Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

Thomas Alfred Wilson was born on 5 November 1878 in London, England, the son of John Henry Wilson and his second wife, Mary Ann née Lee. John Henry Wilson, a hairdresser and perfumier, married firstly Caroline Mosley who died a year after the birth in 1866 of their only child, John William Wilson. He married Mary Ann Lee in 1871 in London. They had two children born in Scotland – Julia in 1872 and Alphonso Henry in 1873. There followed Thomas Alfred in 1878, James George in 1882 and Walter Francis in 1884, all born in London. In 1881, Thomas was at home in London with his parents and siblings (John, Julia and Alphonso). In 1891, his mother (married, wife) was still in London, though at a different address. With her were Julia, Alphonso, James and Walter. No sign of John Henry, John William or Thomas Alfred. The only family member identified in 1901 and 1911 is Walter who was serving with the navy.

In 1908 Thomas was at Fairlie, South Canterbury, where he was a cook. His brother James was there in 1905 and 1908, a station hand. Perhaps Thomas was there too by 1905. At the Technical Class Concert held in the Fairlie Public Hall in mid-November 1913, Mr Tom Wilson was accorded a popular reception. and gained a well deserved encore for his song “Crossing the Bar.” A duet, “Tell Her I Love Her So,” given by Messrs Drake and Wilson, was encored, the voices blending nicely. Special votes of thanks were passed to . . . . , to Mr Tom Wilson, a pupil who had travelled distances up to 15 miles in all sorts of weather to attend the class, . . . .

Private T. A. Wilson was in a batch of South Canterbury men who flocked to the colours in May 1915 and were accepted in Timaru for service at the Front. In late May 1915, men were “offering more freely” at Timaru. T. A. Wilson, Fairlie, was one of those who had passed the medical test and had signed on to leave Timaru for Trentham by special train on 29 May. He was one of the men given a rousing farewell when they went north to the concentration camp at Trentham in late May 1915. After afternoon tea in the Drill Shed and an address by the Mayor, amidst much cheering from the crowds, they were played to the railway Station by the Regimental Band and joined recruits from the south (Invercargill, Dunedin and Oamaru) on a very long special troop train. Now a painter, single and of Church of England affiliation, he was residing at Fairlie, when he enlisted. He named his sister as next-of-kin – Mrs Julia Keating, care of A. Wilson, 330 Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill, London, England. A. Wilson was their brother Alphonso. Thomas also named a friend – J. J. McLeary, Papatawa, Woodville. After his marriage in England, his wife (Mrs R. L. Wilson) became his next-of-kin.

Sergeant T. A. Wilson embarked with the New Zealand Rifle Brigade of the 4th Reinforcements, departing from Wellington for Suez by the “Willochra” on 4 March 1916. The newspapers of October 1917 reported him wounded. Thomas Alfred Wilson (Company Sergeant Major NZEF) married Rosina Louisa Bentley on 23 March 1918 at Christ Church, Mitcham, Surrey. His father was then deceased. Their son, Frederick Walter Bentley Wilson, was born on 25 January 1919 and christened on 20 April 1919 at Holy Trinity, Tooting, Wandsworth. Another son, James George Wilson, was born in 1921 in New Zealand. Both boys attended Fairlie School. Flying Officer James George Wilson, of Fairlie, was Mentioned in Dispatches for meritorious service in World War Two. T. A. Wilson, 23/1241, C.S.M. (Company Sergeant Major), returned home by the “Remuera” (Draft No. 289) which was due at Auckland on or about 26 October 1919. He was discharged on 25 November 1919. He had given 4 years and 181 days of service, 3 years and 239 being overseas. He was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal for his service in Egypt and Western Europe.

Thomas and Rosina lived at Eversley, Fairlie, where he continued to work as a house painter. Thomas Alfred Wilson, a pensioner, died on 9 September 1946 at Fairlie, aged 67 years and was buried in the local cemetery. Rosina died in 1964. His brother, James George Wilson, who had also come to New Zealand, served with the New Zealand Forces in the War. James Keating, the husband of their sister Julia and father of two boys, served with the Royal Engineers and was discharged in 1917, being no longer physically fit because of neurasthenia. Alphonso Henry Wilson, who was born in 1873, died in 1932. Sapper Alphonso H. Wilson served in France with the Royal Engineers in World War One. Walter Francis Wilson, the youngest of the family, was born in 1884 and served with the Royal Navy from 1900 and throungh the War. When Walter married in 1912, his father was not recorded as deceased. Lieutenant Walter Francis Wilson died in 1921 in London but of Portsmouth. A note attached to the Find A Grave record reads “He was accepted as a casualty of the Great War on 5th July 2013.”

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [16 May 2022]; England census returns 1881, 1891 (ancestry.com.au) [20 May 2022]; Family records (ancestry.com.au) [20 May 2022]; England Churches marriage records (ancestry.com.au) [20 May 2022]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [20 & 21 May 2022]; Fairlie Cemetery burial records (Mackenzie District Council) [20 May 2022]; Timaru Herald, 18 November 1913, 15, 26 & 31 May 1915, 29 January 1945, Evening Post, 20 October 1917, 10 October 1919 (Papers Past) [13, 14, 21 & 22 May 2022]

External Links

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph record
• Military personnel file

Related Documents

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Researched and Written by

Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.