Thursday, January 10, 2013

Thames (NZ): World War One Soldiers

As mining opportunities diminished on the goldfields, many miners went off to war to South Africa in the South African War. This call to arms continued on into the 1914-1918 First World War, with many of our young men enlisting and going off to fight. Large numbers never returned and the names of many of these men adorn the memorials around the Peninsula.

The Treasury has an article on the Memorials of Thames. At present I am gathering information on the wider Coromandel Peninsula area to record the names of more of the men who died in or as a result of wounds/sickness from serving in World War One.

YOU can help, by contributing any family information on any of these men. The resulting collection will then be available at The Treasury in Thames.
Also if by any chance you are visiting Wellington archives and can assist with the request for digitisation of war files, please could you make contact.

Below is a postcard sent to Miss IVY GORDON of Thames during World War One. Perhaps this could have been sent by her brother Victor GORDON, the family lived in Augustus Street Thames.
'Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 630-13'