4/1320 - Sapper

James

WILLIAMSON

Main Body - Section No.1

Timeline


1915

1915

6 October

Enlistment

Auckland Military District

1915

11 October

Initial training

Avondale, Auckland

1915

18 December

Transfer to England

S.S. Ruapehu

1916

1916

3 February

Marched in to the Company Training Camp, Falmouth

1916

9 March

Embarked for France

1916

16 March

From the Front

The Company joined the underground warfare in the North of France

Chantecler, Sector of Arras

1916

11 October

Granted leave

1916

20 October

Rejoined the Company

1916

16 November

From the Front

The Company began the operations to connect old underground quarries in Arras in order to accommodate thousands of soldiers for an upcoming battle

1917

1917

14 February

Admitted to hospital with hernia

1917

23 February

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1917

6 March

Detached to Segregation Camp, Etaples

1917

28 March

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1917

9 April

Battle of Arras

British Offensive


From the Front

The Company was employed to rebuild a major road leading to the Front during the battle

Arras-Cambrai Road

1917

13 April

Rejoined the Company

1917

26 April

Detached to Assistant Provost Marshal, Boulogne

1917

29 April

Rejoined the Company

1917

5 May

From the Front

The Company moved to Monchy, ten kilometres east of Arras, to work on the fortification of the new front line

The Billets in Monchy

1917

29 June

Granted leave to United Kingdom

1917

9 July

Admitted to hospital with hernia

1917

5 September

Marched in to NZ Depot, Christchurch

1918

From the Front

The Company was still carrying out the digging of underground premises and defences on the Front near Arras

The Workshop in Arras

1918

22 February

Classified unfit for active service

1918

21 March

Spring Offensive

German Attacks


From the Front

The Company was engaged in the defence of Arras by digging new trenches and dug-outs under constant enemy shellfire

1918

8 August

100 Days Offensive

Allied Attacks

1918

26 August

Marched in to NZ Depot, Torquay

1918

27 September

From the Front

The Company experienced its newly reconversion in bridge construction

In front of the Havrincourt Bridge

1918

6 November

Transfer to New Zealand

S.S. Ayrshire

1918

11 November

Armistice

Cessation of Hostilities

1919

1919

21 January

Final discharge

End of Service

Decoration

Military Medal
Military Medal

For bravery in the field.

British War Medal
British War Medal

Victory Medal
Victory Medal

Sources and bibliography

  • Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, AABK 18805 W5557 87/0123176, Military Personnel File: James WILLIAMSON - 4/1320.
  • Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Online Cenotaph He Toa Taumata Rau: James WILLIAMSON.
  • London Gazette, 9 July 1919, p. 6844.
  • Nominal Roll of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, 1915. New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company, Wellington, Government Printer, 1916, p. 2.

Photography

  • Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, MS-2008/45.

How to cite this page

Anthony BYLEDBAL, “James WILLIAMSON (4/1320)”, New Zealand Tunnellers, 2024 (2009). Accessed: 29 March 2024. URL: https://www.nztunnellers.com/roll/details.php?id=914