James Gordon May

Private

Conflict:

WW1

Additional Information:

Son of Henry and Margaret May, of New Zealand.

References:

CWGC

Archives New Zealand

NZ WAR GRAVES

CONTRIBUTED

Public Contributions:

Submitted by: Audrey Ansell

Relationship to casualty: My mother was married to his brother.

James Gordon May Private Serial No: 42152 James Gordon May , who was the son of Henry and Catherine May, from Salcombe in Devon, England, was born in Port Adelaide, South Australia on 9 October 188...5. His father had been a shipwright in Salcombe, but worked as a carpenter in Australia. In 1893, when Jim was 7 years old the family moved from Australia to New Plymouth, New Zealand, where his father purchased 45 acres of land in Eliot Rd, where he settled, and probably farmed his piece of land. However in 1897, when Jim was 12 , his mother died of tuberculosis and two years later when he was 14, his father died, so the family of 7 was split up and went to live with different families. Jim had left school at 13 and was working on a farm at this time, but later he obtained a job with the NZ Railways and was working at Ohaupo when the war began in 1914. He enlisted on 5 December 1916 and had been living in New Zealand for 23 years at this time. He named his youngest sister, Miss Eva McLaren of Hataitai, Wellington (who had been adopted by a family named McLaren) as his next-of-kin on enlistment. He embarked on the 5 April 1917 as a private in the 24th reinforcements, E Company of the 2nd NZ Expeditionary Force from Wellington, on the ship ‘Devon’ HMNZT81, bound for Devonport in England. His next-of-kin on embarkation was his brother, Wm. T. May, Korito, New Plymouth. On his arrival he joined his regiment at Sling for basic training before being sent to Etaples in France on 9 July 1917. Once there he joined the 2nd Battalion of the Auckland Infantry Regiment, and served in the 2nd Company at Rouen. However his war was to be very short, as he became ill, and was sent from a field base to a hospital at Etaples on 14 October 1917. He died there of ‘infective jaundice” just one week later, on 21 October 1917, and was buried in the Etaples Military Cemetery at Pas-de-Calais in France. He was 32 years old. His grave has his age incorrectly as 35. Although he did not live in Te Kuiti , his name is on the Te Kuiti War Memorial, probably because of the connection that NZ Railways had with the town at the time and the fact that he had worked in Ohaupo and Te Kuiti before the war. He was posthumously awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. His name is on the Roll of Honour at: 1. Railways Honour Board, Wellington Station. 2. Te Kuiti War Memorial. 3. Mangorei War Memorial Hall, New Plymouth. 4. Auckland War Memorial Museum Read More

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Casualty

Service Number:

42152

Name:

James Gordon May

Rank:

Private

Date of Birth:

09 October 1885

Place of Birth:

Sandwell, Port Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Next of Kin:

Miss Eva McLaren (sister), 57 Waitoa Road, Hataitai, Wellington

Religion:

Methodist

Date of Enlistment:

05 December 1916

Locality on Enlistment:

Ohaupo

Place of Enlistment:

Hamilton, New Zealand

Marital Status:

Single

Occupation on Enlistment:

Railway Employee

Employer:

New Zealand Railways Department, Ohaupo

Unit:

NZEF, Auckland Regiment, 2 Battalion

Casualty Details

Cause of Death:

Died of sickness

Date of Death:

21 October 1917

Day of Death:

Sunday

Age at Death:

Conflict:

WW1

Embarkation Details

Embarkation Body:

New Zealand Expeditionary Force

Embarkation Place:

Wellington, New Zealand

Embarkment Date:

05 April 1917

Transport:

HMNZT 81

Vessel:

Devon

Destination:

Devonport, England

Text in italics supplied by Cenotaph Online, Auckland War Memorial Museum

Cemetery

Cemetery:

Etaples Military Cemetery

Cemetery Reference:

XXX. E. 22.

Cemetery Location:

France

James Gordon May

Public Contributions:

Submitted by: Audrey Ansell

Relationship to casualty: My mother was married to his brother.

Personal Tributes:

Casualty

Casualty Details

Embarkation Details

Cemetery