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Cenotaph Record
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Full Name
Struan Robertson Nielsen
Rank Last Held
Sapper
Forename(s)
Struan Robertson
Surname
Nielsen
War
World War II, 1939-1945
Serial No.
32624
Gender
Male
Date of Birth
5 April 1914
Place of Birth
Kakahi, King Country, New Zealand
First Known Rank
Sapper
Occupation before Enlistment
Bushman (Sawmill hand)
Next of Kin
Mrs May Margaret Nielson (wife), 70 Ellice Street, Wellington, New Zealand
Marital Status
Married
Enlistment Address
Richard Road, Titahi Bay, Wellington, New Zealand
Enlistment Date
19 February 1940
Age on Enlistment
26
Military District
Wellington
Body on Embarkation
Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF)
Embarkation Unit
Headquarters, 15 Forestry Company
Embarkation Date
27 August 1940
Place of Embarkation
Wellington, New Zealand
Vessel
USAT Fred C. Ainsworth
Destination
United Kingdom
Nominal Roll Number
WW2 3
Page on Nominal Roll
WW2 352
Military Training
Trentham Military Camp
Military Awards
  • Defence Medal
  • War Medal
  • New Zealand War Service Medal
Discharge Date
4 December 1943
Last Unit Served
15 Forestry Company
Place of Death
Foxton, New Zealand
Date of Death
8 July 1974
Age at Death
60
Year of Death
1974
Cemetery Name
Foxton Cemetery, Foxton, New Zealand
Grave Reference
RSA Section
Biographical Notes
  • Mr Neilson disembarked in the United Kingdom on 7 November 1940.
  • He then left England on 22 August 1943 in Mauretania, arriving in New Zealand on 31 October 1943
Postwar Occupation
Timber worker
Description of Image
Portrait (kindly provided by family)
Additional Information
27 August 1940. The Third Echelon of 2 NZEF (365 officers and 6078 other ranks) embarked for the Middle East in Mauretania and Empress of Japan at Wellington and in Orcades at Lyttelton. The ships from Wellington and Lyttelton met in the Cook Strait the next day, and were escorted by Achilles. The convoy was joined on 31 August by Aquitania and HMAS Canberra from Sydney, and reached Bombay on 15 September. The troops in Mauretania and Orcades were then trans-shipped at Bombay and continued the voyage to Egypt in the Empress of Japan, Ormonde and Orion, which reached Port Tewfik on 29 September. 14 and 15 Forestry Companies, bound for the United Kingdom, trans-shipped at Bombay from Empress of Japan to Orcades. They disembarked at Gourock on 7 November. Some troops of the Third Echelon (6 Field Ambulance and infantry reinforcements) remained in India from 17 September to 9 October (spending part of that time at Deolali), before embarking at Bombay in Felix Roussel for Egypt. They disembarked at Port Said on 27 October. From 'CHRONOLOGY New Zealand in the War 1939-1946' compiled by R Kay, 1968
Sources Used
Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force Nominal Roll No. 3 (Embarkations from 1st July, 1940 to 31st March, 1941)