William Farrell (1889 - 1955)

Born 14 Aug 1889 in Ngahere, Grey, West Coast, New Zealand

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Kane) Farrell — married 2 Jun 1919 in Belfast, Ireland

Descendants

Died 2 Sep 1955 at age 66 in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand

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Biography

William was born on 14th August 1889 at Ngahere, a small town north east of Greymouth on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand.

He worked as a farmer on the family farms at Reefton and Ikamatua before being conscripted in to the NZ Army in 1917 and sent to fight in France. He met and married his wife Mary in England while recuperating from war injuries. They were married in Belfast, Ireland before returning to New Zealand.

On returning to New Zealand he found the family hotel and farms were to be sold as his father had died while he was away at the war. He then worked as a farm labourer and sawmill worker at Ruru on the West Coast near Lake Brunner. The mill was badly affected by the decline in demand for timber during the great depression and in about 1932 William moved with his family to Christchurch where he worked as a farm labourer. They lived at 44 Mackenzie Avenue, Woolston before finally moving to 20 England St, Linwood.

He passed away on 2 September 1955 in an ambulance on the way to hospital following a sudden heart attack. He was on the passenger platform after riding his bike to the Christchurch railway station to begin a journey to visit his sister in the North Island city of Wellington.

War Service

William was called up against his will and conscripted into the New Zealand Expeditionary Force to fight on the Western Front in France during World War 1. He had appealed conscription on the basis that he had the responsibility to manage a hotel and two large farm properties belonging to his father who was ill and bed ridden. He believed his mother and younger sisters could not do it on their own. Both William and his younger brother Harold had been called. His older brother Leslie worked as a railway engine driver and was deemed to be in an essential service. Leslie was in the 2nd Division as a reservist and was not called up. The Military Appeal Tribunal declared that either William or Harold must go to the war and they should decide which one it would be. They declined to make the choice and the tribunal decided that William's appeal was dismissed. So because New Zealand was a part of the British Empire William was forced to go to fight Britain's war on the other side of the world.

He joined the 2nd Infantry Brigade, 1st Battalion - Canterbury Regiment.

William embarked on the 'HMNZT Ulimaroa' on 26th July 1917 and arrived at Plymouth, England on 24th September 1917. He was in camp at Brocton, Staffordshire before leaving for France on 24th October 1917.

Ten New Zealand soldiers from the HMNZT Ulimaroa and another troopship the HMNZT Norman were killed when they were hit by a train at Bere Ferrers in southern England while in transit from Plymouth to the NZEF base to complete their training.

On 26th October he arrived at the controversial 'Etaples' military camp in Northern France where he undertook intensive but inadequate training.

On 3 November 1917 he was posted to 1st Battalion 'B' Company ( No 2 Company ) and began preparation for a planned attack on the German occupied Polderhoeck Chateau which was considered a strategically important high point. The attack was part of a strategy to extend the 'Ypres Salient' along Broodseinde Ridge from the village of Tiber to the Reutelbeek stream.

On 3rd December , the 1st Canterbury and 1st Otago Battalions of the 2nd Brigade mounted their attack against the chateau. At noon the whistles were blown and the soldiers climbed out of their trenches and advanced towards the enemy. They faced a barrage of artillery fire including some allied artillery that fell short into their own lines. German machine guns mounted in pillbox's on each end of the front line put down a murderous hail of fire. Machine gun fire also came from the target chateau. The attack was a relative failure. Although some ground was taken the chateau remained in enemy hands. Casualties approached 50% and the 2nd Brigade were forced to fall back. Polderhoeck was one of only a few NZ military defeats and is largely forgotten due to the shadow of the even more disastrous slaughter at Passchendaele a few months before.

On 5th December William was evacuated to a field hospital after being affected by gas shells. He was then transferred to the 4th Australian General Hospital at Wimereux, France before being sent back to England on 9th December for treatment at the 1st London General Hospital at Camberwell for heart and kidney problems caused by the gas. On 9 January 1918 he was transferred to the NZ Convalescent Hospital Camp at Hornchurch in East London and then a series of transfers between hospitals in Codford, Glasgow and Walton before returning to Brocton Military Camp on 29th August 1918.

Somewhere between all those transfers he met his future wife, Mary Kane.

They were married in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 2nd June 1919 and sailed home to New Zealand on the SS Corinthic on 9th August 1919.

William was discharged from the army on 22nd October 1919. ^[1]

Sources

^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]}

1. ↑ Information derived from available Military Service Records and personal recollection of events passed on from my grandmother in the 1960's. Anthony Farrell as remembered 23 Feb 2018.
2. ↑ NZBDM Birth Registration Ref: 1889/16734
3. ↑ NZBDM Death Registration Ref: 1955/25845
4. ↑ The New Zealand Division 1916 - 1919: A Popular History Based on Official Records[1]
5. ↑ New Zealand Division 1914-18[2]
6. ↑ Bere Ferrers Rail Accident[3]