Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

Isaac Alfred Edwin Sydney Vincent Eccles Blackwood was born on 22 May 1886 at Balclutha, the fourth of the six sons of James and Agnes Emily (née Smith) Blackwood. James and Agnes who married in 1887 also had two daughters. Isaac was educated at Gore Main and Gore East schools and probably others. Agnes Emily Blackwood died at Gore in August 1894 when the children were still relatively young. Isaac came to Timaru in about 1906, employed as a tinsmith. He married Violet Florence Lizzie Tomlinson on 1 June 1910 at Chalmers Church, Timaru. Their only child, Clarence Isaac Newton Blacksmith, was born on 9 April 1911 at Timaru. Isaac played the cornet in the Regimental Band.

Isaac Alfred Edwin Sydney Vincent Eccles Blackwood, tinsmith, 47 Matilda Street, Timaru, was listed on the 1916-1917 Reserve Rolls, a married man with one child. His brother, James Alexander Blackwood, a striker of Dunedin South, was listed on the Reserve Rolls, a married man with five or more children; another brother, Francis Emilton Arthur Gilbert Blackwood, a labourer of North-east Valley, Dunedin, was also listed on the Reserve Rolls, a married man with three children. His eldest brother, Herbert Ernest Blackwood, a butcher in Dunedin, who was listed on the 1916 Reserve Rolls, went on to serve in World War One.

Isaac Alfred Edwin S. V. E. Blackwood who was drawn in the ballot in April 1918. attested at Timaru on 13 May 1918. He was still serving with the Defence Rifle Club. Married with one child and Presbyterian, he named his wife as next-of-kin – Mrs Violet Florence Blackwood, 47 Matild Street, Timaru. The South Canterbury quota of the 45th Reinforcements which proceeded to camp on 12 August 1918 included I. A. Blackwood. Posted to the 45th Reinforcements, Private I. A. E. S. V. E. Blackwood was transferred to the 46th Reinforcements on 19 September. Two months later he was granted leave without pay.

Isaac was not only into rifle shooting where he gained prominence as a marksman at a national level, he was also a member of the 2nd South Canterbury Regimental Band, a fireman, a member of the Timaru Main School committee, a rugby referee. In June 1919 he was ordained an elder of Chalmers Presbyterian Church.

Isaac’s father James died at Timaru in May 1927. In February 1933, history of the Timaru Municipal Band was recalled. A Roll of Honour list of members of the band who served in the War included I. Blackwood, in training at military camps and passed fit for the front at date of Armistice. The greatest success achieved by the Timaru Band (2nd South Canterbury Regimental Band) was in 1913 and 1914. At Invercargill in 1913, the Band won the Besson Shield, valued at £50, Boosey Shield, valued at £75, £l50 in cash in the selections and £5 in the Quickstep. At Auckland in 1914 the band won the Besson Shield, £l82 10/- in cash, 21 silver medals and a Boosey cornet valued at £20. Among the members of this band was I A. Blackwood. His son Clarence Isaac Blackwood who also became a blacksmith and competed in rifle shooting alongside his father, served in World War Two. Isaac Blackwood died at the Timaru Public Hospital on 23 September 1949, aged 63 years, and was buried with his father at Timaru Cemetery after a service at his Hassall Street house. Violet died in June 1960 and was buried with her sister.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [20 April 2026]; Timaru Herald, 25 April 1918, 21 May 1927, 11 February 1933, 16 February 1935, 1 June 1935, Press, 13 September 1971 (Papers Past) [20 & 24 April 2026]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [20 April 2026]; School Admission records [22 April 2026]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [23 April 2026]; Timaru Cemetery headstone image & burial record (Timaru District Council) [24 April 2026]

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.