Profile

HENDERSON, Henry James
(Service number 32776)

Aliases Known as Harry
First Rank Sergeant Last Rank Sergeant

Birth

Date 14/11/1889 Place of Birth Geraldine

Enlistment Information

Date 29 July 1916 Age 26 years
Address at Enlistment Douglas, Waimate
Occupation Farmer
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status Single
Next of Kin John HENDERSON (father), Kakahu Bush, South Canterbury
Religion Roman Catholic
Medical Information

Military Service

Served with NZ Armed Forces Served in Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation New Zealand Rifle Brigade
Unit, Squadron, or Ship 13th Reinforcements, 2nd Battalion, F Company
Date 15 November 1916
Transport Maunganui
Embarked From Wellington Destination Plymouth, Devon, England
Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With Canterbury Infantry Regiment

Military Awards

Campaigns Western European
Service Medals British War Medal; Victory 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 9 September 1918 Reason No longer physically fit for War Service on account of wounds received in action.

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Post-war Occupations

Farmer

Death

Date 29 November 1973 Age 84 years
Place of Death Waimate
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery Waimate Lawn Cemetery
Memorial Reference Plot 000494
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

Henry James Henderson, who was born on 14 November 1889 at Geraldine, was the fourth son of Irish-born John and Mary (née McCann) Henderson. He was known as Harry. Along with his six brothers and one sister, he was educated at Kakahu Bush School.

He enlisted on 29 July 196 at Trentham. A farmer at Douglas, Waimate, single and Roman Catholic, he named his father, John Henderson, Kakahu Bush, South Canterbury, as next-of-kin. Sergeant H. J. Henderson embarked with the New Zealand Rifle Brigade of the 13th Reinforcements, leaving from Wellington for Plymouth, England, on 15 November 1916 per the “Maunganui”. Corporal Henry Henderson’s name appeared in casualty lists in late October 1917. He had been wounded on 12 October. A few weeks later his was reported as a severe case.

He embarked at Avonmouth on 6 April 1918, to return to New Zealand by the “Marama” (Draft 159). “Private [sic] Henderson, of Kakahu (who returned to New Zealand by the same transport as Privates Anderson and Prestige, but who left the boat at Auckland, to go into the hospital at Rotorua), arrived at Temuka yesterday, and was met and welcomed by Messrs Gunnion and Street. He is suffering from the effects of a bullet wound in the arm and side, and the bullet has not yet been extracted from his side. He was in the Walton-on-Thames Hospital. Private W. Hobbs being in the next bed to him. The latter was in good heart, and sent a cheery message to Mr Gunnion.” [Temuka Leader. 25 May 1918.]

Henry James Henderson married Caroline Bean in 1921. He died on 29 November 1973 at Waimate, aged 84 years, and was buried in the Waimate Lawn Cemetery, where a services plaque marks his grave. Caroline who died in 2003 at the age of 104, was buried alongside him. They were survived by a son and three daughters. His mother Mary who died in 1927 and his father John in 1935, were buried at Geraldine. Two of Harry’s brothers served in World War One – Edward and John (48858).

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [30 September 2022]; School Admission record (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [30 September 2022]; Waimate Lawn Cemetery headstone images & burial records (Waimate District Council) [30 September 2022]; Temuka Leader, 30 October 1917, 25 May 1918, Evening Post, 10 November 1917, 4 May 1918, Timaru Herald, 7 May 1918 (Papers Past) [01 & 30 September 2022]

External Links

Related Documents

No documents available. 

Researched and Written by

Teresa Scott, SC Genealogy Society

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.

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