SPENCE, James Henry
(Service number 78271)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 31 August 1898 | Place of Birth | Dunedin |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | 56 Selwyn Street, Timaru | ||
| Occupation | Motor mechanic | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | |||
| Next of Kin | H. SPENCE (father), 56 Selwyn 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, A Company | ||
| Date | 13 June 1918 | ||
| Transport | Athenic | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Liverpool, Merseyside, England | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Canterbury Regiment | ||
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 | 25 November 1989 | Age | 91 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Levin | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Avenue Cemetery, Levin | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
James Henery Spence was born on 31 August 1898 at Dunedin, the eldest of the four sons of Henry and Elizabeth (née Hoare) Spence. He started his schooling in Dunedin, transferring to Timaru Main School in 1905, then to Wakari School, Dunedin, in 1906, and to Timaru South School in 1907. His mother died suddenly at Timaru on 9 December 1917. When he enlisted he was a motor mechanic living at home. His next-of-kin was his father – Mr H. Spence, 56 Selwyn Street, Timaru. Private J. H. Spence embarked with the 39th Reinforcements for Liverpool, England, on 13 June 1918 by the “Athenic”.
J. H. Spence, of Timaru, was one of more than 800 men who returned to New Zealand by the “Port Hacking” in August 1919. In 1924 he married Lottie Priscilla Yeatman. James Henry Spence died on 25 November 1989, aged 91, at Levin, and was interred in the Avenue Cemetery, Levin.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [21 May 2021]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [22 May 2021]; School Admission records (South Canterbury branches NZSG) [22 May 2021]; Avenue Cemetery, Levin, headstone transcription & burial record [22 May 2021]; Timaru Herald, 10 December 1917, 11 August 1919 (Papers Past) [06 September 2014; 22 May 2021]
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
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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