Henry Kenneth Anderton, (1909-17/10/1930). "with his fiancee"

The engagement is announced of Hazel Yeuleen, youngest daughter of the late Mr J. E. Smith and Mrs Smith, Geraldine, to Henry Kenneth, only son of Mr and Mrs H. Anderton, Chalmers Avenue, Ashburton.  -Timaru Herald, 27/5/1930.

BIRTHS, MARRIAGES & DEATHS. 

DEATHS .

ANDERTON. — On October 17, 1930, at Timaru, Henry Kenneth, dearly beloved son of Henry and Agnes Anderton, of East Belt, Ashburton; aged 21 years. Private interment. Result of accident.  -Ashburton Guardian, 18/10/1930.

MOTOR SMASH AT WINCHESTER. 

MOTOR CYCLE AND CAR COLLIDE. 

Henry Kenneth Anderton, 21 years of age, of Geraldine, was killed when his motor cycle collided with a car driven by John Connolly, of Seadown, at Langford’s corner, Winchester, shortly after seven o’clock last evening. The car-driver was uninjured, but a girl, Miss Hazel Smith, of Geraldine, who rode pillion on the bike, suffered from shock. She was otherwise unhurt.

Miss Smith, who suffered from shock, was taken into Mr Langford’s house, and then removed by car to Geraldine. The car had the left-hand running-board torn off, the side curtain on that side ripped, and the windscreen broken; but Mr Connolly was later able to return home in it. The motor cycle was not extensively damaged. The front wheel was bent out of plumb, and the lamp bent down; but there was no further damage that could be seen in the dim light. Anderton, whose parents reside in Ashburton, was employed in the Bank of New South Wales, Geraldine, and is said to have been going to Timaru with his fiancee, as was their custom on Friday nights. The inquest is to be held at 10 o’clock this morning, in Timaru. The corner where the accident occurred is a particularly bad one, and requires all the vigilance a motorist can exercise.

Anderton, who was traveling south, appears to have approached the corner wide out on his right side of the road. The car, which was going to Orari, was on its correct side, and travelling quite slowly. 

It appears that Connolly saw Anderton, and sheered off to let him cut-in and pass behind the car. However, Anderton evidently did not see the move till it was too late, and he crashed into the car broadside-on, tearing off the running-board, and throwing himself heavily. The car went on for a few yards, and then half-turned. 

Dr. Scannell, of Temuka, was telephoned for, and was quickly on the scene. He saw the man was badly injured in the head, and at once dispatched him to Timaru Hospital, by Lister's service car, where he died, from a fracture of the skull, shortly after admission. Connolly, the driver of the car, as before mentioned, was uninjured.  -Temuka Leader, 18/10/1930.

INQUEST INTO DEATH OF MOTOR CYCLIST.

ADJOURNED TO TEMUKA. 

The enquiry into the death of Henry Kenneth Anderton, who was killed in the motor crash at Winchester on Friday night, was opened before the District Coroner (Mr H. Orr-Walker, S.M.), at the Timaru Courthouse, on Saturday morning. After evidence of identification had been given by Ernest Kirkman Watt, draper, of Timaru, who said that Anderton was in good health on the last occasion on which he had seen him, and that deceased’s eyesight and hearing were good, the enquiry was adjourned to Temuka, sine die.  -Temuka Leader, 21/10/1930.

Ashburton Cemetery.

25617 Private Wallace Fletcher Tomlinson, (15/8/1896-21/2/1917). "he saw his duty"

Wallace Tomlinson's Army resocord has a tantalising few qwords to say about what happened to him on the 21st of February, 1917.  Those words are: "Reported missing, believed wounded 21/2/17. Finding of C. of E. (court of enquiry) missing 21/2/1917. Reported dead buried by Germans no date given. Killed in action in the field France 21/2/1917."

