Profile

WASHER, Claude William
(Service number 40731)

Aliases
First Rank Rifleman Last Rank

Birth

Date 2 December 1890 Place of Birth Christchurch

Enlistment Information

Date Age
Address at Enlistment Browne Street, Timaru
Occupation Upholsterer
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status
Next of Kin Mrs C. WASHER (mother), 41 Ollivier's Road, Linwood, Christchurch
Religion Church of England
Medical Information

Military Service

Served with NZ Armed Forces Served in Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation New Zealand Rifle Brigade
Unit, Squadron, or Ship Reinforcements, G Company
Date 14 March 1917
Transport Ruapehu
Embarked From Destination
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

Upholsterer

Death

Date 25 October 1953 Age 62 years
Place of Death Christchurch
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery
Memorial Reference
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

Claude William Washer was the youngest son of Arthur Theobald and Catherine Louisa (née Luke) Washerl. Along with his siblings, he was educated at Christchurch East School. Claude was an upholsterer for Ballantyne and Company, Timaru, when he enlisted, which occupation he resumed after the war.

On 6 September 1922 an impressive ceremony took place on the premises of Messrs J. Ballantyne and Co., Ltd., Timaru, which goes to prove that the patriotic services during the the war of the firm’s employees is far from forgotten by principals or fellow workers. A most artistic memorial was unveiled by the Mayor, in the presence of relatives of the fallen and the men who saw service. The local manager explained that they had wished to pay tribute to the seven brave young men who left the staff to serve King and country, two of whom had made the supreme sacrifice. Though the tablet would not be exposed to the public gaze it would remain for many generations as silent witness to all who worked in the building of what they owed to the men who fought and died in defence of those principles of liberty and justice which were the basis of our civilisation. The central plate, bearing the names of the men who served, was of beaten copper, while surrounding the plate was a massive oak frame, beautifully carved, and surmounted by a carved laurel branch. It carried the following inscription: “To the memory of the men of this house who served in the Great War 1914-1918”, followed by seven names, including two who made the supreme sacrifice, and among the others Claude Washerl. The ceremony, which was a most impressive one, terminated with the sounding of the “Last Post” by Leslie Thompson.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [09 February 2020); NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [10 February 2020]; School Admission record [10 February 2020]; Timaru Herald. 7 September 1922 (Papers Past) [09/02/2020]

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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