| Full Name: |
Lieutenant James Robert Dennistoun |
 |
| Rank Last Held: |
Lieutenant |
|
| Forename(s): |
James Robert |
|
| Surname: |
Dennistoun |
|
| War: |
World War I, 1914-1918 |
|
| Gender: |
Male |
|
| Place of Birth: |
Peel Forest, South Canterbury, New Zealand |
|
| Next of Kin: |
George James and Emily Dennistoun (parents), Peel Forest, South Canterbury, New Zealand |
|
| Military District: |
England |
|
| Other Units: |
|
|
| Last Unit Served: |
Royal Flying Corps, 23 Squadron |
|
| Place of Death: |
France |
|
| Date of Death: |
9 August 1916 |
|
| Age at Death: |
33 |
|
| Year of Death: |
1916 |
|
| Cause of Death: |
Died of wounds |
|
| Cemetery Name: |
Niederzwehren Cemetery, Kassel, Hessen, Germany |
|
| Grave Reference: |
IV.H.2. |
|
| Obituary: |
- Obituary: Chronicles of the NZEF 1916 (2) p. 33
- "Lieutenant James Robert Dennistoun, Irish Horse, attached R.F.C., died at Ohrdruf, in Thuringia, Central Germany, on August 9, from the effects of wounds received while flying. His biplane caught fire and he had to descend in the enemy lines. He was the elder son of George James Dennistoun, of Peel Forest, Canterbury, New Zealand, a member of a younger branch of the old family of Dennistoun, of Dennistoun and Colgrain. He was born at Peel Forest, was educated at Wanganui and Malvern College, and was a justice of the peace for New Zealand. Lieutenant Dennistoun was a member of Captain Scotts Antarctic Expedition, 1910-11, and was awarded the Kings Antarctic medal and that of the Royal Geographical Society. After leaving school he had taken up sheep-farming, but he took the keenest pleasure in mountaineering. He made the ascent of many of the snow-capped Southern Alps in New Zealand, amongst them that of several virgin peaks. He also climbed, alone, Mitre Peak, in Milford Sound, which had up to that time been considered inaccessible. Lieutenant Dennistoun, who did a considerable amount of exploration work, was a member of the Alpine Club. On the outbreak of war he returned to England and obtained a commission in the Irish Horse. He went to the front last November, and was for some months intelligence officer to a division, afterwards joining the Royal Flying Corps. His brother, Lieutenant-Commander George Dennistoun, D.S.O., R.N., is on active service abroad." (The Times, 2 September 1916, p. 8)
|
|
| Biographical Notes: |
- Son of George James and Emily Dennistoun, of Peel Forest, South Canterbury.
- New Zealand lost a very keen and able moutain-explorer in death of "Jim" Dennistoun, who, after being wounded and taken prisoner, died in 1916, in a German hospital. (from New Zealand Alpine Journal, volume 3 , No.11, December 1921)
- "Holding a commission in the Irish Horse, attached to the R.F.C., died at Ohrdruf, in Thuringia, on August 9th, 1916, from the effects of wounds received while flying. His biplane caught fire, and he was compelled to descend in the enemys lines. He achieved considerable fame as a member of Scotts Expedition in 1910, being awarded the Kings Antarctic Medal as well as that of the Royal Geographical Society. After leaving school in 1897 he farmed in Canterbury, and by way of recreation took to mountaineering, ascending many virgin peaks, in particular Mitre Peak, hitherto considered inaccessible. He went to the front in November, 1915, and was for some months intelligence officer to a division, afterwards joining the R.F.C. At the time of his death, he was on a bombing expedition with his cousin, H. B. Russell." (In Memoriam, 1914-1918 [Wanganui Collegiate School])
|
|
| Description of Image: |
James Dennistoun in uniform |
|
| Further References: |
- In Memoriam, 1914-1918 [Wanganui Collegiate School], Wanganui Chronicle Co. Ltd. [printer], Wanganui, 1919[?]
- The New Zealand Alpine Journal, 1921, vol. 3, no. 11, pp. 89-90.
- Search http://www.archway.archives.govt.nz for information about this person's probate File. Use the Simple Search option.
|
|
| Sources Used: |
Archives New Zealand. URL: http://www.archway.archives.govt.nz |
|
|
|
 |
| Click on the image above for a larger view |
|
|
|
|