AITKEN, William Scott
(Service number 88209)
| First Rank | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 9 November 1875 | Place of Birth | Naseby, Otago |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 29 July 1918 | Age | 42 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | 64 College Road, Timaru | ||
| Occupation | Letter carrier (N.Z. Govt. P & T Dept) | ||
| Previous Military Experience | 2nd NZ Contingent South Africa | ||
| Marital Status | Married | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs Mary Elizabeth AITKEN (wife), 64 College Road, Timaru | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | |||
| Date | |||
| Transport | |||
| Embarked From | Destination | ||
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
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 | 10 May 1945 | Age | 69 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Timaru | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Timaru Cemetery | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
William Scott Aitken was born on 9 November 1875 at Naseby, Otago, the fifth of the six sons of Robert and Christina Mary (née McNiven) Aitken. His father, who kept a store at Naseby, died on 26 December 1878 in Dunedin and was buried in the Northern Cemetery there. Some time after, Christina moved to South Canterbury where some of the boys attended South Orari, Rangitata Station and Temuka schools. William was admitted to Rangitata Station School in 1886 and again in 1890 after a few months away to work at home. His mother died in 1901 at Christchurch and was buried with her husband in Dunedin.
William served in the South Africa War. He married Mary Elizabeth Taylor on 16 December 1902 at Christchurch. Allen Scott Aitken was born on 29 February 1904 at Christchurch and Duncan Stewart Aitken on 15 July 1906 at Christchurch. By 1909 William and Mary had moved to Timaru, where he was a post-official official. Allen and Duncan attended Timaru South School. Duncan Stewart Aitken was one of the Timaru candidates who passed the Public Service Entrance Examination held in July 1924.
So, it was at Timaru that William Scott Aitken enlisted on 15 July 1918. He was a member of the South Canterbury quota of the Forty-sixth Reinforcements which left Timaru by the north express on 9 September 1918 after parading at the drill hall. A letter carrier for the P & T Department, he named his wife as next-of-kin - - Mrs Mary Elizabeth Aitken, 64 College Road, Timaru. W. S. Aitken saw no overseas service.
He died on 10 May 1945 at Timaru, aged 69 years, and was buried in the Timaru Cemetery. He was survived by his wife and two sons. Mary died in 1947 at Chistchurch and was buried with him.
Sources
Otago Daily Times, 28 December 1878, Lyttelton Times, 29 July 1901, Timaru Herald, 7 September 1918, 11 May 1945, Press, 20 October 1947 (Papers Past) [08 October 2021; 04 February 2022]; Timaru Cemetery headstone image (Timaru District Council) [31 January 2022]; Northern Cemetery, Dunedin, headstone transcription (South Canterbury Branch NZSG cemetery records) [05 February 2022]; School Admission records (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [05 February 2022]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [05 February 2022]
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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