John Currie Hendry (1893 - 1916)

Born 2 Apr 1893 in Mosgiel, Otago, New Zealand

Ancestors

Died 15 Sep 1916 at age 23 in Western Front, France

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Biography

John Currie Hendry lived in New Zealand.

John Currie Hendry is an Anzac who served in World War One.

Sergeant John Currie Hendry was Killed in Action, Battle of the Somme during World War I.

John Currie Hendry at 21 years old was 5ft 8" tall, a respectable 11st 2oz (156 lbs approx) He had a dark complexion, black hair and brown eyes. He was a Presbyterian. He worked as a clerk, in the New Zealand Govt. - Education Dept. In 1914 he answered the call of his King and his country and became an ANZAC. He enlisted in the NZEF in World War I. His record shows that he served in German Samoa, Egypt from 1915-1916, then on the Western Front (France) from 1916 until he was Killed in Action on the fields of France.

Birth

1893: John Currie Hendry was born in New Zealand. He was the son of John Hendry and Alice Jessie Crow Currie. ^[1]

World War I

John Currie Hendry
Service Number: WWI 8/3127
Branch of Service: Army
Rank: Sergeant
New Zealand Machine Gun Corps, No. 2 Coy.
Last Civilian Address: Hill St, Wellington, New Zealand.
Next of Kin: Mr J. Hendry, Gordon Rd, Mosgiel.

August 8, 1914: John enlisted in the NZEF, and immediately became part of the Samoan Expeditionary Force. A few days after the war began, the British authorities asked New Zealand to seize German Samoa. The government quickly assembled the Samoan Expeditionary Force (sometimes known as ‘the Advance Party’ of the NZEF) to undertake the operation. ^[2]

August 15, 1914: John embarked from New Zealand as part of a 1413-strong force heading to German Samoa. It was taken without incident and a garrison of A.N.Z.A.C's were permanently stationed there for the remainder of WWI. ^[2]

March 22, 1915: John left Samoa with many of the Samoan Expeditionary Force men and returned to New Zealand, where he and others re-enlisted for service with the NZEF at Gallipoli. ^[2]

October 3, 1915: Promoted to Sergeant.

October 9, 1915: He embarked from New Zealand on His Majesty's New Zealand Troop Ship, "SS Warrimoo" for the Middle East.

SS Warrimoo

November 18, 1915: He disembarked at Suez, Egypt. It is unknown whether he saw any action in Gallipoli. He may have done a very short stint there. The decision was taken on 22 November (4 days after his arrival) to evacuate Gallipoli and pull back - the troops were more needed on the Western Front and at Salonika in northern Greece. The evacuation began on 15 December 1915 so if he did get there, he wasn't there long, but he may have only been in a holding/training camp, to adjust to the climate, while awaiting a posting.

January 9, 1916: He was posted to the 4th Company, Otago Infantry Battalion, Moascar and reverted to Private.

New Zealand Machine Gun Corps (NZMGC) Shoulder & Cap badge. Picture courtesy of NZ History, Specialist Units of the NZEF. Creative Commons Attribution- Noncommercial 3.0 NZ licence.

March 19, 1916: The boys have all returned from Gallipoli, rested and recouped their strength. There had been a rethink of British strategy in the region. The Mounted Regiments stayed in Egypt as part of an Anzac Mounted Division helping defend Egypt against the Ottoman Turks. Putting the new strategy into action and taking the fight to the Turks turned out to be one of the most successful Allied campaigns of the war. But John as part of the infantry was not to remain in Egypt. After spending a couple of months training, playing sport and swimming in the Suez Canal, and sight seeing with his mates, he is transferred to New Zealand Machine Gun Corps, No. 2 Coy.

In 1914 and 1915, each infantry battalion and mounted rifles regiment included a two-gun ‘Machine Gun Section’. The January 1916 reorganisation created a stand-alone New Zealand Machine Gun Corps, a well-equipped body which had a company attached to each infantry brigade and the mounted rifles brigade. John was part of the section of the Machine Gun Corps that moved to France in April 1916, with a company attached to each of the three (later four) New Zealand infantry brigades.^[3]

April 6, 1916: He embarked from Egypt - destination France.

April 11, 1916: The New Zealand Division arrived in France. They were welcomed in Marseilles, by excited locals. The soon boarded trains for a 58 hour journey North. ^[4]

Death

September 15, 1916: The Battle of the Somme began with the New Zealand Division taking part, based near Flers. Sgt John Hendry was Killed in Action that day on the fields of France. ^[5]

Medals

He was awarded 3 medals:

• 1914-15 Star
• British War Medal
• Victory Medal

Sgt John Currie Hendry was laid to rest in Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval, Departement de la Somme, Picardie, France with a death date of 15 September 1916.^{[6] [7]}

Sources

1. ↑ Birth: New Zealand Births, Deaths and Marriages - Online. Registration: 1893/8739; Name: John Currie Hendry; Parents: Alice & John; accessed 8 Dec 2023; citing New Zealand Crown, © The Department of Internal Affairs.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} 'First World War military formations', NZ History, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 2-May-2017, accessed 27 Jan 2024.
3. ↑ 'Machine Gunners', URL: NZ History, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 22-Mar-2017, accessed 27 Jan 2024.
4. ↑ 'New Zealand Division arrives in France', NZ History, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 19-Oct-2020, accessed 27 Jan 2024.
5. ↑ 'First World War timeline', NZ History, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 14-Sep-2017, accessed 27 Jan 2024.
6. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
   Find A Grave: Memorial #15291102 (accessed 23 April 2023)
   Memorial page for Sgt. John Currie Hendry (1893-15 Sep 1916), citing Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval, Departement de la Somme, Picardie, France (plot: XIV. C. 5.); Maintained by Debbie McCauley (contributor 47672193).
7. ↑ Memorial: "UK, Commonwealth War Graves, 1914-1921 and 1939-1947"
   Commonwealth War Graves Commission; Author: Peter Singlehurst; Series Title: British Commonwealth War Graves Registers, 1914-1918; Archive Name: London, United Kingdom
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry au Record 2706 #481910 (accessed 27 January 2024)
   Name: John Currie Hendry; Gender: Male; Age: 23; Birth Date: abt 1893; Death Date: 15 Sep. 1916; Cemetery: Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval; Burial Country: France; Regiment: N Z Machine Gun Company; Regimental Number: 8/3127; Region or Memorial: France; Father: John Hendry; Mother: Alice Hendry.

• Military: "New Zealand, World War I Service Records, 1914-1920"
  Archives New Zealand; Wellington, New Zealand; Series Number: 18805
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry au Record 61564 #701471 (accessed 27 January 2024)
  Name: John Currie Hendry; Birth Date: 2 Apr. 1893; Birth Place: Mosgiel, New Zealand; Enlistment Date: 10 Aug. 1914; Service Number: WW1 8/3127a,1/381.