EDDINGTON, James Kirkwood
(Service number 25/973)
| First Rank | Driver | Last Rank | Rifleman |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 21 July 1885 | Place of Birth | Kakanui |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | 44 Regent Street, Timaru | ||
| Occupation | Driver | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | |||
| Next of Kin | John EDDINGTON (father), 44 Regent Street, Timaru | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 3rd Battalion | ||
| Date | 12 February 1916 | ||
| Transport | Waitemata | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Suez, Egypt | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | NZ Rifle Brigade | ||
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 | 7 October 1969 | Age | 74 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Christchurch | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
James Kirkwood Eddington, who was born on 21 July 1895 at Kakanui, the youngest son of John and Mary (née Hughes) Eddington, was educated at Kakanui School, leaving when he was fourteen to work at home. The family was lving in Timaru when James enlisted with the New Zealand Defence Forces. J. Eddington was in a contingent of South Canterbury soldiers who came from Christchurch by a special train and were welcomed home on 9 May 1919. A great crowd gathered at the station and cheered loudly when they arrived. The soldiers expressed their appreciation to the ladies who gave them fruit and cigarettes. The Mayor congratulated the soldiers on their heroic achievements abroad, thanked them on behalf of the whole community and expressed the hope that they would soon regain their health, before calling for three hearty cheers for them. Mr Craigie, M.P., said that all were proud of what they had done in the struggle for liberty and freedom, and expressed the hope that “they would have many happy years in this prosperous land”.
James married Emily Ethel Sophia Shears in 1920. He died on 10 October 1969 at Christchurch, aged 74 years, and was buried in Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch. Emily had died 34 years earlier
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [23 June 2020]; NZ BDM Indexes (Depratment of Internal Affairs) [24 June 2020]; School Admission record (Oamaru Branch NZSG) [23 June 2020]; Sydenham Cemetery burial record (Christchurch City Council) [23 June 2020]; Timaru Herald, 16 October 1916, 10 May 1919 (Papers Past) [21 June 2020]
External Links
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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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