NELSON, Horatio Charles
(Service number 36161)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 24 October 1894 | Place of Birth | Waimate, South Canterbury |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Doyleston, Canterbury | ||
| Occupation | Grocer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | |||
| Next of Kin | Mrs W. NELSON (mother), Leonard Street, Waimate | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 22nd Reinforcements, Specialist Company, Signal Section | ||
| Date | 16 February 1917 | ||
| Transport | Aparima | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Plymouth, Devon, England | |
| 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 | 16 July 1956 | Age | 61 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Rakaia | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Rakaia Cemetery | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Horatio Charles Nelson, known as Charles, was born on 24 October 1894 at Waimate, the fifth son of William Robertson and Catherine (née Graham) Nelson. He was educated at the Waimate District High School where he was awarded a prize in the infant department in 1901.
He enlisted as Charles Horatio Nelson. Private C. H. Nelson embarked by the “Aparima” on 16 February 1917 with the Sprcialst Company, Signal Section, of the 22nd Reinforcements, headed for Plymouth, England. He had nominated his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs W. Nelson, Leonard Street, Waimate. C. H. Nelson, 36161, Waimate, returned to New Zealand by Draft No. 149, which was to arrive in March 1918.
Charles married Florence Mary Merriman in 1924. He died on 16 July 1956 at Rakaia, aged 58 years, and was buried in the local cemetery.
His brothers David Arthur Nelson and Herbert Alfred Nelson also served in World War I, David with the Australian Forces and Herbert with the New Zealand Forces.
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. Was this Charles Horatio Nelson?
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [31 March 2020]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [31 March 2020]; Rakaia Cemetery burial record (Ashburton District Council) [31 March 2020]; Waimate Daily Times, 14 December 1901, NZ Times, 14 March 1918, Timaru Herald, 5 July 1922 (Papers Past) [2020; 19 July 2021]
External Links
Related Documents
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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