Agnes Ann (Townsend) Hamilton (1916 - 2006)

Born 18 Jun 1916 in New Brighton, Christchurch, New Zealand

Ancestors

Wife of Peter McCallum Hamilton — married 1948 in Christchurch, New Zealand

Died 16 Oct 2006 at age 90 in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Faye Whitfield [send private message]

Biography

Agnes, known as Annie and mostly as Bonnie, was the daughter of Edward Townsend and Violet Lanauze.

She was born at New Brighton and attended Brighton School with her sister Lucy, both finishing at East Christchurch School. Bonnie became a Nurse Cadet and was also involved with St Johns.

At the outbreak of WWII she saw an opportunity for further training at Hamner Hospital. She volunteered for overseas duty and enlisted WWII Oct-Dec 1941. Army No 71986, rank Private with the WWSA - Womens War Service Auxillary , later to be known as WWCA (Women's Auxiliary Army Corps)

At this time Agnes was unmarried and living on her own at Worcester Street in Christchurch. Agnes and other medical staff left New Zealand on the ship Wanganella to Perth and then transferred to the SS Oranje Hospital ship. The ship reached Port Tewfik on 6 August 1941. Agnes was stationed at Helmieh at a tent hospital and later a hospital near Beirut. She became seriously ill and was sent back to New Zealand on the Oranje.

In 1948 Agnes married Truck Driver, Peter McCallum Hamilton. They settled at Sydenham for a time and later moved to Wigram. Agnes suffered from Rheumatoid Arthritis and attributed this to her illness whilst serving in the Middle East.

Agnes died in 2006, 3 years after Peter. She is buried at Woodlawns Memorial Garden, Christchurch with Peter. ^{[1] [2]}

Sources

• https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz Death index 2006/25194
• https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C119232?n=AGNES+TOWNSEND&from=%2Fwar-memorial%2Fonline-cenotaph%2Fsearch&ordinal=0 MILITARY INDEX

• https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz Press 20/12/1929 School prizes pg 13, 16/6/1934 pg 5 Cadet Nursing Divisions, Evening Post 2/4/1941 Dutch Generosity Images out of copyright

• https://ancestry.com.au

NZ Electoral Rolls 1949 - 1981

NZ WWII Nominal Rolls

Marriage index Folio 7010, Birth index Folio 4772

Footnotes

1. ↑ https://billiongraves.com/grave/Peter-M-Canum-Hamilton/13638920
2. ↑ Entered by Faye Whitfield.

Acknowledgments