After reading though his military records I have seen many things different from form to form and things that are just wrong, ie age and health mainly. Born 24 Oct 1893 he would have been 22 years old on 24 October 1915, he enlisted 3 months later and all the health records show he was healthy
ALL ARE FROM THIS SITE Archway archway.archives.govt.nz AABK 18805 Acc W5550 Box 8/0091259 Churchill Frederick Peach World War 1 1914-1918 10654
cfpww15 Page 1 New Zealand Expeditionary force The Attestation papers represent the paperwork completed at the time of enlistment. An Army officer would record the answers to a series of questions designed to gather information from the volunteer regarding his personal details and any past military service...information such as age , place of birth, occupation, marital statues and next of kins name and address..... also shows where and when ( 11 January 1916 ) Churchill Peach enlisted , also has the signature of the Attesting officer
cfpww16 page 2 New Zealand Expeditionary force
cfpww110 (2)aa page 1 casualty form active service Casualty form Active Service...gives all the details of a soldiers enlistment, training, transport overseas, leave, sickness, wounding, crimes, promotions, transfers and return to Australia ( or death ) are recorded...... Interpreting these pages should be done in conjunction with the other forms to ensure dates events and spelling of place names agree and are verified Casualty forms are handwritten records but many also contain a typewritten copy meticulously transcribed by an Army clerk after the war... they contain the same information so where possible use the typed copies as they are easier too read
cfpww111aa page 2 casualty form active service
cfpww112aa History sheet
cfpww113aa History sheet
cfpww115aa statement of the service of conduct sheet
cfpww12 overseas war service gratuity
cfpww14 certificate of discharge Certificate of Discharge Reg No. 10654 1 New Zealand Field Artillery Horse Driver / Gunner No. 1 field Battery Discharged 26 March 1919 2 years 142 days Roll No. 31 Page 11 rank : Driver 12 Reinforcement in 1915 next of Kin : mrs Emily Peach ( mother ) 97 ford st Black Walsall England His address in NZ Staying and Employed with Mrs W Pearse Trentham Mrs J Walker Johnsonville (friend) Enlisted aged 22 years 3 month Height 5 foot 4.5 inches Hair Brown Eye colour Grey
cfpww19 notification of Death
Churchill was discharged on 26 march 1919 on account of Wounds received in action after 2 years 142 days Churchill was awarded the “British War Medal” and the Victory Medal These medals were issued in 1922 http://medals.nzdf.mil.nz/ medals.nzdf.mil.nz/category/n/h8.html All information copied from this site
The Victory Medal The Victory Medal was issued to all those who had already qualified for the 1914 Star or the 1914-15 Star, and to most persons who had already qualified for the British War Medal The Victory Medal was awarded to all New Zealand troops serving overseas, except for those who arrived in Samoa after 30 August 1914 and those serving in Great Britain only.
The Victory Medal is distinguished by its unique ‘double rainbow' ribbon. Approximately 6 million of these medals were issued to military personnel from the British Empire. The obverse of the medal depicts the standing figure of Victory holding a palm branch in her right hand and stretching out her left hand. On the reverse of the medal is a laurel wreath containing a four-line inscription: "THE GREAT WAR FOR CIVILISATION 1914-1919". The dates are '1914-1919' to include post-war intervention by the Allied nations in the Russian Civil War. The medal is yellow bronze and is attached to the ribbon by a ring. This medal is sometimes referred to as the "Allied War Medal", because the same basic design and the double rainbow ribbon were adopted by 13 other Allied nations
About the ribbon The ribbon is watered silk with a double rainbow, with indigo at the edges and red in the centre. Clasps and Bars No clasps or bars were issued for The Victory Medal.
medals cpeach Letter to NZ Defence Force re Medals
20180617_163919 20180617_163956 Victory Medal Photos by Mr M Hyde
20180617_163905 20180617_163941 British War Medal Photos by Mr M Hyde
The British War Medal The British War Medal was instituted in 1919 to recognise the successful conclusion of the First World War (1914-1918). Its coverage was later extended to recognise service until 1920, recognising mine clearing operations at sea, and participation in operations in North and South Russia, the eastern Baltic, Siberia, the Black Sea and the Caspian. The obverse of this medal shows the uncrowned left-facing profile of King George V by Sir Bertram Mackennal. The reverse of the medal depicts St George on horseback trampling underfoot the eagle shield of the Central Powers, and a skull and cross-bones (the emblems of death). Above, the sun has risen in victory. The figure is mounted on horseback to symbolise man's mind controlling a force of greater strength than his own, and thus alludes to the scientific and mechanical developments and machines which helped to win the war. Throughout the British Empire about 6.5 million medals were awarded in silver. Approximately another 110,000 were awarded in bronze, mainly to Chinese, Indian and Maltese personnel in labour battalions. About the ribbon The ribbon consists of an orange watered centre, with thin stripes of white and black at each side, and borders of royal blue. Clasps and Bars Rather unusually, no clasps were issued for this medal, although it was originally intended to do so. However, there were so many operational areas and theatres of war to be included (79 clasps were recommended by the British Army and a further 68 clasps were recommended by the Royal Navy), that the proposal was abandoned as impractical. The naval clasps were authorised in Britain on 7 July 1920, and miniatures of these clasps are known to exist, but the actual clasps were never issued.
Churchill returned to New Zealand, convinced that his destiny lay there and took up a rehabilitation farm in Heights Road which he worked for several years. Returning soldiers found New Zealand and the communities they lived in before the war changed and fitting back into the life they had known , not as easy as they expected Employment was hard to find, jobs they had worked at previously were closing down. To help resettle returning soldiers ,the government tried to help by putting serviceman onto farms,much of the land available was over-valued causing land values to soar with the rehabilitation boon, it was calculated that half of New Zealands rural land changed hands between 1916 and 1924 and of course all these farms needed stock, this increased stock prices thus disadvantaging returning soldiers and established farmers as well
Timber was milled in the Heights Basin, 300 metres above sea level where Rimu trees grew with trunks over a metre in diameter, 60 to the acre. Heights Road was constructed by convict labour in the 1880s with pick and shovels and although the road is tortuous the gradient is perfectly uniform. In 1904 a sawmill and 2 houses were erected at the summit of Heights Road, and for the next 10 years or so logs were milled before being taken out. When the timber was cut out at the heights, the mill was abandoned and a training school was established there for boys who wished to take up farming. This venture apparently did not survive for very long, as after the first world war the Crown purchased the land from S. S .Bowen 4 returned soldiers were settled on dairy farms on Heights road. They were Mr Albert Bendiksen, Mr Alexander James Hook, Mr McFarlane and my grandfather Churchill Peach Like other parcels of land The Heights was greatly over-valued. The Heights was a soggy basin perched at the summit of a steep road. They found the going tough, they barely had enough money to pay for necessities such as livestock,fences and food, they could not afford to keep up the mortgage payments, county rates and make improvements to the land. Pop and the other 3 men worked for the county to defray their arrears in rates, digging drains and clearing water tables while still trying to make ends meet on their soggy, bleak pastures .In 1924 they gave up the struggle and the land. Since then heights Road has been leased out by the Crown for grazing This story was sadly played out all over the country
After all my research I still have questions I would like to answer or for others to help me with
Where in New Zealand did Churchill Frederick Peach train Feathstone or Tentham Military Camp
Im unable to work out exactly which transport ship Churchill went to war on, all the troop numbers I can find are different depending on which web site or book you read