Perhaps Wallace took part in the following action, being part of the "assistance" lent the Aucklanders on their trench raid on February 21st.  Reported missing, and then buried by the Germans would make sense if he had joined a raid to enemy positions and not returned. The Wellington Infantry Regiment's Official History tells the story:

On the 14th February, the 2nd Battalion relieved 1st Auckland in the left sub-sector of the Brigade sector, so that both our battalions were in the line when 2nd Auckland carried out a raid at 5.45 a.m. on the 21st. That battalion raided from the trenches held by our 2nd Battalion, who lent what assistance it could in the operation. The duck-walks of the front line along the length occupied by the raiders immediately prior to raiding, and the communication saps leading from it back to the support line were covered with straw, over which hessing fabric was nailed down. This had the effect of deadening the sound of the men moving up to position, and of the withdrawal of the front line garrison. All telephonic communications were overhauled and relaid, and emergency lines were laid at all vulnerable points. Stretchers and bearers were placed at the junction of the support line with City Post and Bay Avenue. These were to carry the wounded from the front line to the Regimental Aid Post. The Regimental Medical Officer (Capt. H. M. Goldstein) and his staff were placed at the disposal of the O.C. Raid and shared with the R.M.O., 2nd Auckland, the work of dressing and despatching the wounded to the Field Ambulance. During and after the raid, both our 1st and 2nd Battalions had to submit to the enemy's retaliation. Our 1st Battalion had three men killed and the 2nd Battalion one wounded, the enemy's fire being ill-directed on the 2nd Battalion's front.

DEATH.

TOMLINSON. — Wallace Fletcher, eldest and dearly beloved son of Samuel Fletcher and Ada Tomlinson, Cobden. Died abroad, 1917. Aged 20 years. — "He saw his duty and he did it"  -Greymouth Evening Star, 6/8/1917.

Ashburton Cemetery.

58638 Private John Robert (20/4/1890-31/5/1918) and 29118 Sergeant William Rees (7/1/1893-31/5/1918) Williams. "their two sons"

PERSONAL.

A London cablegram received to-day stated that 40 more New Zealanders had been awarded the Military Medal.

Mr and Mrs W. R. Williams, Alford Forest, received official advice last night that their two sons, John Robert (aged 28) and William Rees (aged 25), were killed in action in France on May 31.  -Ashburton Guardian, 13/6/1918.

John Robert Williams.

William Rees Williams.

John and William Williams were in the same Company (13th) of the 1st Battalion of the Canterbury Infantry Regiment.  They were killed at a time when the German Spring offensive had been beaten and thing were relatively quiet.  They lie side by side in the Sucrerie Military Cemetery, Colincamps.

ANNOUNCEMENTS. 

IN MEMORIAM. 

WILLIAMS. — In loving memory of Private John Robert Williams, killed in action in France, May 31st 1918. Dearly loved eldest son or William and Jessie Williams, Altord Forest.

WILLIAMS. — In loving memory of Sergeant William Rees Williams, killed in action in France on May 31st 1918. Dearly loved third son of William Rees and Jessie Wilhams, Alford Forest. 

WILLIAMS. — In affectionate remembrance of Lance-Corporal W R Williams (Billie), who gave his life for his country on May 31, 1918. 

There are links death cannot sever, 

For fond remembrance last for ever. 

— Inserted by his affectionate Friend.   -Ashburton Guardian, 31/5/1919.

Ashburton Cemetery.

7/96 Trooper Roland Henderson Nicholas, (23/12/1893-31/5/1915). "no known resting place"

 

Private Roland Henderson Nicholas, who is reported missing, is a son of Mr George Nicholas, farmer, of Winchmore. He was under 20 years of age when he enlisted with we Mounted Rifles. Private Nicholas was educated at the Greenstreet School, and later at the Winchmore School. At the time of the great maritime strike he served as a special constable.  -Ashburton Guardian, 30/6/1915.

