John William Rivers

Conflict: 
WW2
Additional Information: 

Son of William Henry and Ella Russell Rivers, of Moerewa, Northland.

References:
  • CWGC
NZ WAR GRAVES

Biographical Notes:

" Two Territorials were killed at Tuakau on Saturday night, when the motor cycle which they were riding left the road near a bridge and jumped 25ft across a stream. They were:— Lance-corporal John William Rivers, aged 18 years, elder son of Mr W. Rivers, of Russell,  Private Patrick Henry Tilt, aged 22 years, son of Mr Henry Tilt, of Glenbrook, Waiuku.

Both were undergoing training at the Hopuhopu Camp. They left yesterday afternoon to visit a friend. Apparently no one witnessed the accident, but this morning a boy saw the machine and the bodies of the two men lying at the edge of a stream about 18ft below the bridge and largely screened by willows. A mark on the roadside indicated where the machine left the tar-sealing on a bend and hit a rise on the bank of the stream just outside the bridge railings. This threw it right across the stream, which is about 25ft wide. The motor cycle came to rest in 5in of water."

[Evening Star, Issue 23688, 23 September 1940, Page 4]

Public Contributions:

There are no public contributions written for this casualty

Personal Tributes:

Casualty

Service Number: 
1/14/69
Name:
John William Rivers
Date of Birth:
Not known
Date of Enlistment:
Not known
Unit:
New Zealand Military Forces

Casualty Details

Cause of Death:
Motor Vehicle Accident
Date of Death:
21 September 1940
Day of Death:
Saturday
Age at Death: 
18
Conflict: 
WW2

Embarkation Details

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

Cemetery

Cemetery Reference: 
E. A. 1.
Cemetery Location: 
New Zealand
John William Rivers
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