ALLAN, John
(Service number 26/382)
| First Rank | Lance Corporal | Last Rank | Lance Corporal |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 7 November 1883 | Place of Birth | Geraldine |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 12 October 1915 | Age | 31 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Whakataki | ||
| Occupation | Farmer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | Rifle Club 3 years | ||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Miss May BUTLER (friend), Seddon Road, Hamilton; Mr John ALLAN (father), Box 2, Dunsandel | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Rifle Brigade | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 4th Battalion, Machine-gun Section | ||
| Date | 5 February 1916 | ||
| Transport | Ulimaroa or Mokois or Navua | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | ||
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | New Zealand Machine Gun Corps | ||
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 | 7 June 1917 | Age | 33 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Belgium | ||
| Cause | Killed in Action | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Wulverghem-Lindenhoek Road Military Cemetery, Heuvelland, Belgium. Waikari Cemetery - memorial | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | Auckland War Memorial Museum, World War I Hall of Memories | ||
Biographical Notes
John Allan was born on 7 November 1883 at Geraldine, the third son of John and Jane (Jean/Jeanie, née Forrester) Allan. John, senior, and Jean had married in 1877 in their native Cumbernauld, Dunbartonshire, Scotland, before emigrating with their first-born in 1878. After a spell in the Ashburton district, Mr Allan started farming at Geraldine in 1880. A second son was born at Ashburton, followed by four daughters and four sons, all born at Geraldine. When Mr Allan sold the farm in 1897, the family moved to North Canterbury. There the younger children transferred from Geraldine School to Masons Flat School and on to Waikari School.
John Allan enlisted on 12 October 1915 at Trentham. Farming at Whakataki, single and Roman Catholic, he named a friend as next-of-kin - Miss May Butler, Seddon Road, Hamilton. Later, when May was not found at this address, his father was named – Mr John Allan, Box 2, Dunsandel. John and Jane Allan had moved into Papanui Road, St Albans, Christchurch, but another family member (son Joseph) may have been at Dunsandel. Lance Corporal J. Allan, 26/382, embarked on 5 February 1916 with the Machine-gun Section of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade. Just 16 months after, he was killed in action – on 7 June 1917 in Belgium, at the taking of Messines Ridge. He was buried at Wulverghem-Lindenhoek Road Military Cemetery, Heuvelland, Belgium. “For King and Country.” Lance Corporal J. Allan and his brother, Private R. B. Allan, are remembered on their parents’ headstone at Waikari Cemetery. Their cousin, John Alexander Macdonald Allan, served with the Royal air Force in World War One and was killed on 20 May 1918 in an air accident in England. Another cousin, James Waddell Scott, who was born in Scotland, served with the New Zealand Forces in the South African War. He died in an accident in 1905 and was buried at Waimate, his parents with him. Scottish-born cousin, William Brechin, was killed in action on 7 August 1915 in France.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [15 February 2025]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [15 February 2025]; Press, 22 June 1917, Lyttelton Times, 22 June 1917, Star, 22 June 1917 (Papers Past) [16 February 2025]; Waikari Cemetery records (Hurunui District Council) [16 February 2025]
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC Genealogy Scoiety
Currently Assigned to
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Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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