WILSON, Henry
(Service number 74438)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 3 October 1897 | Place of Birth | Milton, New Zealand |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | 50 Theodocia Street, Timaru | ||
| Occupation | Letter-carrier | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs M. A. WILSON (mother), 50 Theodocia Street, Timaru | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 39th Reinforcements, E Company | ||
| Date | 13 June 1918 | ||
| Transport | Athenic | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Liverpool, Merseyside, England | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Canterbury Infantry Regiment | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | British War 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 | 2 December 1961 | Age | 64 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Timaru | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Temuka Cemetery | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Henry Wilson, named for his maternal grandfather and known as Harry, was the younger son of Scottish born Alexander Wilson and his New Zealand born wife, Maria née Cossgrove. Born on 3 October 1897 at Milton, Otago, he was educated at Tokomairiro School, Milton. His father died in 1911 and sometime after his mother moved to Timaru. Private Henry Wilson embarked at Liverpool on 27 March 1919 per the “Kia Ora”. He 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”.
Harry married Grace Todd-Hunter Young Auld in 1922. He died on 2 December 1961 , aged 64 years, and is buried at Temuka with his wife who had died just five months earlier. They were survived by a son and a daughter. Harry’s brother, Bill, also seved in World War I and three of Bill’s sons served in World War II. His youngest sister married a Timaru ex-serviceman, William Michael Direen.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [23 June 2020]; NZ BDM Indexes (Depratment of Internal Affairs) [24 June 2020]; School Admission record [24 June 2020]; Temuka Cemetery headstone image (Timaru District Council) [24 June 2020]; Timaru Herald, 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
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Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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