McMURTRIE, Eric William
(Service number 73514)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Rifleman |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 20 January 1896 | Place of Birth | Milton, Otago |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Brunswick Street, Timaru | ||
| Occupation | Tailoring | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Married. Two children | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs Gertrude Ann Elizabeth McMURTRIE (wife), Evans 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 | 40th Reinforcements, E Company | ||
| Date | 10 July 1918 | ||
| Transport | Tahiti | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Plymouth, Devon, England | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | NZ Rifle Brigade | ||
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 | 15 June 1968 | Age | 72 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Christchurch | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Canterbury Crematorium | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Eric William McMurtrie was born on 20 January 1896 at Milton, the elder son of James and Margaret (née Chilsholm) McMurtrie, both natives of Milton. James, “an exemplary husband and father”, died at Milton on 19 June 1907 after a very brief illness. Just over three years later, three still young children were to lose their mother. Eric was educated at Tokomairiro School (Milton), leaving at the the age of of 14½ to go out to work. By 1916 he was at Timaru, where he married Gertrude Annie Elizabeth Waterreus.
Eric and Gertrude ad two children – Alan Donald Chisholm and Philip Eric – when he enlisted. Eric was a tailor and named his wife as next-of-kin – Mrs Gertrude Ann Elizabeth McMurtrie, Evans Street, Timaru. Private E. W. McMurtrie embarked with the 40th Reinforcements, leaving for Plymouth, England, by the “Tahiti” on 10 July 1918. One of 968 men in Returning Draft No. 273, E. W. McMurtrie, of Timaru, returned to New Zealand by the “Somerset” which was due at Lyttelton on or about 12 August 1919.
After the war two daughter were born to Eric and Gertrude. Gertrude died in 1965 and Eric on 15 June 1968 at Christchurch, aged 72 years. Both were cremated at the Canterbury Crematorium.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [09 August 2021]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [12 August 2021]; School Admission record (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [12 August 2021]; Bruce Herald, 20 June 1907, Otago Daily Times, 6 August 1919, Press, 25 September 1964, 17 June 1968 [08 August 2021; 01 June 2022]
External Links
Related Documents
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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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