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Record Detail |
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| Full Name: |
Thomas William Stockham |
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| Rank Last Held: |
Private |
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| Forename(s): |
Thomas William |
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| Surname: |
Stockham |
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| War: |
World War I, 1914-1918 |
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| Serial No.: |
30658 |
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| Gender: |
Male |
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| Date of Birth: |
14 August 1897 |
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| Place of Birth: |
New South Wales, Australia |
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| First Known Rank: |
Lance Corporal |
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| Occupation before Enlistment: |
School teacher |
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| Next of Kin: |
Mrs Stockham (mother), Boundary Road, Hastings, New Zealand |
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| Marital Status: |
Single |
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| Enlistment Date: |
August 1916 |
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| Body on Embarkation: |
New Zealand Expeditionary Force |
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| Embarkation Unit: |
20th Reinforcements Wellington Infantry Battalion, B Company |
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| Embarkation Date: |
7 December 1916 |
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| Place of Embarkation: |
Wellington, New Zealand |
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| Transport: |
HMNZT 71 |
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| Vessel: |
Port Lyttelton |
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| Destination: |
England |
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| Nominal Roll Footnotes: |
Born in Australia. |
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| Nominal Roll Number: |
47 |
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| Page on Nominal Roll: |
5 |
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| Military Training: |
Featherston Camp |
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| Last Unit Served: |
Wellington Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion |
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| Place of Death: |
Passchendaele, Belgium |
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| Date of Death: |
4 October 1917 |
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| Age at Death: |
20 |
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| Year of Death: |
1917 |
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| Cause of Death: |
Killed in action |
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| Memorial Name: |
- Tyne Cot Memorial, Tyne Cot Cemetery, Zonnebeke, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
- Auckland War Memorial Museum, World War 1 Hall of Memories
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| Memorial Reference: |
NZ Apse, Panel 6 |
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| Biographical Notes: |
- Son of Mr. and Mrs. William Thomas Stockham, of Claude St., St. Helier's Bay, Auckland
- The second son in a family of five children, his parents were William Stockham and Mary Stockham (nee Gilbert). In 1906 the family moved from Australia to Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.
- A hard working, popular student with a great sense of humour, he proved to be a talented all-round sportsman. He attended Hastings Boys High School and in 1913 became Dux, receiving a gold medallion.
- Enlisting in the army in August 1916, he was promoted to Lance Corporal in the November. Arriving in England he had further training at Codford Camp near Salisbury in February. The arrival of spring and milder weather meant they were able to march to Sling Camp, some 20 miles away. After three months in England the Hawkes Bay Company boarded the SS Archangel for Le Havre,France.
- Here they travelled by train for Bailleul. By now it was early June and the weather was fine and sunny. By June 11th the company was in billets and only two and half miles from Armentieres. On 14th June they engaged in their first action of trench warfare. June, July and August 1917 were divided between living in trenches or billets.
- On September 2 the company marched from Wizernes to Henneveax, a distance of nine miles. In spite of Hanneveax being not very far from the front line they enjoyed their stay , the men billeted in farm houses, the officers in the Chateau. On 1 October the Company reached the eastern slopes of Gravenstafel Spur just north of the Ypres/Roulers railway line. By the third day of the month they were positioned near Waterloo Farm. The plan for attack had already been given and the battalion made ready for an assault on Abraham Heights. Zero hour was at 600 on October 4th. Thomas William Stockham died that day. He has no known grave.
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| Description of Image: |
Portrait, Auckland Weekly News 1917 |
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| Archives NZ source: |
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| Further References: |
Cotton, Kath (1997). Eighty years on : In memory of the Uncle I have met. The New Zealand Genealogist. Nov/Dec 1997 |
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| Sources Used: |
- Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force Volume II. Wellington: Govt. Printer, 1917
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission. URL: http://www.cwgc.org
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