Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

Thomas Reid Bates was born on 17 July 1892 at Glenavy, the sixth son of Joseph and Janet (née Campbell) Bates. Joseph and Janet married in 1868 at Dalziel, Lanarkshire, Scotland and arrived in New Zealand in about 1879 with five children, the youngest born on the voyage out. Their second child had died in Scotland in 1872. They settled in the vicinity of Glenavy, Joseph a farmer. The family was at Waitaki North when eldest daughter Jessie married in May 1896. Thomas attended Tawai School (then known as Waitaki Village School) in Waimate County, moving to Windsor School in 1902. Of the thirteen surviving siblings, all but his eldest brother attended Redcliffs and /or Tawai schools before the family moved to Windsor near Oamaru in about 1902 after Joseph had acquired an allotment at Elderslie Settlement. Mr Joseph Bates died suddenly at his Windsor residence on 15 February 1906. He had been a prominent member of the Presbyterian Church at both Glenavy and Windsor. The youngest son, Frederick John Reid Bates, died at his parents’ Windsor residence on 19 November 1913, aged 17 years and was buried at Oamaru.

Thomas was a fruiterer at Timaru when he enlisted at the Defence Office, Timaru on 2 November 1916. Single and Presbyterian, he named his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs Jennett Bates, Windsor, Oamaru. He was serving with the 2nd South Canterbury Regiment and had served with the 10th North Otago Regiment. Trooper T. R. Bates embarked with the Mounted Rifles of the 24th Reinforcements, departing for Suez, Egypt per the “Moeraki” on 19 April 1917 and transferring to the “Port Sydney” at Sydney. He embarked for the return to New Zealand per the “Malta” at Suez on 14 December 1918. He was discharged on 24 April 1919, no longer physically fit for war service (chronic pleurisy) and was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

After the war, Thomas pursued various occupations – farmer, dairyman, labourer, sawmiller, sawmill manager, builder. He married Hyacinth Marguerit Hendrickson in 1921 and had three sons. Thomas and Hyacinth divorced in 1941. The following year he married Ivy Wyniard Cadey. He died on 10 November 1962 at Christchuch, aged 70 years, and was buried with Ivy at Ruru Lawn Cemetery. His sister Elizabeth had died in 1923, his eldest brother John in 1934, Alexander in 1938, his sister Janet (Jessie) in 1945, sister Jane in 1949, brother James in 1953, brother Joseph (buried at Oamaru with Alexander and James) and sister Bertha both in 1956. His mother Janet died on 10 June 1934. Two brothers of Thomas also served in World War One – Alexander Mitchell Campbell Bates and James Campbell Bates. Another brother, Joseph Bates, was a shearer at Windsor when he was called up in 1917. James Hope, a son of Jessie Bates and Walter Hope, and nephew of Thomas, served in World War Two. T. Bates’ name is inscribed on the Tawai District Memorial as Served Overseas. The Tawai Soldiers War Memorial and Roll of Honour were unveiled on 23 August 1923. Tawai had a war record to be proud of. The proceedings opened with the singing of the National Anthem. After the unveiling of the memorial, “To the glory of God, and in memory of the men from Tawai District who made the great sacrifice.”, the prayer of dedication was said.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [05 January 2024]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [05 January 2024]; School Admission records (South Canterbury & Oamaru branches NZSG) [05 January 2024]; Ruru Lawn Cemetery headstone transcription [05 January 2024]; Oamaru Mail, 16 February 1906, Timaru Herald, 24 August 1923, Press, 12 & 13 November 1962 (Papers Past) [09 February 2020; 05 January 2024]

External Links

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph record
• Military personnel file

Related Documents

No documents available. 

Researched and Written by

Teresa Scott, SC Genealogy Society

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.