Profile

McKENZIE, Alexander Charles
(Service number 82070)

Aliases
First Rank	Private	Last Rank	Private

Birth

Date	23 March 1898	Place of Birth	Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia

Enlistment Information

Date	20 May 1918	Age	20 years
Address at Enlistment	Timaru Hotel, Timaru
Occupation	Teamster
Previous Military Experience	Territorials - still serving
Marital Status	Single
Next of Kin	William James McKENZIE (father), care of Miss Hart, Trafalgar Street, Timaru
Religion	Church of England
Medical Information

Military Service

Served with	NZ Armed Forces	Served in	Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation	New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Unit, Squadron, or Ship	43rd Reinforcements, A Company
Date	2 October 1918
Transport	Matatua
Embarked From		Destination	London, England

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With

Military Awards

Campaigns
Service Medals	British War Medal
Military Awards

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

Discharge

Date	21 October 1919	Reason

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Post-war Occupations

Carter

Death

Date		Age
Place of Death
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery
Memorial Reference
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

Alexander Charles McKenzie was born on 23 March 1898 at Wagga Wagga New South Wales, Australia, the son of William James and Emily Mary McKenzie. He was baptized on 9 April 1898 at St Michael’s, Wagga Wagga. In August 1903 Alexander was admitted to Phillipstown School, Christchurch, coming from the Convent School. In December 1903 he left for Opawa School. At the end of July 1911 he was admitted to West Christchurch from Riccarton, and left at the end of the 1913 school year for the Boys’ High School.

Alexander McKenzie had been deemed unfit when he was medically examined in November 1917 at Christchurch. He then enlisted on 20 May 1918 at Timaru. He was a teamster at Maungati and his given address was Timaru Hotel, Timaru. He was already serving with the Territorials. Single and of Church of England affiliation, he named his father as next-of-kin – William James McKenzie, care of Miss Hart, Trafalgar Street, Timaru, and afterwards of High Street, Waimataitai, Timaru. A. C. McKenzie was in the big draft which left for camp, under orders, on 17 June, as South Canterbury’s quota of the 43rd Reinforcements.

Private A. C. McKenzie embarked with the 43rd Reinforcements, departing for London, England, per the “Matatua” on 2 October 1918. He returned to New Zealand by the “Hororata” which was due at Wellington on or about 30 September 1919. He actually reached Timaru by the express from Christchurch on the afternoon of 22 September. The soldiers who returned were given a hearty welcome. The Deputy-Mayor “congratulated the men on their achievements, offered them the thanks of the whole community for what they had done, and wished them a speedy return to good health.” He called for cheers from the assembled crowd, and these were given with great heartiness. Discharged on 21 October 1919, he was awarded the British War Medal.

“Alexander Charles McKenzie came up for sentence, having pleaded guilty to a charge of stealing £73 belonging to J. S Herron, and with forging and uttering a Savings Bank withdrawal form for £40 with the name of J. H. Williams. Mr Emslie said he was instructed to appear for accused, who pleaded guilty to a series of thefts, and who shortly afterwards committed forgery. He could not offer any suggestion in the matter of sentence, but asked that accused be not sent to prison. The accused prior to going abroad with the Expeditionary Forces, had borne a good character, but since then had developed a liking for the town and certain associations. The father was anxious that accused be put on reformative treatment for a term. His Honour said accused had proved himself an impenitent thief. While one charge was hanging over him he stole a man’s bank book and committed forgery. The case did not seem to be one for probation. He would be ordered to be detained for a long term, five years, and if he behaved himself the Prison Board could let him out. He ordered that the sum of £6 9s 11d found on accused when arrested be paid to the Savings Bank at Timaru.” [Timaru Herald. 26 May 1920.]

The Police Gazette of 27 February 1924 carried a notice under PERSONS WANTED – “Wellington. – 20th instant, for failing to comply with conditions of his release upon probationary license, Alexander Charles McKenzie, age twenty-six, height 5 ft. 8½ in., carter, native of Australia, fresh complexion, brown hair, grey eyes, small burn-scar on left arm, two scars on right hip. His license has been cancelled and his arrest is desired.” He was arrested on 7 May 1924.

What became of Alexander Charles McKenzie? And his parents, William James and Emily Mary McKenzie? William and Emily were at various address in Christchurch in the early 1900s and had moved to Hobbs Street, Timaru by 1919.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [09 September 2022]; New South Birth registration (ancestry.com.au) [09 September 2022]; Baptism record (ancestry.com.au) [09 September 2022]; Timaru Herald, 15 June 1918, 28 August 1919, 23 September 1919, 26 May 1920 (Papers Past) [August 2022; 09 & 11 September 2022]; School Admission records (Canterbury Branch NZSG) [09 September 2022]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [September 2022]

External Links

Researched and Written by

Teresa Scott, SC Genealogy Society

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.

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