Roland Nichols' unit, the Canterbury Mounted Rifles, reached Anzac Cove and landed from barges on May 12, 1915.  They spent their first night on Gallipoli in a dry watercourse out of enemy fire, then were directed to the trenches on an area known as Walkers Ridge.  The CMR went into a reserve area on the 28th, according to their Official History, which makes a vital comment in Roland's Army record a mysterious one.  It records that he went missing on the ridge on May 31.

Roland's death was made official by the verdict of a Court of Enquiry.  He has no known resting place.

Ashburton Cemetery.

81455 Trooper Godfrey Alexander Glossop, (1917-18/11/1943). "one of the best swimmers"

PRIVATE GODFREY A. GLOSSOP.

Private Godfrey Alexander Glossop, who was 27 years of age, was the oldest son of Mr and Mrs G. E. Glossop, of North-east Belt. He was born at Ashburton and educated at the Ashburton East and High Schools, after which he worked in his father’s butcher shop in the Triangle. Private Glossop left New Zealand at the end of last year. 

Private Glossop was known as one of the best swimmers in the county and he was a tireless member and past captain of the Ashburton East Swimming Club. He played football for. High School Old Boys and was also a member of the Ashburton Golf Club. Private Glossop was also a member of the Ashburton Club and M.S.A. His two brothers are both in the forces, Colin in the Royal New Zealand Air Force overseas, and Keith in the Army in New Zealand.  -Ashburton Guardian, 8/12/1943.

Grodfrey Glossop was killed during the New Zealand Army's first engagement in Italy.  Having become an armoured unit, it was their first with tanks.  The 19th, together with troops of the 19th Indian Brigade, qwere to attack a small Italian village called Perano. A successful attack would threaten a bridge on the other side of the village held by the German Army and it was hoped they would destroy it, thus removing it as a route for enemy armour.

In order not to betray the arrival of New Zealanders in Italy, radio silence was ordered for the tnaks.  This caused problems as the kiwis went in - German armour was there in more numbers than expected and the fourteen New Zealand tanks were soon in trouble.  Camouflaged German armour and guns opened fire on the 19th's tanks and four were soon knocked out, three of them burning.  Two more were knocked out soon after.  

Three hours after the start of the assault, the bridge was blown.  Seven members of the 19th Battalion died in that first armoured assault on the enemy. One of them was Godfrey Glossop.

CLUB'S TRIBUTE

Loud Speaker System Unveiled 

MEMORIAL TO SIX EAST SWIMMERS 

“We honour them.” World War II. 1939-1945. Lloyd Tait, Noel Thomson, Dave White, Godfrey Glossop, Ken Lithgow, George Eyles. So reads the inscription plate on the loud-speaking apparatus which was unveiled by the Mayor (Mr E. C. Bathurst) at the opening carnival of the Ashburton East Swimming Club last evening as a memorial to six members of the club who gave their lives in the recent war.

The unveiling ceremony took place at an interval during the carnival. It was unfortunate that such an occasion was necessary, said the president of the club (Mr G. Bowman). These six men who had obeyed the call to duty and died so that we might live, were missed, said the speaker, by those who had watched them grow up from childhood. He asked that those remaining might live lives worthy of their sacrifice.

Those whose sacrifice was being perpetuated would have approved of the acquisition of the loud-speaker and the proposed extension of the baths, was: the opinion expressed by the Mayor.

Wonderful Community Centre

“In Ashburton East you have a wonderful community centre, the envy of the rest of the town,” commented Mr Bathurst. There were the swimming baths, the memorial hall, and organisations like the Women’s Institute and kindergarten, all part and parcel of the one district of Hampstead, a state of affairs made possible by the sacrifices of the men who fought in the World Wars.

After officially unveiling what he described as this “very worthy memorial,” Mr Bathurst read over the loud-speaking system, being used for the first time, the names of the men who made the supreme sacrifice, as they appear on the inscription plate, the names by which they were familiarily known, while the assembly stood in silence.

Subsequently the loud-speaker was ueed in the conducting of events and proved highly satisfactory. A handsome piece of equipment, it promises to be a real boon to the club as well as a fitting tribute to its former members.  -Ashburton Guardian, 26/11/1947.

