17/1801 Lieutenant Harry Bolton Riley, (20/10/1875-2/10/1916). "he died game"

 

PERSONAL NOTES.

Lieutenant Harry B. Riley, who fell in action in France on November 2, was a native of Collingwood and was forty years of age. He was educated at the Bishop’s School, Nelson, and followed commercial pursuits. On the death of his father, the late Mr W. O. Riley, he became the head of the firm of W. C. Rilev and Co., of Collingwood. He had always taken an enthusiastic interest in athletics, having represented his county many times in football matches. Before the war he was a lieutenant in the Territorials and made a careful study of the soldier’s profession. During 1915 he enlisted for the front and obtained a commission in the Eighth Reinforcements. Soon after his arrival in France he was promoted to a first lieutenancy and was soon in the firing line. He was very popular and highly esteemed by all who knew him. He had for some years been a member of the Collingwood County Council and at the time of his enlistment was chairman of that body. His younger brother, Walter, fell at Gallipoli and his elder brother, W. C. Riley, went with the Expeditionary Force to Samoa. Lieutenant Riley leaves a wife and four children.  -Lyttelton Times, 7/11/1916.

THANKS. 

MRS HARRY B RILEY tenders her sincere thanks for the many kind messages of sympathy with herself and family in the death of her husband, Lieut. H, B. Riley, killed in action in France. Collingwood, October 16th.  -Colonist, 18/10/1916.

THE LATE CAPTAIN RILEY.

A BRAVE OFFICER

(From "The Colonist," January 16th.) Mrs. H. B. Riley, widow of Captain H. B. Riley, of Collingwood, has received several letters from her late husband's brother officers expressing their sincere sympathy with her in her loss, and their appreciation of his bravery. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Hi Stewart, O.C. 2nd C.I.R., writes: — I wish to express my very sincere sympathy in your loss of your husband. He was killed instantaneously by rifle fire on the afternoon of October 1st, during the capture |of some German trenches near the village of Flers. He died without suffering any pain. We buried him and put a cross over the grave. I would like I you to know that we valued very highly your husband's sterling qualities. He had done exceptionally good work in a former attack, and had always proved a most reliable and efficient officer. I do trust you will find some consolation in the thought that he died a brave death on the battlefield, that he had no lingering pain I like many others, and that he set a fine example to all his men.

Captain F. Starnes writes: — I wish to express my very deep regret at the loss you have sustained in the death of your husband. He was an officer in my company, and was a brave soldier and a fine man. His loss is deeply felt by all. He fell while leading his men in an attack on the Gird trench on the afternoon of October 1st, 1916. Officers and men of my company unite in offering you their deepest sympathy.   -Colonist, 17/1/1917.

In a letter received by Mrs H. B. Riley, of Collingwood, Brigadier-General W. G. Braithwaite, commanding the 2nd New Zealand Brigade, refers in feeling terms to the death of her late husband, Lieutenant H. B. Riley. He says: "I knew your husband very well, and had a great regard for him, and his men were devoted to him. I sincerely trust that as times go on the memory of his glorious death may be an everlasting joy to you. He leaves a blank in his battalion and in this brigade not easy to fill. The pages of history do not contain a more glorious story than that of the 2nd Canterbury Battalion during those September days on the Somme, and your good husband was one of those heroes who helped to make that day. His zealous work and superb courage will ever remain an an example to us all."  -Marlborough Express, 7/2/1917.

ON THE SOMME.

LETTERS FROM LIEUTENANT STALLARD.  (excerpt)

In letters from France, Lieutenant F. J.W. Stallard, of .Nelson, writes cheerfully of his experiences on the Somme and the prospects of the Allies. 

A reference is made to the death of Lieutenant H. B. Riley, of Collingwood: — "Yes, poor old H. Riley went. I was talking to a sergeant who was with him. He says he was slightly hit in the side first, at a place called Factory Corner, on the Somme. Captain Starnes wanted him to stay in the trench, but he said he would join in the attack with the boys. He was killed soon after leaving the trench. He died game, and was thought very much of by all his men. I was only about 20 yards off young Taylor, when I saw him killed by a whiz-bang. He was on the parapet at the time."  -Colonist, 31/3/1917.

Wakapuaka Cemetery, Nelson.