SHELLEY, Joseph Francis
(Service number 47089)
| First Rank | Rifleman | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 16 July 1887 | Place of Birth | Christchurch |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 25 January 1917 | Age | 29 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Waimate | ||
| Occupation | Labourer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs J. SHELLEY (mother), 16 Coleridge Street, Sydenham, Christchurch | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Rifle Brigade | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 25th Reinforcements, J Company | ||
| Date | 26 April 1917 | ||
| Transport | Tofua | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Plymouth, Devon, England | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Western European | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | British War Medal; Victory Medal | ||
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 | 16 January 1951 | Age | 63 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Ashburton | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Ashburton Cemetery | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Joseph Francis Shelley was born on 16 July 1887 at Christchurch, the fourth son of Jeremiah and Bridget (née Costello) Shelley. Jeremiah and Bridget who were both from Ireland married in 1881 in New Zealand. Joseph was called up in 1916. He was a labourer at Waimate when he enlisted on 25 January 1917 at Timaru. Single and Roman Catholic, he named his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs J. Shelley, 16 Coleridge Street, Sydenham, Christchurch. J. F. Shelley was one of the men who left Waimate by the first express, en route for Trentham, on 13 February 1917. Rifleman J. F. Sheley embarked with the New Zealand Rifle Brigade of the 25th Reinforcements, departing for Plymouth, England on 26 April 1917 per the “Tofua”.
J. F. Shelley was discharged on 27 February 1919, no longer physically fit for War Service on account of wounds received in Action. He died on 16 January 1951 at his residence, Seafield near Ashburton, aged 63 years and was buried in the Services Section of Ashburton Cemetery, after a Requiem Mass at the Church of the Holy Name, Ashburton. His brother Richard who was residing at Fairlie when he enlisted for service in World War One, was also buried at Ashburton.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [15 December 2024]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [15 December 2024]; Ashburton Cemetery burial record (Ashburton District Council) [15 December 2024]; Waimate Daily Advertiser, 12 February 1917, Press, 17 January 1951 (Papers Past) [04 March 2021; 16 December 2024]
External Links
Related Documents
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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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