PETERSON, Peter William Alfred
(Service number 20935)
| First Rank | Sergeant | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 17/04/1881 | Place of Birth | Oamaru |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | P.O. Dargiville | ||
| Occupation | Joiner (for Mr J Wiggins, Dasrgiville) | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Married | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs Marian A. Peterson (wife), 12 Bay Street, Petone | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 18th Reinforcements, J Company | ||
| Date | 11 October 1916 | ||
| Transport | HMNZT 67 Tofua | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Plymouth, England | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Western European | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 February 1955 | Age | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Otahahu | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | |||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Peter William Alfred (Alf) Peterson, born in 1881 at Oamaru, was the eldest son of Norweigan parents Peter and Matilda Jane (née Imrie) Peterson. The family appear to have moved to Timaru by 1886 when Alf's younger brother William was born. They appear to have subsequently moved on to Winchester, before returing in late 1889.
Alf was admitted to Timaru Main School in November 1889, the admission roll noting his previous school being Winchester. It appears though that the family though continued to be very mobile though as Alfred left Timaru Main School, destined for Napier, on 25 March 1891.
By the time the First World War came around, Alf had already served in the South African War (service no.7343). He was married and was working as a joiner for a Mr Wiggins in Dargiville prior to enlisting and emarked on HMNZT 67 Tofua as a Sergeant with J Company,18th Reinforcements, New Zealand Expeditionary Force.
Alf served for one year and 348 days in the Western European front, before being discharged on account of illness contracted on active service. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his service. Alf's brother Percy also served, having enlisted with the Australian Imperial Forces. Alf and Percy's youngest brother Frederick Creighton Peterson (biorn after the family left South Canterbruy) also served, but tragically was killed in action in France in 1918.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [27 April 2021]; NZ Defence Force Records (Archives NZ) [27 April 2021]; SCRoll Web submission by L Hargreaves, 21 April 2021 and subsequesnt emails with Tony Rippin 24 & 27 Aoril 2021
External Links
Related Documents
Researched and Written by
Tony Rippin, South Canterbury Museum
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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