Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

John Edwin Hammond was born on 5 October 1892 at Timaru, the younger son of Albert and Mary Ann (née Howarth) Hammond. Along with his siblings, he was educated at Springbrook School, transferring twice to Kingsdown School and back to Springbrook. On leaving school, John took on farm work, perhaps with his father. John Hammond was fencing at Pio Pio, Te Kuiti, when his name was drawn in the Eighth Ballot. When he enlisted on 5 February 1918 at Wellington, he gave some false details, namely that he was born in September 1882 and that he was single, whereas it is believed that he married Florence Ellen Hart in 1914 and had three children by then. He did name his father as next-of-kin – Albert Hammond, 130 North Street, Timaru. But Private John Hammond, 72609, got into strife. While attached to Headquarters Staff (Quartermaster’s Store), he deserted. A military warrant was executed on 6 April 1918, though one had already been issued at Timaru on 7 February. He was arrested, tried by District Court-martial, and “sentenced to imprisonment with hard labour for 180 days for deserting His Majesty’s service and losing by neglect his equipment, clothing, and regimental necessaries”. On 13 October 1918 he escaped from military detention. He was again arrested after another military warrant had been executed on 23 August 1919. Yet another arrest followed in 1920. [Refer to Police Gazettes in attachment and to personnel file.] in July 1920 his sentence was mitigated to Imprisonment with Hard Labour for 12 months and stoppage of pay. John Edwin Hammond died on 12 September 1962, aged 69, and was buried in Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch. Florence Ellen Hammond had died in 1947 at Napier, where she had been living since the 1930s, and was buried in Park Island Cemetery there.

Sources

NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [15 April 2021]; School Admission records [15 April 2021]; Bromley Cemetery burial record (Christchurch City Council) [16 April 2021]; King Country Chronicle, 6 June 1917, NZ Police Gazettes, 16 June 1918, 25 September 1918, 30 October 1918, 20 November 1918, 20 August 1919, 10 September 1919, 9 June 1920, Evening Post, 22 August 1919 (Papers Past) [16 April 2021]

External Links

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph record
• Military personnel file

Related Documents

• HAMMOND John - newspaper clippings (pdf, 130.4 KB updated 29-Apr-2021)

Researched and Written by

Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.