6/3525 Lieutenant John Haddin Barr, 6/12/1891-15/9/1916. "an hour later came the telegram"

OFF TO THE FRONT. 

At the parade last evening of the Roslyn Senior Cadets (No. 2.Company) Lieutenant Haddin Barr, who has been in command of the company for the last three years, was presented with a mounted fountain pen, leather book, account and a money belt as a mark of esteem with which he is held by all ranks. Lieutenant Walcott, in making the presentation, spoke on behalf of the non-commissioned officers and Cadets, and wish the recipient every success whilst in Trentham and in the Dardanelles, or wherever it might be his fortune to serve his country. Lieutenant Barr is joining the 8th Reinforcements, and will carry his present rank. His experience prior to joining the Roslyn Cadets was with the Cycle and Signalling Company when the Volunteer Force was in vogue. It is recognised that the present, force is losing the services of a very smart and capable officer.  -Evening Star, 7/7/1915.

LIEUT. J. HADDIN BARR. 

Mr James Barr, of the firm of Paterson and Barr, received word yesterday that his son, Lieutenant John Haddin Barr, had been killed in action in France. The first message stated that he was wounded: an hour later came the telegram to the effect that he had died of his wounds. The deceased was widely known and respected in Dunedin, where he was born and brought up. He went through the Kaikorai School, and completed his education at the Otago Boys' High School. Then he entered the service of his father's firm, and he was the town traveller for it when he enlisted with the Eighth Reinforcements. Having had a taste for military work, and held the post of officer in charge of the Wakari Cadets, he qualified for a commission, and went away as a first lieutenant. He used to run with the Anglican Harriers, and was fond of outdoor athletics generally. He also showed much promise in his study of music. Miss Yorston brought him out as a pianoforte player at the Dunedin Competitions, and he shaped well. He was 24 years of age, the only son, and the youngest member of his family, and unmarried. He went through a lot of fighting in the trenches, and escaped unhurt until receiving his death wounds.  -Evening Star, 23/9/1916.

John Barr's Army record has the brief note "S W Multiple" with regard to his wounds.  I assume that those letters mean "shrapnel wounds."

Southern Cemetery, Dunedin.