Ashburton Cemetery.

Francis Creegan, (1902-1/1/1915). "got out of his depth"

A young lad named Frank Creegan, aged 12 years, was drowned on New Year's Day while bathing in the Aparima with a fellow playmate and neighbour, one James Duggan, of a similar age. The deceased lad got out of his depth in a hole in the river. The body was recovered at 3 o'clock in the afternoon by Messrs John Curtain and John Malone, from a hole in the river, in which the water was 9ft deep.  -Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, 5/1/1915.

Wrey's Bush Notes.

(From Our Own Correspondent). Splendid weather has been experienced since Christmas, and as a consequence, growth has been phenomenal. Crops of all kinds are looking well, and turnips have made a good start, and promise well. Shearing is about finished. Much sympathy has been extended to Mr and Mrs John Creegan, who lost their youngest son, Frank, aged 12 years, on 1st January. The young lad, accompanied by James Duggan, also 12 years of age, left after dinner to go bathing in the Aparima river, and it appears young Creegan accidentally slipped into a hole containing about 15ft of water. There being a current, he was quickly washed down stream and drowned. Young Duggan hurried to Mr Creegan's residence, about half a mile distant, and thence to the Wrey's Bush township. A large number of men were soon on the scene of the accident, and after some difficulty, the body was recovered. The funeral, which took place on Sunday, 3rd January, was largely attended. Rev. Father Lynch officiated at the grave-side.  -Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, 5/1/1915.

Wreys Bush Cemetery.

8/451 Private Dennis O'Donnell, (4/2/1887-15/6/1915). "the best and bravest"

'Another Life For His Country'

A Southland reader sends an appreciation as a slight token of respect to the memory of the late Private Dennis O’Donnell, who recently gave his life for the Empire’s cause at the Dardanelles. Previous to enlisting with the Expeditionary Force, Denny was employed as a surfaceman, and was stationed at Waimatuku, Southland. As a young man, somewhat of a roving and adventurous spirit, he had seen a good deal of life for one of his years, having worked in various parts of New Zealand and the Australian states. So when the call came he was one of the first to respond. Of Irish parents, the late Private O’Donnell was in many respects a splendid man, standing well over six feet in height, and weighing about fifteen stone. He was the possessor of great strength and endurance, ideal conditions in a soldier. Mentally he was rather above the average, having a goodly share of the ready wit and keen intelligence so characteristic of the Irish race. Given the opportunity, he would had gone far in the service, for he had both the will and the ability to achieve. But it was otherwise decreed, and like so many more of the best and bravest of New Zealand’s sons, he lies dead in a foreign land. We trust that not in vain was his life given for a great cause. Peace to his ashes!  -Railway Review, 30/7/1915.

Dennis O'Donnell was admitted to an Egyptian hospital on May 7, 1915, and died more than a month later.  The wound for which he was admitted was a bullet in his left knee, so it is likely that it developed infection of some kind which became fatal.

Wreys Bush Cemetery.

John Finn, (1861-3/11/1894). "everything possible was done"

Obidituary. — It is with sincere regret we have to announce the early death of Mr John Finn, late of Wreys Bush. The deceased was taken suddenly ill three or four days prior to his death with severe internal pains, and although everything possible was done to relieve him, he gradually sank and died on Saturday, the 3rd inst. The Rev. Fathers Walsh and Keenan were with him, and administered the last rites of the Church. Mr Finn was a native of the County Limerick, Ireland, and was only 33 years of age. He leaves a widow and young children to mourn his loss, and they, we feel sure, have the heartfelt sympathy of a wide circle of friends in their sad bereavement. The funeral, which took place on Tuesday, was, despite the heavy rain, the largest ever seen in the district, there being fully 150 horsemen and about 33 wheeled vehicles. We offer our sincere sympathy to the young widow in her painful trial. “Requieasat in pace.”  -Western Star, 10/11/1894.

Wreys Bush Cemetery.