RICHARDS, Sidney Edward
(Service number 50068)
| First Rank | Trooper | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 22 January 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 | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
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 | |||
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 | 9 November 1941 | Age | 51 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | |||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Methven Cemetery | ||
| 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
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
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Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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