In 1930, the Royal Christchurch Musical Society performed Arthur Lilly’s tribute to his brother Lieutenant Leslie G Lilly.
Leslie had initially travelled...
HISTORY OF THE KENCH FAMILY MILITARY SERVICE FROM WORLD WAR 1
Private Frank Lawrence Kench, Number 40220 – New Zealand Expeditionary Force 1 Battalion Canterbury Infantry...
A memoir by Bruce Beckett
My uncle Fred died 8 years before I was born. He was spoken about with affection by the family, but, unfortunately – as is so often the case – I...
Tom Morrow was born in Timaru on 26 June 1883, the oldest of three brothers. He attended Sawyers Bay and Kaikorai Schools before Otago Boys High and then Otago University, where he...
Lewis Hamilton was born at Green Park, near Lincoln in Canterbury on 30 March 1876, the fourteenth child of eighteen born in his family. On the outbreak of war, he was working as a labourer for...
A Category 1 Historic Site, 'the Soldiers' Block was built in 1916 to care for returned soldiers suffering shell shock and other war-related neuroses. By Easter 1917, the Soldiers' Block housed...
Compiled by Barry O’Sullivan
Patriotic societies were established throughout the country from 1915, with locally organised committees collecting funds on behalf of sick and wounded...
September 23rd marks the day that the Canterbury troopships, Athenic and Tahiti, left Lyttelton in 1914. There had been...
William grew up in children’s homes and joined the army at the age of 15 in 1894. Compared to today’s boys he was only the size of a 12-13 year old at the time. He enlisted in the West Surrey (or...
Alfred Hodge was one of eleven children of Mary and Edward Henry Hodge, from the small town of Riversdale, in Southland. He was a quiet, gentle person, called Alfie by his friends and family. One...
