Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

William Manley Anstey was born on 22 July 1899 at Timaru, the youngest son of John and Bessie (née Chamberlain) Anstey. John and Bessie who were both from Devon, England, married in 1881 in New Zealand. In 1881, John Anstey acquired freehold land at Pareora and in 1889 leasehold land in the Beaconsfield district where the family resided. They had six children. The first-born, Rosina Mary, died at 9 years of age and was buried at Pareora East Cemetery; the second-born lived only two days; three sons and a daughter lived well into adulthood. William Manley Anstey was admitted to Pareora West School, where his siblings were also educated, in October 1906, recorded as having come from Esk Valley School. Having left in January 1907 for private tuition, he was re-admitted in February 1910 from Adair School. His father served on the Pareora West School committee for some years. He was also on the Timaru Borough Council and active in other local organisations. A member of the Royal Land Commission from 1905, he was appointed to the Legislative Council in 1907. Then in 1914 he won the Waitaki electorate. In all he did much to promote the interests of South Canterbury. In April 1918, when the lease of his farm at Otipua expired, Mr J. Anstey moved into Craighead Street, Timaru. Livestock, implements and furniture were all in good order and a complete clearance was made at the clearing sale.

On 19 August 1918, Jno Anstey (father) and Bessie Anstey (mother), of Craighead Street, Timaru wrote – “Our son William Manley Anstey aged 19 desires to enlist for service with the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces and we hereby give our consent to his enlistment.” William Manley Anstey was just nineteen years old when he enlisted voluntarily for war service, doing so at Timaru on 27 August 1918. He was serving with the 8th South Canterbury Mounted Rifles. John Thorne Anstey (known as Thorne), a brother of William, appeared before the Military Appeal Board on 27 August 1918. J. T. Anstey, farmer, Kingsdown, said “that he was working two farms, one of 284 acres, and one of 281 acres, and could not get a man to take his place. He had two brothers, one who had just reached military age, and was being examined that morning. This brother had been helping him, but in future witness would be the only man on the farm. His other brother was looking after two farms at Qtaio. Appellant usually grew 80 acres of wheat, but this year he had 100 acres in, and intended to put in another 15 acres. The Board suggested that appellant’s father might supervise the farms in the event of the son who had just enlisted not being passed. It was decided to adjourn the case till the result of the medical examination of appellant’s brother was known. Later it was announced that the younger brother had passed Fit A, and the Board gave the appellant a sine die adjournment.” William Manley Anstey was, indeed, medically examined at Timaru on 27 August and classified A. He stood at 6 feet 1 inch, weighed 189 pounds, and had a chest measurement of 37-41½ inches, a fresh complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. His sight, hearing, colour vision, heart and lungs were all normal, his limbs and chest well formed. He was free from diseases apart from varicocele (left), was in good bodily and mental health, and had no other complaints. He did have considerable left varicocele but it caused no pain or symptoms. A farm labourer for H. N. Anstey (brother Henry Norman), residing at home, single, and Wesleyan, he named his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs B. Anstey, 15 Craighead Street, Timaru. Granted leave without pay to 7 October 1918, he commenced service on 8 October 1918, when he was posted to A Company, 49th Reinforcements. Leaving home on 8 October, he entered camp the next day. On 3 December 1918, Private W. M. Anstey was granted leave without pay until further orders on Demobilisation. All was good at the “Medical Interrogation on Demobilisation of Soldiers who have not left New Zealand”.

In 1922, William Manley Anstey, farmer, was at home in Craighead Street with his parents. He married Margaret Dinsmore McBride on 15 April 1924. For many years, William and Margaret farmed at Stoneycroft, Lowcliffe in Mid-Canterbury and raised four sons and a daughter, a fifth son dying in infancy. While farming at Coldstream and Lowcliffe in the 1930s, W. M. Anstey fetched fairly good prices for his ewes and wethers and often topped the market, and when he was at Stoneycroft in the 1940s. Wm. M. Anstey placed a notice in the Press in December 1934, thanking all who had assisted to extinguish a fire and prevent it from spreading to his property. The following year, Mrs Anstey wanted urgently a strong, capable girl to assist with housework and children. In May 1937, he was elected a member of the Automobile Association (South Canterbury). While he was farming at Coldstream two of his sons injured their fingers, on separate occasions, and were admitted to hospital. When the Armed Forces Board heard appeals in April 1943, that of William M. Anstey, sheep farmer, Eiffelton, was adjourned sine die, owing to medical grading. The name of William Manley Anstey, farmer, Hinds, had been drawn in the General Service Ballot in December 1942, which included married men between 41 and 45 years.

In January 1948, when the fire danger in Ashburton County was very high, W. M. Anstey was appointed a sub-warden for the area bounded by the Rangitata River, Junction Road, Pyes Road, Brogdens Road and the coast. At Hinds on 4 May 1949, 25 riders of the Ashburton branch of the Christchurch Hunt Club made two good runs, casting off on the property of Mr W. M. Anstey. A hare was picked up on Mr D. M. Bruce’s farm, but it doubled back across the properties of Messrs Anstey, Hansen and Wells, where the dogs lost it. Another hare was put up, and led the field on to other properties, where it took cover.

William and Margaret retired to Ashburton in the mid-1950s. William Manley Anstey died suddenly at his residence, 120 Havelock Street, Ashburton, on 24 December 1966, aged 67 years. He was cremated privately, his ashes interred in the plot of his infant son (Bernard Henry) at Ashburton Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, four sons and one daughter, and grandchildren. He made provision for his wife, and after her death, his residuary estate was to be shared by his children. Margaret Dinsmore Anstey died on 6 June 1990 and was buried with William. When their twin son (Norman Dinsmore) died in 2013, his ashes were interred in the same plot. Henry Norman Anstey, William’s brother, was passed by the Medical Board at Timaru on 27 October 1918. Both he and John Thorne Anstey were listed on the Reserve Rolls. William Ian Anstey (known as Ian) - nephew of William Manley Anstey - served with distinction as a Flight Lieutenant in World War Two. Mrs Bessie Anstey died at her Timaru residence on 24 February 1933. The recollections of John Anstey who enjoyed a lengthy and fruitful residence in South Canterbury were printed in the Timaru Herald of 16 December 1939. Mr John Anstey died on 28 August 1940 at his residence, aged 84 years.

Sources

NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ Ref. AABK 18805 W5520 0010197) [30 September 2016]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [01 October 2016; 18 March 2025]; School Admission records (ancestry.com.au) [30 September 2016]; Ashburton Cemetery records (Ashburton District Council) [01 October 2016]; Timaru Herald, 27 December 1966 (Timaru District Library) [04 November 2016]; Timaru Herald, 30 March 1918, 8 April 1918, 28 August 1918, 15 October 1918, 25 February 1933, 21 May 1937, 16 December 1939, 29 August 1940, 9 April 1943, Waimate Daily Advertiser, 3 April 1918, Press, 22 December 1934, 1 October 1935, 16 December 1936, 29 August 1940, 27 December 1966, Ashburton Guardian, 23 December 1942, 13 January 1948, 5 May 1949 (Papers Past) [01 October 2016; 18, 19 & 20 March 2025]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [18 March 2025]; Probate record (Archives NZ Collections – Record number TU129/1967) [19 March 2025]

External Links

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph record

Related Documents

• ANSTEY William Manley - newspaper clippings (pdf, 71.7 KB updated 12-Aug-2025)

Researched and Written by

Teresa Scott, SC Genealogy Society

Currently Assigned to

TS