Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

Clarence Joseph Ward was born on 12 June 1893 at Blenheim, the second son of Alfred Roger and Louisa Honoria (née O’Brien) Ward. Archbishop Redwood of Wellington was his father’s uncle. His parents made their way south and by 1900 Alfred Ward was station manager at Glenore near Milton. From there he went to Five Rivers Estate in Western Southland. Shortly after moving to Pomahaka, Mr Ward died at his property there, “Glenburnie”, on 6 October 1920. Mrs Ward spent some time in Dunedin before going to the North Island. She died on 9 July 1931 and was buried at Dannevirke. Clarence’s early education was at the Convent School, Milton, and afterwards at the Marist Brothers’ School, Timaru. On leaving school he worked for his father on the Five Rivers Estate. His brother, Reginald, also attended the Timaru Marist Brothers’ School. The five youngest daughters went from Five Rivers to board at Teschmakers near Oamaru.

Clarence was one of the first from the Five Rivers district to join the Main Expeditionary Force. A farmer, single and Roman Catholic, he named his father as next-of-kin – A. R. Ward, Five Rivers, Southland. Private C. J. Ward embarked with the Otago Infantry Battalion, leaving from Port Chalmers for Suez, Egypt, on 16 October 1914.

On 21 August 1915, Private C. J. Ward, 8/510, had been slightly wounded. He disembarked at Malta on 31 August. He had actually been wounded in the back and thighs, a gunshot wound to the left thigh resulting in a compound fracture of the femur and causing permanent disability. C. J. Ward, Otago Infantry Battalion, was invalided home per the “Maheno”, which left Malta on 21 November 1915 and was due to reach Auckland on New Year’s Eve 1915.

On the afternoon of 2 December 1925, Clarence Joseph Ward, who was riding his motor-cycle, collided with a heavy truck at a dangerous intersection in Dunedin. Thrown on his head, he suffered concussion and bleeding. At the hospital, it was found that he was suffering from severe injuries to his head and face. The next day he regained consciousness, but, though slowly improving, he was still on the dangerously ill list. On the evening of 16 December, Clarence Joseph Bernard Ward succumbed to his unjuries and died at the Dunedin Hospital, aged 32 years. His younger brother, Everard Joseph Ward, a farm hand, gave evidence of identification. Clarence was a competent motor-cyclist and had been riding for 15 years. His speed, however, contributed to the accicent. No blame was attributed to the truck driver. Clarence’s funeral service was held at Gore and he was buried there next to his father. His older brother, Reginald Alfred James Ward, was killed in action in 1916 at the Somme.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [23 November 2021]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [23 November 2021]; Gore Cemetery burial record [23 November 2021]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [24 November 2021]; Otago Witness, 22 November 1915, 22 December 1925, Southland Times, 18 December 1915, Evening Star, 3, 4, 5, 18 & 23 December 1925, Otago Daily Times, 17 & 18 December 1925 (Papers Past) [23 & 30 November 2021]

External Links

Related Documents

• WARD Clarence J B & Reginald A J - newspaper extracts (pdf, 615.6 KB updated 02-Dec-2021)

Researched and Written by

Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.