal and business relationships in response to the call from the heart of the Empire for more men. . . . . . . The British have ever fought for the preservation of the rights of mankind. You all knew what your comrades, “Heroes of Anzac”, who have gone before, have done. . . . . .”

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [21 December 2017]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [21 December 2017]; School Admission record (Canterbury Branch NZSG) [21 December 2017]; Methven Cemetery burial record (Ashburton District Council) [22 December 2017]; Waimate Daily Advertiser, 7 & 8 March 1916 (Papers Past) [30 June 2017]

External Links

Related Documents

No documents available. 

Researched and Written by

Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.

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