9/1693 Gunner Walter Alexander Tolmie Jopp, 6/4/1886-18/11/1918.

PERSONAL

Mr and Mrs A. Jopp, Arrowtown, were last week notified of the death of no less than four relatives, viz., Mr Donald Henderson (uncle of Mr Jopp), Mrs J. J. Cotter (cousin of Mrs Jopp), Mrs Boyd, Queenstown (aunt of Mrs Jopp), and Private W. A. Tolmie Jopp (cousin of Mr Jopp).  -Lake County Press, 28/11/1918.

Walter Jopp was in the Eighth Reinforcements of 1915.  He was enrolled in the Pioneer Battalion when he reached England and wounded in action in January, 1917 - a slight bullet wound in his right leg.  Slight is the initial description and perhaps there were complications since it took some months before he was fit enough for service again.  

On his return to the army, Walter was transferred to the artillery in November, 1917.  He was with the 3rd Battery when he was wounded on October 7, 1918.  The Official History of the NZFA includes this account of the day's action: "The brigade's rest was of the briefest possible description; twelve hours after the guns had been withdrawn from the line, orders were received for the support of an attack by the 63^rd Division on October 7th. On the 6th, positions were selected just east of the Canal, north-east of Noyelles, and these were occupied and stocked with ammunition by 6 p.m. Word was then received from 57th Divisional Artillery Headquarters, under which the brigade was grouped, that the attack had been postponed for twenty-four hours. The 9th Battery had been heavily shelled, and had lost one gun, and as the shelling of batteries became general, all the personnel at the guns, except one man per gun and one officer per battery, were sent back to the waggon lines for the night. The day before the attack was spent in improving the positions. Hostile artillery was consistently active, and every night enemy aeroplanes came over and bombed the whole area."

Walter's injury this time is described as "gunshot wound, back penet abdomen"  His cause of death is listed as "spinal toxaemia" - what is "toxaemia?" I wondered and found it was blood poisoning from an infection.  It must have been a painful way to die for Gunner Walter Jopp.

Andersons Bay Cemetery, Dunedin.  DCC photo.