NELSON, Charles Henry
(Service number 53514)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 13 November 1886 | Place of Birth | Frizington, Cumberland, England |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 5 February 1917 | Age | 30 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | 19 Myrtle Crescent, Wellington | ||
| Occupation | Butter factory manager | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Miss M. A. NELSON (sister),19 Myrtle Crescent, Wellington; 28 Barrett Street, New Plymouth; 74 Daniel Street, Wellington South; 100 Owen Street, Wellington; C/o Mrs Tonkin, Bellfield Hill, Timaru | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 27th Reinforcements, F Company | ||
| Date | 16 July 1917 | ||
| Transport | Athenic | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Liverpool, Merseyside, England | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | British War Medal; Victory Medal | ||
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 | 7 March 1929 | Age | 42 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Murchison | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Murchison Cemetery | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Charles Henry Nelson was the son of Jonathan and Anna Maria (née Sim) Nelson, of Frizington, Arlecdon, Cumberland, England. In 1891 four year old Charles was at home with his family at Frizington, and again in 1901 when he was an errand boy. By 1911 he was a labourer at Timaru, New Zealand. Two brothers followed him to New Zealand – John Radcliffe Nelson, a home missionary, and Isaac William Nelson, a boot salesman. Both were called up in 1917, and Isaac enlisted, serving only in New Zealand. His only sister, Martha Annie Nelson, also came to New Zealand and was next-of-kin for Charles. Charles married Dorice (Dot) Brown in 1925 in New Zealand. Dorice lived into her nineties and was buried with Charles at Murchison.
The Methodist Church of Timaru placed a handsome window in the Bank Street Church as a memorial for the war victims of the congregations. Apart from the names of the fallen appearing on the window, the names of all who served were inscribed in a book which was to be preserved in the Church. Included in the names was that of Charles Nelson.
A nephew commented: "I never knew him but know something of him after he married my father's sister in 1925. He had an unfortunate life and died 1929. My Auntie Dot did not remarry and was buried with him in 1995. There was one daughter Phyllis.".
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [31 March 2020]; 1891, 1901 England census returns (ancestry.com.au) [31 March 2020]; Murchison Cemetery burial record (Tasman District Council) [31 March 2020]; Timaru Herald, 5 July 1922 (Papers Past) [24 March 2020]; SCRoll web submission by G Brown, 30 March 2025
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Currently Assigned to
TS
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
Tell us more
Do you have information that could be added to this story? Or related images that you are happy to share? Submit them here!