William Wilkinson Finlinson (1895 - 1955)

Biography

William was born in 1895. He was the son of William Wilkinson Finlinson (senior) who came out to New Zealand from England, and Mary Ann. His father was a bookmaker, following the turf commission agency business, and took bets principally on horse racing. William's father died before he was born, having been admitted to Christchurch Hospital and not recovering from his illness. William was born about 6 months after his death if he was born in 1895 as his birth record shows. William had an older brother, John, who had been born in 1894, which would rule out William being born in June of the same year.

On his military file it has his birth date as 26 June 1894, which would have made him 20 when he signed his attestation. However his birth record has the year of birth as 1895, (26 June 1895 to be exact) and this means he would have been 19 when he signed up for service (on 11 September 1914) and among some of the first recruits. In the early stages of the War, the troops were from volunteers, not conscription, and William was clearly a volunteer, putting his name forward before the Ottoman Empire joined the War in October 1914, so would have expected to have been sent to France.

He was sent to Egypt and assigned Cook duties, and later served on the Western European Front.

William was single at the time he volunteered and his occupation was clerk, having been lately employed in Dunedin. Note that currently Archway has his military file indexed under the surname Finlayson, which is incorrect (evident from the file name itself). His name appeared on the Casualty List in 1918. He was discharged from service being no longer fit for ongoing service due to wounds received in action. He had been wounded in the back from a shell (or gun-shot). William's service no. was 9/637, and he was a Lance Corporal in the Army Service Corps. His next of kin was listed as John Finlinson of the Telegraph Office in Porangahau (in the Hawkes Bay). John later also served in the war. His file shows a few incidents where he was disciplined for gambling or drunkenness before he was made Lance Corporal.

His military file describes him as 5 foot 10 and a half inches tall, with blue eyes, dark hair and fresh complexion.

In 1921 William married Annie Collins. They lived in Auckland where he worked as a labourer, and had a daughter, Maureen.

He passed away in 1955. His wife Annie died about 6 years later. His death date is also recorded in his military personnel file at Archives New Zealand.

William was buried at Waikumete Cemetery in Auckland in Block K, Row 5 on 30 September 1955.

Sources

• New Zealand Birth Registration - Registration no. 1895/18727. Parents' given names: Mary Ann and William Wilkinson; accessed at BDM Online (Births Deaths & Marriages, Dept of Internal Affairs, New Zealand)
• NZ Army Casualty List WWI - Ancestry.com. New Zealand, Army WWI Casualty Lists, 1914-1919 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Name: W W Finlinson; Date Reported: 14 Nov 1918; Regimental Number: 9/637
• Military Personnel File - FINLINSON, William Wilkinson - WW1 9/637 - Army
• New Zealand Marriage Index - Ancestry.com. New Zealand, Marriage Index, 1840-1937 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Name: William Wilkinson Finlinson; Gender: Male; Marriage Year: 1921; Marriage Place: New Zealand; Spouse: Annie Collins; Relation: Bridegroom; Folio Number: 9899
• New Zealand Death Index - Ancestry.com. New Zealand, Death Index, 1848-1966 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Name: William Wilkinson Finlinson; Death Date: Oct-Nov-Dec 1955; Registration Place: Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand; Folio Number: 4469
• New Zealand Cemetery Records - Ancestry.com. New Zealand, Cemetery Records, 1800-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Name: William Wilkinson Finlinson; Birth Date: abt 1895; Death Age: 60; Death Date: 28 Sep 1955; Burial Place: Auckland, New Zealand; Cemetery: Waikumete
• Online Cenotaph - Entry for William Wilkinson Finlinson 9/637